Page 112 of The Cannibal

I wasn’t sure where this was coming from, but she was adamant.

“I’m sure we would establish treaties to support them before they would turn to others.” I thought carefully. “But they did not give the impression that they liked the aristocratic European Nests to begin with, given their American spirit.”

“And you’d bet lives on it?” She crossed her arms. “Do you trust them enough to think of us if the opportunity arose?”

“For them to trust us, we have to trust them.”

“How do you know they’re not already tainted?” Rebecca laughed. “For someone who was so paranoid about safety, you sure don’t think about anyone’s but your own.”

“Rebecca,” Phoebe hissed.

“What do you expect me to do?” I gestured for Phoebe to back down. “I don’t know if this is events of the past resurfacing, but realistically, what would you have me do? Shall I offer the blood from my veins or the flesh of my body again to appease every coveting eye of our Nest?” Now I laughed. “I cannot guarantee people live or die by my rules, but we can all adjust and take things as steadily as possible. The last thing we need in this very delicate balance is to anger what few allies we have by accusing them of things they may or may not do in the future.”

Rebecca was silent, but the look of disdain on her face as she looked at me . . .

This wasn’t about politics, it was about Adeline. It was about Edith. It was about me.

“Will you run away when things get tough? Just like Buffalo?” Rebecca wasn’t going to let it go.

“If coming here was abandonment on my part, what does that say about you? You’re here, with me, enjoying luxuries that only exist because of the work I had done,” I argued. “At least Mary felt some sort of duty to stay.”

“I cannot return because of the atrocities that happened on your watch.” Rebecca poked a finger into my chest.

“So whose watch was it when Edith had a knife to Phoebe’s⁠—”

There was a heavy knock at the door followed by a chorus of chimes from the doorbell. It was merely background noise to begin with, then it was louder.

I looked to Phoebe, and she was taking a head count to see if we were missing someone. All seemed accounted for, which led me to look to Silas and Luka.

Silas was whispering harshly to him, holding his head low as if to hide his words from curious eyes. Luka’s brows knit together, his unblinking stare at the door as he imagined who could possibly be behind it at this day and hour.

The longer someone waited to answer the door, the quieter the room got. Soon it was not just an ignorable knock, but then the bell chimed too.

There was no staff tonight.

Not even a maid after dinner was set.

Silas looked over at us, but his eyes were on Phoebe.

Even the redheaded sprite was becoming irate with the lack of a response. She took two hesitant steps, then they became more assured with every click of the heel as she approached the door. Everyone watched her, I could barely hear even a breath.

She stood on her toes, looking through the viewfinder of the door.

As she did so, you could sense the heaviness of her breathing. The involuntary bite of the lip before she looked back at Silas.

The minute she looked at him, he knew.

Phoebe grasped the doorknob, twisting slowly before the sounds of the street mingled with the music scratching on the phonograph.

Then the tap of a new pair of shoes to enter the household.

The devil in white.

“Apologies, I assumed dinner was much later,” Levi Astor laughed, pressing his palm to his forehead forgetfully, “or my children changed the time on me.”

Luka was as pale as a sheet, Silas was colder than I’d ever seen him. It was like all muscles and emotions had been turned off with the opening of that door. A wall was built, fortified, and ready for this interaction.

Levi stepped into the room, the tap of his shoes echoing along with the gentle chime of the playing phonograph.