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“There absolutely is,” she argues. “You’re my baby sister and no matter what, I will always look out for you. If that means reminding these men every now and then what I’m capable of, then so be it. This peace is only as good as your word. Break my trust and I will kill you.”
“We appreciate that,” Konrad says respectfully. “And I know I can speak for my brothers when I say, we wouldn’t expect anything less. You have our word. We are not those men anymore, at least not to those we love.”
Grim scowls, but I quickly interrupt. “What Konrad is trying to say is that we will love and care for Christy the right way from this moment onwards. You don’t ever have to fear for her, but we are not so far removed from the men we were if anyone tried to hurt her again. You and I both know that just because we’ve laid down our masks doesn’t mean that others have forgotten who we are. Speaking of which…”
I slip my hand into my jacket pocket and pull out the letter Five gave to me from Thirteen and slide it across the table to Christy.
“What’s this?” she asks, flipping it over.
“Thirteen gave this letter to Five with instructions not to read it until we’d all made peace,” I explain.
“Sounds ominous,” York says, knocking back his shot of bourbon.
I’d have to admit that I’d agree with him there. This letter has been burning a hole in my pocket ever since Five gave it to me. It most definitely tested my patience, that’s for sure.
“You gonna open it or what?” Beast asks, tapping his finger against the side of his glass.
“Patience is a virtue, you know,” Christy says, unknowingly repeating the exact same message Five passed onto me from Thirteen. I can’t help but smile.
Sliding her finger under the flap, Christy pulls out the letter and begins to read.
To my dear friends,
If you’re reading this, you’ve either ignored me completely and failed at being patient or you broke the cycle just like Nessa knew you would, just like I did. If I know you all as well as I think I do, I’m guessing the latter.
Despite the letters from Nessa, I had known you were meant for each other from the very first moment you introduced Christy to us all in the Grand Hall. I believed in your love from the very beginning. I’m so, so happy you get to have your happily ever after.
I also know that you will be furious at me for leaving with the Deana-dhe and that you’ve most likely tried to search for me and failed.
Please stop.
Don’t look for me. For us.
Don’t meddle in our story.
As far as the Deana-dhe are concerned you’re dead, and that’s the way we need it to stay for as long as possible. It won’t last, they know too many people, have fingers in too many pies but, like you, I need time with these men to convince them that you should be left alone to live your lives without having to look over your shoulders every day for the rest of them.
It won’t be easy, nothing ever is with Arden, Lorcan and Carrick, but I’m up for the challenge, and I’m determined to keep them distracted for as long as possible.
I guess you’re probably wondering how we met? All you really need to know is that The Deana-dhe and I have a complicated history, one filled with as many ups and downs as yours. A long time ago, when we were stupid kids high on diamonds—a drug I invented, by the way—we made a blood pact that bound us together in a way that can’t be undone. We even sought out a ‘cailleach’ to bless it. Turns out she wasn’t a fraud like I’d thought and that blessings weren’t really her thing. But what’s a curse between enemies, right?
That’s if you believe in those kinds of things of course… For a long time I hadn’t. Then I got a letter from a woman I’d never met, knowing things no one else did, and I realised that anything is possible. Anyway, I hope one day to be able to tell you our story face to face, but in the meantime I want you to let us be.
Please. It’s important.
We all have our paths to follow whether we believe in Fate or magic or curses or nothing at all. This is my journey, mine and the Deana-dhe’s, and I have to see it through.
Which leads me onto another important point. Grim and Beast, I need to ask you a favour…
Christy looks up from the letter and across to her sister, a question in her gaze.
Grim shakes her head. “I’ve no idea. None,” she says. “Keep reading.”
You each owe the Deana-dhe a debt and when they come asking for payment I want you to deny them. They’re not as powerful as everyone believes, and the only reason people follow through with their debts is because of fear. Like all people gifted in the art of manipulation, they use your own fears against you. Don’t let them do that.
In the meantime, I will do everything I can to keep them distracted. I will play along with their games and pretend to fear them whilst fulfilling this debt they believe I owe. Diamonds are my specialty but it takes time to make them, which works for all of us, don’t you think? I will also try my damndest to cure us of this curse that the witch saw fit to burden us with all those years ago, relieving us of this connection none of us wish to have.
In short, I will do everything to protect your love for as long as I possibly can.
