AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So, what will you have me do?” Liam asks, his question slicing through thoughts about how the past few days have been.
“I need you to come to my office every Friday when they have their special class.”
Instead of agreeing, he says, “Have you told Cia about any of this?” I shake my head, letting him know I haven’t. “You should, you know.”
That’s the thing… I don’t know if I should. A part of me agrees and feels like I should find a way to do just that. However, another part isn’t so sure. My wife is smart. Hasty, but smart. She knows I have to put out fires, and that I can’t officially be seen at her side.
“Perhaps,” I allow. “But not yet.”
Liam sighs before pouring himself some water from the decanter on my table. “I won’t keep secrets from her, and I won’t lie. So keep that in mind before you tell me something she shouldn’t know.”
I give him a wolfish grin that’s all teeth. “Who’s saying that isn’t exactly why I’m telling you all this? Acacia understands, at least I think she does. But I don’t want any of this to break her.”
Pinning me with his gaze, Liam rakes a hand down his face. “One step forward, a million back.” He says it like it’s a thought rather than something I need to react to, so I say nothing. “Fucking Nikolaos.”
“Nikolaos created a Leader, and she’d be excellent at that. Now she needs to learn how to be the Female Ruler,” I say as I eye the timepiece on my wall. “I hate to be rude, but you have to go. Ana is sending the Leaders to my office. Go find Nereid and Gus, and I’ll see you at home later.”
Liam’s brows shoot up. “A meeting without Cia?”
I sigh. “Yes, Liam. She’s not a Leader.”
Eyeing me warily, Liam gets up and heads towards the door. Before opening it, he turns towards me. “I think you need to start thinking about what to do if your plan doesn’t work out. It’s all great that you want to smooth the waves, but you’re doing exactly what we’ve all asked her not to do.”
“Which is?” I ask, steepling my fingers together.
Liam chuckles. “You’re working alone and not as part of a team, Kai. If you want us all to be in it together, this isn’t the way about it.”
I nod to show I agree, because I do. “You’re not wrong,” I admit. “But don’t forget what landed us in this mess. As much as I would love to have Nereid apologize and call it a day, there’s more to it than that.”
“Like what?” Liam challenges.
As my eyes fall on the clock again, I realize we only have a handful of minutes left before the others get here. “Have you noticed that Morgana and Lupa still aren’t together in public? Though I haven’t asked, I’m also pretty sure that Arthur still isn’t aware of Morgana’s biological dad. The truth Acacia spoke so highly of has been halted, and until it’s set free, her apology isn’t going to mean shit to anyone. Because she can’t explain her actions.”
Rather than arguing, Liam gives me a curt nod before leaving.
One down, the rest left. Fuck me.
“What or who are we waiting for?” Remus asks again, stretching in his chair.
Arthur scoffs. “It better not be…” He trails off and takes a swig of his water when I pin him with my gaze.
“Care to finish that sentence?” I growl. “I would love to hear how it ends.”
To his credit, Arthur doesn’t fidget under my stare, but he does look at a loss for words, as he should. There’s no way for that to end well for him. If he says what was on his mind, I won’t be held accountable for my actions, and if he doesn’t, he’ll lose face.
“That’s enough,” Morgana snaps, slamming her hand down on the table with a resounding smack. “I know we have some things to sort through, but we should be better than this.” Even though her eyes are firmly on Arthur, I still feel like her words are aimed at me as well.
Arthur opens his mouth, but instead of saying anything, looks away.
“Arthur and I were once in a small town in the North East of England called Hartlepool. Have any of you ever visited?” She looks from me to Remus, and when no one answers, she shrugs. “Legend has it that during the Napoleonic wars, a ship from France made its way onto the coast of Hartlepool. Since there was an ongoing war, the good people of Hartlepool tried anyone onboard the ship.” There’s laughter in Morgana’s voice as she tells the story.
“Your point, Morgana?” Remus asks, looking bored.
A smile spreads across her face. “My point, dear Remus, is that sometimes things aren’t what they seem. Do you know who, or rather, what, the only survivor on the ship was?”
“No,” he answers, seeming more interested now.
“A monkey. They tried and hung a monkey, believing it to be a French spy. You see, the people of Hartlepool didn’t know it was, in fact, an animal, a monkey to be exact, and not a Frenchman wanting to… ahh, I don’t know… plunder and pillage? Either way, they’re now lovingly known as monkey hangers.”
