AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh?”
“Yes, he was recently in a place called Mercy City.” I shift, unsure how much to tell him about the state of my brother. “He’s … changed, which is probably why you didn’t recognize him.”
“I see.” The shadows from the candlelight dance over his face as he leans back, nodding. “What happened to him there?”
“They hurt him,” I clip out shortly, feeling no need to elaborate. “But more importantly, he heard the men were going to attack us. Tomorrow at dawn. They called it a special delivery. That’s what he was trying to tell you.”
He hums, resting his chin on his hand. “So, when we go to greet them at the fence tomorrow and invite them in, they’ll…”
“Kill you,” I finish for him. “Kill everyone.”
“Oh my,” he says, still suspiciously calm.
I swallow, my throat dry. “I want to get the omegas out of Goldenrod.” Leaning forward, I eye him gravely. “And Rill wants the Goldenrod alphas to…” I trail off, releasing my next words on a gust of breath. “He wants us to fight alongside him.”
“Fight?” he spits, straightening in his chair. Just as I thought, it’s the magic word. “Fight them?”
I nod, heat rising on the back of my neck. There’s something about his expression as he leans back again, eyeing me through slitted eyes. It niggles some alarm bell inside me. There’s more going on here than I can see.
“Joanna!” he calls suddenly, not taking his eyes off me.
She immediately appears in the doorway as if she were waiting for him to call from the other side of the wall.
“Yes, Father?” The darkness makes her look dour, her face pinched.
“Go to Ed Rose’s. Tell him to gather the other members of the council and bring them here,” he orders, smiling at me tightly. “I want them to hear what the Administrator just told me.”
“But it’s raining, and you said I shouldn’t go out after dark—”
“Just go,” he barks out loudly. “Quickly.”
Sniffling and whimpering, she disappears back into the darkness. I hear the door open and close before Marcus speaks again.
“Is Rill here now?” he asks smoothly. “In Goldenrod?”
That same heated awareness moves through me. This is pointless. Rill was right. Again.
Shit.
I have to get out of here. A voice reminds me I could kill him easily, but it doesn’t sit right with me.
What did Hetty say back at the beach? I’m too honorable for killing. Too noble.
I feel that right now. It rests heavily on my shoulders like a weighted cloak. All this honor and awareness. It’s a heavy burden. If only I could give into what I really want to do … tear Marcus’s head from his body.
I’m planning on doing a lot of killing once the sun rises. And I can already tell I won’t feel badly about it. But sitting here in Marcus’s living room, it feels imperative that I cling that cloak of civilization tight around my shoulders.
I’m not an animal who gives in so easily to his emotions. I can stay in control. Choose my battles.
“No, Rill’s not here.” I shake my head quickly. “I ran ahead. They’re still back at … the place they’re staying. They’ll come in the morning.”
The seconds tick by as we sit in silence, the rain pattering hard against the window. A flash of lightning brightens the room, followed a few seconds later by a loud clap of thunder.
“You’re lying, Noah.”
I tilt my head, frowning. He’s not only talking about Rill’s whereabouts. He’s talking about the whole story. He doesn’t believe me.
I sigh loudly. “It was stupid for me to come here, wasn’t it?”
