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“I might’ve killed people,” I say quietly, trying to come to terms with the thought. “I didn’t think about anything in that moment but the fact that they could do something horrible to Archer. They were… I just went off, I guess.”
“Kit-Kat, listen to me.” I know Dad will work the same therapy technique they used on him during undercover work. “Those who didn’t have the intention to hurt you stayed away. Those who had other intentions attacked, and there’s nothing wrong with self-defense. That’s what it was. Remember the shooting in the mountains right after the Change? If that man didn’t hesitate instead of following his moral compass that didn’t get the memo about the Change, his wife and daughter would’ve been alive. So would he. You did what you had to do.”
I nod, quiet and still puzzled. “You know what bothers me the most, though?”
He doesn’t ask. He’s my therapist right now.
“That I don’t feel bad about having hurt those people.”
There, I got it off my chest. I would’ve shot the entire Ashlands and Port Mrei to protect Archer. The thought that I could’ve hesitated with horrible consequences makes me shiver with horror.
“You did great, Kat. You are safe. So is Archer. I suppose there’s personal security all over you two now,” Dad says.
We sit in silence for a moment, and I feel like I’m finally letting go of the thoughts about that awful night in the Ashlands.
“Here’s the thing though,” Dad finally says. “Archer is not the most important person to Butcher.”
I snort at his ridiculous words. “What do you mean?”
“That guy Raven is.”
“What?”
“Without Raven, Butcher will have Port Mrei, the port itself, the access to everything that comes in and out of Zion. He’ll have the power to cut Ayana off. That’s why I want to talk to everyone and Raven in particular. And soon.”
It’s a heavy thought, and we agree to discuss it with Archer when he recovers.
There’s one more thing left on my list before I go back to the hospital. Threats are not my thing, but it looks like I need to teach someone a lesson.
Twenty minutes later, I knock at Margot’s villa.
She opens the door in a blue jumpsuit and golden high heels, one brow arched, one hand on her hip. The girl probably sleeps with heels on, or maybe was born in them. I’ve tried to talk myself out of this, but bitchslapping is the least she deserves.
My polite smile is definitely an acting masterpiece. “Can I come in for a moment?”
With Archer in the medical ward, a dozen reasons run through Margot’s pink head about why I’m here.
I scan her villa as I walk into the living room. Pink and gold are her favorite colors, not surprising, considering she was probably born from two gold bars having sex in a vault of a Swiss Bank.
“What do you want?” she asks curtly but with a trace of curiosity in her voice.
I don’t have time or the desire to study her Barbie house, but I do listen carefully—she is alone. Good. That’s all I need.
“I told you to leave me alone, yeah?” I turn around to face her.
She rolls her eyes too theatrically, walks past me, and flings herself on the couch, a magazine in her hands. “I don’t have time for nonsense.” She flips a page loudly. “If you came to sort out your insecurities, leave.”
“I don’t like nonsense, Margot.”
Her arrogance only makes it easier to do what I came here for.
“You pushed it too far this time. Made me angry. Messed with Archer and me.”
She tears her eyes off the magazine and cocks her head at me with an obvious irritation that makes my blood boil.
“I almost drowned because of your stupid pranks.” I talk slowly, taking pleasure in intimidating her. “Archer and I ended up on theEmpress, where we had a grand time, thank you very much. But also, that’s where we got kidnapped, and Archer almost died.”
“Ugh. Spare me your sappy stories. It’s not my fault you are a looney.”
