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“I agree,” Dawn said, Claire nodding. Warrick voiced his agreement too. I shook my head and stood my ground.
“This started as a way for me to help my dying friend with her last wish. It’s gotten out of hand, and I don’t want you all being dragged into it. If I feel like I need the help, then I’ll go to you guys. But for now, I think we can handle it on our own.”
“You’re being stubborn, Madds.” Damien looked at me with the same glare our father would give us whenever we were in trouble. Stormy and dark. I half expected Damien to whip out a belt.
“I’m being smart about this.”
“You’re being the opposite,” Xavier shot back.
“What do you know about intelligence?” I asked, getting up from my seat and going toward where Xavier sat, an annoying smile on his smug face. “You couldn’t cut it trying to get into law school, so you quit that and decided to fall back on the only other thing you were good at. Using your muscles and not your brain.” I didn’t care that the words would hurt him in that moment. He’d made his intentions clear in wanting to belittle me, and I wasn’t going to stand for it. Not from Xavier, not from anyone.
“Nice job, bro. Go after one of the hardest and most disappointing times in my life. Want to bring up anything else? Huh?” Xavier got up from his seat and matched me, gaze to gaze. He was only two or so inches shorter than me, but I still had size on him, and I used that to push him back.
A hand fell on my chest. Damien was there, pushing me back.
Warrick cleared his throat. “Um, guys, wild idea, I know, but maybe we should be fighting the Crimson Ring, not each other.”
“This is exactly why I need you all to not get involved.” I looked to Caleb and motioned toward the door. “You and I, let’s go and discuss in private. I can call another family meeting if I feel like we need to.”
“But—”
I cut Warrick off. “That’s it.” I snatched the black plastic bag from the floor and left the room with Caleb. The sound of rustling plastic accompanied our footsteps, making our exit almost comical. The fact that I was carrying a double-ended dildo in that very bag was the punchline that would have cracked me up if I wasn’t already so pissed off.
“My brother’s a fucking asshole.”
Caleb stayed quiet as I led him through the silent halls of my home, venting off the steam that had built inside me. “He always thinks he knows best. Always. And he’ll do anything to get his way. It’s spoiled brat behavior, that’s what it is. I don’t want him getting involved in this.”
Caleb cocked his head, arched a brow.
“What? You don’t agree.”
He defensively put up his hands. “Whoa, I’m not saying I don’t agree. I’m not picking sides. I’m just saying, I know you can be a little… reactive sometimes. Maybe this is one of those times.”
I wanted to be annoyed at Caleb for being neutral on this. It was my initial instinct. But I pushed past that. Saw the meaning behind his words, the truth. He was only keeping me in check, and that was something I could appreciate. Not many people were bold enough to call out my flaws like that.
We climbed the spiraling steps in the main hall. I rubbed the bridge of my nose, trying to process my feelings but finding them to be a mangled mess.
“I don’t know,” Caleb said in a tone that implied he actually did, in fact, know. “I think you should be open to their help. Not only would it be useful, but they’re clearly doing it because they care about you.” He put a finger up. “Annnd about the possible ‘end of the world as we know it’ kind of thing.”
A sigh left my lungs. I came to a stop in the middle of the hallway, next to an alcove where a statue of a dragon sat perched on a column, its marble wings pulled tight over its body. “Fine, maybe they can help. But I still want to talk to you first.”
“Sure, sounds good. Where do you want to do it?”
“Right here,” I said, turning to the statue. Before Caleb could ask anything else, I leaned in and whispered into the statue’s ear. “Take flight.”
The sound of rock grinding against rock echoed through the hall. Wheels began to turn, along with the statue, which was beginning to open its wings, the entire thing disappearing down a hole in the floor as the seemingly solid gray stone wall behind it began to split open, as if someone had tugged on an invisible zipper.
“Whoa,” Caleb said, looking into the wide space now in the wall, soft orange light glowing out of it.
