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My gaze narrowed as I sat up, still holding the covers and the note close to my chest. “It’s one or the other. It can’t be both.”
“There’s a new allegiance forming. A new Brotherhood. I am one ofthem.”
Chandler had said the same thing: a new Brotherhood.
“And what is this new brotherhood going to do?”
“Protect the innocent. Be a voice for people who don’t have one.”
I swallowed. “Like those girls.”
“For starters. Yes.” He stood up, stopping to kiss the top of my head before walking to the door. “We aren’t trying to be heroes.”Chandler said the same thing.“But sometimes even bad people do good things.”
“And what about good people?”
My heart kept bleeding. For me. For us. For a father we thought we knew.
“You can’t have a rose bush without thorns. Just because somethingseemsgood, doesn’t mean it won’t make you bleed.”
Later that day, I found Sadie in the library. She was curled up in the corner of one of the leather sofas with a book in her hand.The Count of Monte Cristo.
I sat on the chair across from her. “That’s one of my favorites.”
She looked up at me, then placed the book, face down in her lap and smiled. I never realized how truly beautiful she was. Her hair fell down her back in long blonde waves. Her skin was creamy and smooth with a hint of pink in her high cheekbones. And her eyes were kind and welcoming, like crystal blue seas.
“Mine, too.”
“I see you talking to Grey sometimes. I always thought it was strange until now.” I’d always wondered why someone like Sadie would marry my father when she could’ve been with someone like Grey. Now, I wasn’t so sure she wasn’t another young girl thrown into a den of snakes.
“I’m not sure I know what you mean.” She wore her mask and played her role the same way I’d been bred to do.
“I know why Grey comes here, why he spends so much time at our palace.” Her whole body visibly tensed at my words. “It’s okay. I know everything.” I moved to sit next to her, then grabbed her hand. “Everything.”
Her practiced smile fell, untying the satin ribbons of her mask and letting it float to the ground. She swallowed hard as unshed tears welled in her eyes. Once upon a time, her world had shattered, leaving her alone in the dark.We were the same.“Anniston—”
I squeezed her hand and met her gaze. “Maybe he can free you, too.”
As for me, it was time for me to free myself.
