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She lifts her chin. Her eyes lock with mine. “End her.”
“Cosima,” I bark, lying Villaina’s lifeless body down and shooting to my feet.
“Someone must go down for this.” She lifts a shoulder. “Her father was a monster. It makes sense, Arturo. End. Her.”
“You do not make the rules here,my Queen. I am the fucking King, and that girl is written in our future more than any other before her!”
“Be that as it may,” she seethes, facts not something she’s fond of. “If people learn the truth about what happened here today, the Ministry will use it against us. Against our sons. They have been searching for a way to overthrow us for years. This might help their case.”
“I will kill them all now, today, and be done with it they dare.”
“No. That will bring war.”
“A war I will win,” I remind her, even though she’s wrong.
The council could never rage against us. We have a thousand times more Gifted on our sides than they could ever wish for.
“The girl already lies at your feet,” Cosima tries to reason. “She doesn’t breathe. She will feel... nothing. Think of your sons and do as you must, for if you do not... I will tell them all she is at fault for the fall of our beloved princess. She will die either way.”
With that, my wife lowers to the ground beside our daughter.
I could very easily override my dear wife, but that will do nothing to stop her from spreading the lies about the little girl at my feet. I could end her with no pain, spare her the death the Ministry will demand of her.
But then what of the future of Rathe?
Without another thought, I take Villaina Lacroix into my arms and leave the room.
My wife said to do as I must. To think of my sons.
That’s exactly what I’m going to fucking do.
Sinner’s eyes snap closed, and it takes a moment for him to reopen them. When he does, they’re back to blue, only this time with spiderweb cracks over his irises for a split second. Because Legend was right.
Sinner hates everyone and trusts no one, but London? He liked her even if he didn’t want to and she liked him too. She somehow understood there’s a mask he must wear and accepted the one he chose. She accepted him, even if she didn’t want to. Fate doesn’t give a fuck about your feelings. It puts people in your life for reasons that you simply cannot see right now.
“Fuck.”
Legend runs his hands through his hair, pacing as much as the small space allows. He comes to a stop in front of me, his arms hanging to his side.He opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out and he looks off.
“How much,” Sin finally asks. “How much did you erase?”
“Remember the letter we found in her room the night everything went to shit, the one warning her from Rathe?” I ask. “She got it the day we cornered her at the diner when she was out with Justice. She just never read it back then, so I toyed with her memories, taking them back to that day. I gave her knowledge of her gifts and made it seem like the letter was the invitation to the courtship. She was sleeping the entire time, the memory playing out in her head like it was real. The moment she opened her eyes this morning is the moment she thinks she was portalled here.” Pressure digs at my chest, but I ignore it. “Everything after that day at the diner is gone.”
“So, the mating bond?” Sin’s jaw ticks. “Ben?”
I say nothing. I don’t have to.
They know what day I’m talking about. It was nearly our beginning. Before I ever touched her. Before she knew she was mine … even if she didn't want to be. It was before everything.
“Drop the barrier,” Sin says.
Creed shakes his head, but Sinner isn't going to allow whatever thought or excuse he has to deter him.
“Drop the fucking barrier, Creed.” Sinner smooths down his suit jacket, squaring in his shoulders and jaw, fully expecting Creed to do exactly what he's asked.
He does. First, the fog around us clears, and the moment the barrier falls Sinner stalks forward, Legend right behind him.
Creed’s expression is more unreadable than the others, his mind likely whirling as he decides what to do with that information and how he's going to take it. He stares at me a moment, before slowly turning, so I do the same, following his line of sight.
