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It was the three guerillas in uniform that made me falter. Kevin was the only one I recognized. His voice had been easy to pick out, rivaling the sound of a shovel being dragged across cement.
“Astraea!” He placed a hand on his chest and exhaled exaggeratedly, feigning relief. We both knew full well he would rather me be dead. He was a rank below Hendrix with the same sized stick wedged up his ass.
“Dove,” Luce emphasized, “these men came all the way here to see you.”
“And now that you have, feel free to walk your asses back out the door,” Cam said.
One of the two men I didn’t know stepped forward. He had long black hair pulled back in a ponytail and kind eyes. He must have been new. “We’re here to bring you back home.”
Home? I locked my jaw and masked any further emotion before it could reflect on my face. A.R.C had never been a home to me. It had always been a prison that took away everything I loved.
“Wait. She’s leaving? She hasn’t mentioned going anywhere.” Cam played up being confused. “Has she said anything to you?”
Luce’s eyes found mine, his own mask firmly in place. “She hasn’t said much of anything.”
“She wouldn’t. She’s been…”
Luce and Cam both gave Kevin a look that I couldn’t see. Whatever it was had him trailing off. He raised his hands in the air, which caused every acolyte to shift forward like a well-oiled machine.
Fear flashing across his face, he immediately lowered them back to his sides. That gave me a feeling of satisfaction.
I’d never seen him afraid.
He was the one always doing the terrorizing. He cleared his throat and brushed an invisible piece of lint off his uniform.
“Mr. Deville—”
“Mr. Deville? No. Nobody fucking calls me that.”
“How would you like to be addressed?”
“What gave you the impression that you were worthy enough to address me at all?”
Kevin’s throat visibly bobbed. Watching him struggle for indifference would have been much more enjoyable if I knew what was about to happen to me.
“Look. We greatly appreciate you letting us know you had her—”
“Really? I personally thought the message he sent was a bit much,” Cam interrupted.
“Obviously it wasn’t clear enough,” Bella muttered. She finally released my hand so that she could prop her chin in her palm as she leaned on the upper banister.
“We’re not here to start problems. We’d just like to take her home.”
“That’s it, huh?” Luce jested. He crossed his arms and looked up at me again. “Come here, dove.”
“What? You can’t be serious!” His sister straightened and glared at him.
I wanted to tell her it was
okay, but I didn’t trust myself to speak without giving away that it wasn’t. Keeping my expression neutral, I began to walk down the steps. I could have refused and remained where I was, but that’d only be delaying the inevitable.
I wasn’t surprised by this. Kevin had just said Luce let them know I was here. I didn’t understand the pang in my chest, though. It was foolish of me to think that whatever this pull to him was could be reciprocated. He owed me nothing. None of them did.
The man standing on the stairs turned his head as I passed him. The blue of his eyes was impossible to miss. It was multiple shades that overlapped.
Luce’s hand came out and took firm possession of mine just as I got to the bottom of the steps. My brows knitted. What was he doing?
He tugged me forward, then let go just to wrap an arm around me, tucking my body into his side. I was thrown into such a state of confusion that I missed the disbelief playing out on Kevin’s face.
