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Bright blue eyes shaped by fluffy black lashes.
Messy black hair.
Then slowly, that smirk slid onto his face with his two dimples sinking into each cheek.
Killian Cornelii killed my father. At eleven years old, he killed my father.
Instead of shooting me, he lowered the gun and let us drive away.
Once again, the Cornelii family took something from me. They took everything away from me that made me, me.
They took away all that I loved, and instead of killing me too, they made me live with the emptiness of having no parents.
I hated him.
When I was thirteen years old…
Mother Nature visited me for the first fucking time ever. Seriously? I thought I would have had more time than this? Thirteen? I knew a couple girls from school who got theirs when they were younger, but seriously?
Hope came walking down the long hallway, holding a coffee mug. “It’s time. They’ll be here soon.”
“What, today? But it’s Monday!”
Hope offered a small smile. “Sorry, Sass, but you know the life.”
I sighed, leaning my head against the top of the couch. “I knew it. But how did Kosta?”
Hope pushed off the wall. “He knows everything. Will you be okay? It’s not that bad.”
I nodded. “I’ll be fine.” I was used to this. I was groomed for this life since I was eight years old.
That night, Kosta raped me.
That may have not been directly Killian or Midnight Mayhem’s fault, but everything avalanches into one eventually.
I lay still. Motionless. The leather on the sofa sticks to my sweaty back, but I don’t dare move. Not for a second.
I remember everything.
I remember Kosta. I remember the life I lived with Hope, the life I lived with Patience. Weekends were for Patience; weekdays were for my school. For my normal life. When I was with Patience, they trained me with fire. That’s how I knew what to do the first time I ever picked up the dragon staff. But I didn’t remember any of it. Until now.
“There are parts that I remember, that I shouldn’t…” I whisper, gazing at the ceiling. I begin counting the dots.
“Yes,” Kosta murmurs, leaning back in his chair and rubbing the beard on his face. “Those are the times that I would shuffle your thoughts around. I needed you to report back to me every now and then, Saskia. You were planted in Midnight Mayhem for me. I trained you in fire with the purpose of you being initiated into their show. You owe me. I am your master.”
“You are my master.” I swallow, the words slipping from my tongue effortlessly. It’s true. Kosta took care of me, protected me, fed me the truth when everyone else starved me with lies.
I turn to face him, smiling. “Why couldn’t you trust me to check back with you? Why did you manipulate my memories after getting the information, and how is it I have two different events inside of my head of the same occurrences?”
Kosta takes out a cigar and puts it in his mouth. He lights it, and the smell resonates with my bones, resting inside of me. Like comfort.
Like home.
Like trust.
“Because of Killian and Kallisto. They’re much stronger than I, and stronger than the other Four Fathers who also practice within Coercive Persuasion. I created false memories inside of your brain, just like The Four Fathers and Brothers, by using advanced Psychological Coercion, hypnosis and telekinesis to move parts of your memories around in your brain. I can convince your mind of the memories that you don’t need, and while you’re under hypnosis, I can replace events inside of your head with whatever I want. It’s why you had blank spots. I have to admit, doing this every time I’d get information from you was exhausting.”
I swing my legs over the sofa, blinking back the tears.
I will not cry.
It’s weird. I remember all of my memories now, only the ones that Kosta played with aren’t as clear. Everything up until this point is.
The initiation.
Delila coming to my house.
Everything was some sick trick to get back into Midnight Mayhem because I was a Dragavei. But if that’s the case, Delila would have had to know that I was a Dragavei before she put me in. Zaika Royal had no ties to Midnight Mayhem. Delila knew who I was all along.
“Hope gave you your family crest just in case they never found out who you were. We needed you in as a Dragavei.”
“Killian killed my father?” I ask, which was more to myself but came out aloud.
Now that I remember who she is, Lilith steps forward, running her tongue over her straight teeth. “He did. We have to end him.”
I freeze, and then I realize the reaction I had to hearing what she said and quickly relax. “Agreed.”
“What is he to you, Little Doll?” Kosta asks, reaching forward as his hand disappears up my skirt. My stomach coils.
