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“I assume you all carry equipment to check for bugs,” Arthur casually says. “I’d like to invite you to sweep the room.” When we don’t move, he adds, “Please, it would set my mind at ease to know that I’ve done what I can to gain your trust. I know it’s in our nature to be suspicious, but I would like to not have discord between us.”
Gus laughs boisterously, even holding his stomach. “You underestimate the Drákon Enterprises if you don’t think we have equipment that can detect any form of spyware just by being in the same vicinity.
Next to me, Liam narrows his eyes as he looks at the Hatt Leader. “Or maybe it’s a hint of what you’re about to disclose,” he says smoothly.
Silence falls, and every head turns to Arthur, who doesn’t look deterred. If anything, he looks eager to begin his tale. “You’re the first to hear what I’m about to tell you. I have not mentioned it to my council, or my Heirs, Isolde and Mordred.”
I still can’t believe that Mordred is now one of the Hatt Heirs. Maybe I’m superstitious, and granted, I don’t know him, but sheesh… that’s a name I’d be hesitant of if I was Arthur.
“Your aunt,” Arthur says, looking straight at me. “Your mother,” he looks at Gus. “She’s been conspiring with my dad for years. While I don’t know the extent of their plans, I have reason to believe it involved seizing power of the Drákon Legacy. As the eldest family with a seat on the Kronos Society, you have the highest standing, so to speak. Unfortunately, you’re also the weakest—”
“Like hell we’re weak,” Gus snarls.
I put my hand on his arm. “Gus,” I whisper his name.
“Don’t take offense to the truth,” Arthur says, looking all casual and not at all bothered by my cousin’s outburst. “And remember that I didn’t call you weak. I merely said your family is. Do you deny it? This room contains the future of the Drákon line. If I were to die tomorrow, there are plenty of people who can take over. The same cannot be said for you.”
Although he isn’t saying something we don’t already know, it still stings to hear it spoken about so casually.
“Acacia.” My head snaps up as Arthur demands my attention. “Please indulge me by answering a few questions. I promise there’s a point to it.” I frown in confusion, but nod anyway.
He continues to ask questions about how Liam came to be part of my… my unusual relationship. I answer every inquiry to the best of my knowledge, and at the end, I’m even smiling as I fondly remember the feeling of needing to defend my consort, even if the price was my own life.
“Was it a test?” Arthur muses, tapping his index finger against his chin. “Do you think your uncle was testing your loyalty? Your steadfastness and determination?”
The question catches me completely off guard, because I’ve never thought of it like that.
Before I can fully contemplate the question, Arthur’s blue eyes land on my consort. “Liam, may I ask what you were doing at that house?”
Straightening in his seat, he answers. “My mom sent me.” The look Liam gives me is pained, like he’s begging me to stop him. Not wanting to misconstrue what he thinks he needs from me, I smile and take his hand, gently squeezing it. “She didn’t say I should go to that house specifically, she just mentioned the area. That’s how I came to be there.”
When Arthur speaks again, he looks at Gus as he repeats the question he asked me about it possibly being a test. “I never thought so until now.” My cousin’s admission echoes my thoughts completely.
Reaching for the tablet next to him, Arthur taps the screen a few times. Before I can ask what he’s doing, he gestures at the monitor on the wall. The screen flares to life, showing ownership documents and auction records.
“If this is about the debt Liam’s mom owes, I’m happy to pay full restitution,” I declare.
Arthur states that no payment is necessary, but urges us to keep looking at the screen. I try to follow as he ever so slowly scrolls between documents until he reaches the page he wants.
“No!” I shake my head, unable to believe what I’m reading.
“What the fuck?” Gus shouts.
The only one who should have plenty to say—Liam—remains tightlipped.
“As you can see, Liam’s mother was bought by Marian Drákon two days before Liam turned up at Nikolaos’ house,” Arthur calmly says. He continues to show us proof, and share the facts that he knows.
Though it isn’t much, it’s still a shit ton of information—almost too much. I loathe to admit to myself that the part that gets me the most is Nikolaos’ involvement. There’s no way he didn’t know about this. Did human life mean so little to my uncle that Liam was nothing more than an expendable pawn in the cruel training Gus and I were subject to? As much as I want to deny it, it’s the only plausible explanation.
And just what does that say about me that I never knew? That I never suspected. After all, my flesh wasn’t sacred, oh, no, it was split open and chunks even stripped from my bones, all in the name of training. Why would a stranger’s life matter?
Bile creeps up the back of my throat, turning the taste of my saliva bitter.
“Let me guess,” Liam drawls, overplaying his indifference. “You’re going to lord my mom’s life over us, somehow. Use it to make Cia agree to something. Well, Arthur, let me spare you any notions of that happening. Kill the bitch.”
My flinch is as much caused by the icy bite in Liam’s voice, as the callous words. “N-no—” I never get to voice my opposition.
“Stay out of it—”
