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"That girl won't want you anymore once I'm done."
"Are you threatening to steal my lover?" I laugh and slug his arm. "Good one, Sef. You almost had me."
"Of course you assume I could never seduce a woman. I'm the quiet one who no one understands, the boy who has no mates." He fists his hands and faces the graves again. "I'll show Mum and Dad. I'll show you too. Soon, everyone will know."
"Know what?" I hold up a hand to stop him from speaking. "Never mind. I'm going to spend the weekend shagging Claudia in the earl's bedroom. She loves that idea. Do what you want, Sef."
As I walk away from him, I hear his voice. "I will, Dax. I will."
I return to the house and do exactly what I told Sefton I would do. I spend the afternoon fucking a woman I sort of like but have no intention of dating, much less marrying. That's who I am. A chancer of an earl who doesn't care about anyone else. My brother can brood by our parents' graves all he wants. They're dead, and I prefer the living.
Especially when the living person with me is a sexy little thing who can't get enough of me.
Just as the sun begins to set, I'm lying in bed with Claudia. We've just shagged, and she is gazing at me with soft eyes warmed by desire. Her body feels warm against me, for sure, and I can't resist gliding a hand up her arm in a teasing caress.
She shivers faintly. "I'm hungry, Dax."
"For food? Or do you mean…"
"I'm hungry for your body." She snuggles up to me. "One more time before we go downstairs for dinner."
Someone knocks on the door.
"Go away," I shout.
"It's me," Sefton says. "I urgently need to discuss something with you."
"Can't it wait? I'm in the middle of an urgent matter myself."
"No, it can't wait."
I sigh, then slap Claudia's arse. "Stay here, darling. I'm sure this won't take long."
She watches me while licking her lips as I pull my clothes on and walk out of the bedroom. My brother gestures for me to follow him, not saying a word about what urgent matter he needs to discuss. Sefton has always been a bit odd, and I've always indulged him. That's what brothers do, isn't it? I've never had any other siblings. I know only that I was expected to look out for Sefton, and I never saw it as an onerous duty.
But I have noticed something else, something I'd overlooked when I was determined to get Claudia upstairs. "Where's the staff, Sefton? I know they like to stay out of the way, but Fallenmouth seems quieter than usual today."
"I sent the staff away. They are no longer necessary."
My brother leads me outside, back to the cemetery.
I groan. "The graves again? Really, Sef? I don't understand your sudden fascination with our parents' headstones."
"They died thirteen years ago today."
"Yes, I know. It's getting dark and chilly, and I didn't bring a coat. So tell me what the bloody hell we're doing out here."
He leans toward me, his voice hushed yet filled with a strange intensity. "Thirteen is a magical number. It's imbued with the frequencies of metaphysical power, ascension, and oneness. But most importantly, thirteen is indivisible in the mathematical sense, which makes it the essence of incorruptible perfection."
What is he on about? This can't be my brother, the logical scientist, spouting New Age rubbish.
I lay a hand on his shoulder. "I think you need to take a holiday, Sef. You've clearly been working too hard."
He shrugs away from my hand. "I resigned."
"You quit your position at Oxford? Why?"
"Because I realized the truth. Humanity is irredeemably corrupted, and the only salvation is to rewrite everything." He tips his head back to gaze up at the darkening sky where the first pinpoints of stars have emerged. "The power of thirteen is vast, but three is of paramount importance. I need two more to complete the spell."
