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“End times. Destruction. Disasters. Apocalypse baby.” I stared at the now muted screen as the news continued playing, showing the evidence of everything the reporter had mentioned. “That says Horsemen to me. Especially given what we know.”
Moira gave me a slow blink and then shifted her attention to Kingston. “Wait, were you actually serious about that nonsense you were spewing? You really believe you four could be theactualHorsemen of the Apocalypse?” She snorted once and then again right on its heels, her fit of giggles turning into loud, body-shaking guffaws. “Oh. Oh, that’s rich. Just how big is your ego? As if you are remotely powerful enough for something likethat.” She gestured to the TV, which was frozen on a static image of an ocean literally on fire.
“Wait, so Sunday can be the daughter of Lucifer—”
“Rumored daughter. It’s never been proven,” Moira interrupted.
Rolling my eyes, I continued, “I am a demigod, butwecan’t be the Horsemen?”
“Do youwantto be a Horseman?”
“If I was, I could stop this.”
“Men, always walking around with raging power boners,” Moira muttered.
Ash snickered, and even Tessa seemed amused, though her smile didn’t quite reach her grief-reddened eyes.
“Something is responsible for all of this. Not to mention the deaths we’ve been surrounded by,” Ash offered, her expression pensive.
“Dad and Phe died of an inexplicable illness. No one did that,” Tessa murmured.
“Has anyone noticed how many people tied to the Society have dropped dead recently? I think Ash is on to something.” Thorne stood and began pacing in front of the TV. “How many is it now? Three? Four?”
“Ronin and the Seer. That’s only two. One was stabbed, and Ronin got sick.” I frowned as I tried to put it together the way he saw it.
“What about Moriarty?” Kingston asked.
“He wasn’t related to the Society, at least as far as we know. Could be a coincidence,” Thorne mused.
“I was taught never to believe in coincidence,” I said, mostly under my breath, but Kingston caught my words and shot me a look filled with no little trepidation.
“But heisrelated to Ravenscroft. The Seer was a professor too. Your dad... he was on the board,” Moira’s voice was filled with discovery as she put pieces together I’d never have considered.
“You think the university is at the heart of this?” I asked.
“You have to admit, it’s not the craziest conclusion—far less out there than Kingston’s Horseman theory. Think about it. The headmistress is part of the Society as well, not to mention Caleb. All of this started when Sunday was sent there. Everything ties back to Ravenscroft.”
“What is it, some sort of ancient burial ground? How can a place be tied to the Apocalypse?”
Thorne cocked a brow. “Well... itwasthe site of a battle between angels and demons long before the Blackthornes took possession of the land.”
“Christ, we’re all going to die,” Kingston moaned, gripping his head between his hands.
“Y-you t-t-think o-one of these Horsemen killed Dad and Phe?” Tessa’s question was the barest whisper but somehow shot through the room as if she’d screamed it.
“Doc called it a plague. Pestilence is sort of known for those.”
She looked at her brother with terror in her eyes. “A-are w-we all going to d-d-die like that?”
“Not if I can fucking help it.”
I could sense the Farrell siblings’ panic building. I couldn’t dismiss Kingston’s theory outright. There were too many parallels to discount, but that didn’t mean I wanted to watch his entire family spiral into hysteria. It was too soon to draw any conclusions. But I had one thing I could offer right now that would save them. The same thing I would give Sunday if I could.
“Let me take you to Novasgard. You’ll be safe there. It’s a completely different realm.”
Kingston’s eyes widened. “You... you’d do that for them?”
“Yes. Do you really think I’d just stand here and let you all die? You’re family, Kingston. Which makes everyone in this house family too. Nothing is more important than family.” It was a mantra my parents had instilled in me. Right along with family didn’t always mean blood. Sometimes it was the people you choose, the ones who prove themselves vital to your existence in ways you can’t even fathom at the first meeting. Because of Sunday, everyone here fit that bill. We were bound. Connected. I could not let harm come to a single one of them.
