AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Wait,” Dima interrupts as I turn to leave. “Are we all going tonight? I mean, we have Taylor and Celine to consider. Not to mention the old man.”
“A small contingent of soldiers will be left behind here to make sure they’re alright,” I explain. “But as you said, this will require all hands on deck. The Therons will be safe behind a locked door.”
With that, I leave them behind and trudge up the stairs.
Every step is harder than the last. I feel like I’m walking to my own doom. But when I arrive at the medical bay and open the door, Celine is asleep. Her closed eyelids tremble and flutter with chaotic dreams.
I’m ashamed how relieved I feel that I can stave this conversation off, if only for a little bit longer.
But the feeling is real. It’s churning in my gut and there’s no denying it. One way or another, someone’s heart will be broken tonight. It’s the only way it can be.
So, with a bitter sigh, I turn my back on the woman I was meant to marry and ascend one more flight to talk to the woman I wish I could marry instead.
77
ILARION
Taylor is pacing when I enter. The tracks in the carpet say she’s been at it for a while. I watch her bare toes trail through the lush nap of the rug before I drag my gaze up her legs, past the belly growing a life we made, and to her face.
The soft smirk playing at the corners of my lips curdles into a frown when I see her eyes. She looks up at me, her hands clasped behind her back. But the effort to keep me from seeing that they’re shaking makes her whole body shake instead.
Her lip quivers worst of all. “I told them,” she croaks. “I told them about Mom.”
Fuck.“I’m sorry, Taylor.”
“Are you?”
I don’t answer. What would be the point? I knew from the start I’m not the hero in her story. If she wants to make me the villain—so be it. That’s her choice.
She bites her bottom lip as though she’s trying to stop herself from saying something she knows she shouldn’t be telling me. “Did you see Celine yet?”
“I tried. She was sleeping.”
She looks relieved to hear that. “She’s weak, Ilarion. And I just told her that our mom is dead. I don’t think she can handle much more. So if you—”
“I’m not planning on telling Celine anything tonight,” I reassure her. “Dima, Mila, and I have business outside the mansion.”
“Why do you say it like that? ‘Business.’ So…cryptic.” She swallows. “I don’t like when you say stuff that way.”
I sigh and adjust the clasp of my watch out of mindless habit. I debate the best course of action, but in the end, how could I choose anything but the truth?
“We’re hitting the Bellasio compounds. We can’t risk retaliation. One night of hellfire and the Bellasio threat will be gone for good. One clean sweep.”
“‘Clean’ is a funny word for killing a lot of people,” murmurs Taylor.
I incline my head in acknowledgment. “Everything comes with a cost.”
She snorts. “Tell me something I don’t know.” Her eyes go glassy as she stares at a blank stretch of wall for a long, silent moment.
I cross the distance between us until I’m only inches away from her. Only inches, but it feels like miles. She looks up at me, despite herself, and I watch as her expression brimmers with vulnerability.
“Ilarion,” she says softly, “I won’t betray my sister again.”
“And the alternative is what? Betraying yourself?”
“I don’t see it that way.”
“You love me.”
