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But nothing makes sense anymore.
* * *
“Mia?”
Something tickles my face, and I open my eyes to find Bexley looming over me. “W-what time is it?” I smooth the hair from my eyes.
“Almost noon. You must be hungry.”
My shoulders lift in a small shrug. “I’m fine.”
“I made lunch. Come on. You need to eat.” He stands and offers me his hand. My stomach growls, and a small smirk plays on his lips. “See.”
“Traitor,” I murmur to myself.
Bexley leads me back into the living area and guides me over to one of the stools at the breakfast counter. “Sit. It’s nothing compared to Mulligan’s cooking.” He slides a grilled cheese sandwich toward me.
“It looks great, thanks.”
“Did you manage to sleep? I checked in on you a couple of times and you were out cold.”
“Surprisingly, I did. I think everything just caught up to me, ya know?” I take a small bite of the sandwich, moaning in appreciation when the rich cheese hits my taste buds.
“Good?” Bexley chuckles.
“Yeah, really good.” I smile. “What?” I ask as he studies me while I eat.
“I wish things were different. You deserve better, Mia. You deserve so much more.”
“It just hurts. That my father could do that to me… hand me over to Cade like I was nothing. I keep trying to rationalize it but—"
“He had no choice.” Bexley’s expression falls. “I know it doesn’t make it better, but I saw the regret in his eyes that night, Mia. He truly believed there was a way out for you.”
“You spoke to him?” He nods, and I add, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you weren’t ready to hear it. Because everything is a fucking mess.” He comes around the counter and runs his hand along my arm. “Your father loved you. But this world… it gets its claws into you and…” Bexley sucks in a sharp breath. “There’s no getting out.”
“So let’s leave,” I cry. “We’re already halfway there. We could just take off and…” My thoughts trail off at the torment in his eyes.
“You’d really leave Sasha? Channing? We’d have to disappear forever. Somewhere they could never find us.”
“I…”
“Gravestone is my legacy, Mia.” Regret coats his voice. “They need me.”
“Quinctus?”
“Fuck, no, not Quinctus. Alex, Channing… even Brandon. If we leave, what do you think will happen to them, or the next initium? The next prosapias?”
“You really want this?” I gawk at him. “To be beholden to them?
“I can’t explain it…” He moves away and rakes a hand through his hair. “But sometimes it’s about choosing the devil you know over the devil you don’t. If we leave, we’ll always be looking over our shoulders, wondering… waiting. But if we stay, if we fight, maybe we have a shot at changing things from the inside.”
“Cade won’t stop… he’ll keep coming until he’s gotten what he wants.”
A flash of fury lights up Bexley’s eyes, a low growl rumbling in his chest. “Then let him come. I just need to buy some time to figure out how to control the outcome.”
“I don’t like it, Bex.” I don’t like it at all.
