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“Sorina, care to enlighten the boy?” the Deacon asked.
Sorina looked into my eyes, blue to blue, a pleading look on her face. “You’re supposed to … you’re supposed to kill me. That’s your destiny, Nicholas.”
I shook my head, willing her words away. When I spoke, I stared at the Deacon. “Why?”
“To bring about the long night. In the winter, we will forge a fresh path in a new world. We are the strongest, hiding away in the dark, pretenders during the day—to fit in among them. But why? Why do they get to rule this place?”
“So you want to rule the world. How original,” I mocked.
The Deacon smiled, and for the first time I saw an imperfection in his two front teeth, turning inward slightly. “When the humans are at our feet, I will be their king, their father. I am the first of my kind. You are the second.”
“Second of what?” I was begging for answers, and though I didn’t trust him, I believed he would tell me why I’d felt wrong in my skin my entire life.
“Your father would be heartbroken to see what I’ve turned you into—resembling them, walking among them instead of making them a meal. You’re a wolf—castrated, so to speak—because it was my will. But I will give you everything back if you do as you’re told, like an obedient dog.”
“Give what back?”
“Your black, your red eyes. You’re not meant to look this way. Don’t get caught up in the human stories of werewolves and Lycan that are swirling in that little brain of yours. You are neither. You are the wolf they came from. Not human. You were never supposed to be human.” He laughed. “But I couldn’t keep a black beast such as you locked up where you could be found, now could I?”
“What about … the other?” I asked.
“Your darling brother? I let him out to play, too, sometimes. But he’s not as easily manageable. Not like you. He’s hungry, and he’s almost sniffed her out countless times. It was not time yet, and I grew tired of his yapping. He couldn’t be an obedient dog like you. “
I smirked, livid and cracking, making the Deacon smile wider. “Do you know what your name means?He who mocks.”
I smiled, a retort on my tongue, but the Deacon pressed on.
“Well, your brother is he who hates, and his hatred is a beautiful thing to behold. You resent this lot you’ve been given, and he thrills in it. He’s ready to eat your darling Sorina’s daughter right up. But not eat her the way you’ve…” He raised an eyebrow.
I stepped forward, and Sorina was in front of me, pressing on my chest. “Nicholas—”
The Deacon scoffed at my name on her lips. “Why do you cling to these human names and titles? I taught you better than that. I never taught you to be so arrogant, though.”
“I’m nothing like you,” Sorina seethed as she turned to the Deacon.
“But aren’t you? Wanting what you cannot have? Again? You’re so blind. Did you get that from me, too?”
“But you see all, don’t you?” she snarled.
“I know this boy will break your heart, just as his brother is meant to break your daughter’s heart. But I’m protecting her from that.”
Sorina lunged for the Deacon before I could grab her, and in a blink, she was in the air, dangling from his outstretched hand.
“I see everything, Sorina. I see everything you want to do before you do it. Every desire you have. Your craving for this boy. You’re so flushed, wanting for him. You’d make a lovely display encased like that. Maybe I’ll finally let you rest next to your darling daughter.”
Sorina struggled, scratching at the Deacon’s arm, legs kicking. “Please, please take me to her,” she begged.
“Are you tired?” the Deacon asked, his voice almost soft.
She cried out, still fighting, slower. “Yes.”
“Then I’ll let you sleep,” he whispered.
I felt a humming then—not unlike what I felt when I first laid eyes on the Archer house—but stronger, a crackling in my bones. It doubled me over, and when I spoke again, I did not recognize my voice. “Let her go,” I demanded, and they both looked at me, sharp turns of their neck.
The Deacon smiled. “Ah, there he is.” He turned, shielding himself with Sorina, forcing her to stare at me.
Pain radiated through me.
