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“No, it isn’t.” Before anyone at the table can even blink, I strike again. I wrap Marian’s hair around my hand once more, using the same machete with her blood on it to chop her hair off. “There we go. Now I just need to abduct her and sell her, then I’ll consider us even.” I smile as I triumphantly hold up my aunt’s long blonde locks.
Standing up, Dad wraps a hand around my wrist and squeezes but I don’t let go of the weapon in my hand. “Acacia, I forbid you from hurting your aunt. What you have taken today is all that you’re going to get. Do you understand me?”
My blood feels boiling and icy as comprehension washes over me, and my hands shake uncontrollably. “You don’t care,” I whisper, my voice cracking, and my shoulders deflate as I give voice to the harrowing realization. “It’s not me you’re here for. The Great they call you, and maybe that name is earned… but it’s not for your parental skills.”
Shaking my head, I angrily pull my hand away from his hold and swipe my tears away. Then I gather my things and head for the door. I don’t need to look behind me to know Gus and Liam are hot on my heels.
“Acacia, this goes beyond what we can deal with today. These accusations and disputes need to go before the Tribunal,” my dad calls after me.
I come to a complete stop, turning around so I can face him. My nostrils flare as I narrow my eyes on the man I’m beginning to think I liked better when he was dead. “This has nothing to do with the Kronos Society,” I seethe, clenching my fists so hard my nails dig into the soft skin in my palm. “This is a Drákon matter.”
Instead of presenting me with any reason to think he is doing anything but trying to sabotage Gus’ claim, my dad shakes his head without uttering another word.
“You’re going to regret this, Augustus.” Despite Marian’s howls of pain making her voice hoarse, the words still carry and I’m sure she means it.
“So are you!” It’s not my aunt I look at as I coldly utter those three words. It’s the man who claims to be my dad—the imposter that’s nothing more than a shadow of his former self.
“I’mnotgoinganywhereand leaving her here with him. Period.” Liam’s angry tone carries, which I’m pretty sure is on purpose. “Fuck off,” he snorts, probably in reply to something either Kai or Cia said.
The three of them are as thick as thieves, sliding into their love-triangle with no problems at all. I’m pretty sure their shared animosity towards me is the reason, yet no one says thanks. It’s a thankless job to be a bastard no one wants around.
“Don’t start with me, Liam.” Cia sounds like this is something they’ve already discussed, and judging by her tone, she’s not willing to keep it up. “You forget I spent days with him alone while we waited for Kai.”
The barked laugh her consort lets out has me grinding my teeth together as I continue to listen to their argument about me. It’s not like I can blame Liam for his distrust of me, I’ve earned it. I just don’t care about what he thinks. That doesn’t mean I want him to turn Cia against me. Fucking two-faced dickhead acting all nice and friendly when we were in Greece.
It’s been over a month since we burned my dad’s body, and laid him to rest before we returned back home. Whatever grace I got while we were in Greece ended the second we returned to American soil, and Liam was done being amicable and nice. No more asking how I am, no more laughing and joking around. He’s back to his grumpy self. I get it, I really do. But as I said, I simply don’t care what Liam thinks.
Where Cia’s consort has been vocal in his dislike, Kai’s been doing his quietly brooding and seething thing. Sure, it’s less obvious, but the outcome is the same. My cousin’s consort and husband don’t want me here, and it gives me a sick satisfaction to stay. Because that’s what I’m doing—at least until she tells me to leave.
“Look, I’ve heard your objections, and I’ve pretended to care.” My cousin’s no-nonsense tone almost reverberates off the walls in her apartment. “But at the end of the day, the decision is mine. If I wake up one day and decide I want Drákon Enterprises to build me my own version of Mount Olympus, you don’t get a vote. So what on earth makes you think you get a say in this? Gus is my cousin, and I’ll spend time with him if I want to.”
“Nereid—”
“No! Don’t give me your bedroom eyes and think that’s going to change anything, Kai. I appreciate your concerns, I really do. But why do you think you know him better than me? You’ve known me for all of five fucking minutes. And you,” she pauses and I imagine she’s facing Liam now. “You’ve been there for most of our training, so you know more about what we’ve been through. Don’t forget what you saw and heard just because you’re feeling differently now.”
As the ashen taste of my guilt coats my saliva, I reach for one of the books in her library. Returning home means that Cia is back in the apartment she shares with Liam—and now with me as well.
Even though she’s invited me back into her bed, she hasn’t touched me, and I haven’t initiated anything either. It’s not that I don’t want to—fuck, do I want her—but my guilt is too much. So, I’ve sworn to myself that I won’t touch her until we’ve talked. I’ve spent almost a month contemplating whether I should wait until after we’ve fulfilled our obligations in England, but I don’t think I can wait any longer.
The truth is that the longer I wait, the more I risk talking myself out of it again.
“Augustus, you fucking coward. Why are you hiding in there instead of standing up for yourself?” The elevator door has barely closed behind Liam and Kai, before Cia’s angry voice sounds. “I swear to… I don’t know who, but whomever I swear to, I hope they give you hell for being this useless.”
I feel like the biggest fucking wimp in the world as tears gather in my eyes at the barbs she’s throwing at me. That’s not entirely true, it’s not the words themselves—it’s that she once had to seek refuge in her beautiful library because of me. The guilt I still carry is gnawing at my insides, and I let it.
“Didn’t you hear me? I said—” Entering the room she gasps in shock. “What’s going on?” Her voice instantaneously changes from concern to anger as she hisses, “Did something happen to you?” Her possessiveness is coating each word, and she wildly looks around like she’s expecting someone else to be in here with me.
“Sit down,” I say, gesturing at the floor.
Lifting her chin, Cia says, “Tell me what’s going on.”
I sigh deeply, clinging to the small tether inside me that isn’t merely telling me it’s time, but also reminding me I need to remain calm. As much as I want to get off the floor and shout and kick shit, I need to cool it.
“I will tell you everything once you sit down.”
Surprisingly, my cousin complies, though not without mumbling under her breath about not needing to be told what to do, and that I have no right to tell her to do anything. A smile unbidden lifts the corners of my mouth, because through her clipped words I hear what she’s not saying. Cia has a heart of gold, and right now, she’s nervous. It’s kinda cute she gets a murdery look in her eyes when she wants to hide that she’s feeling unsure.
“Back when Mom forbade us from seeing each other, I made a deal with her.”
