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A hand rests on my hip and I turn over my shoulder when the wounded puppy’s fingers graze my exposed belly, where the band of my skirt is. He keeps his eyes on mine as his hand finds my pocket. He takes out my phone, lifting it to my face to unlock it, and starts punching in his name and number. He slides it inside the front of my shirt when he finishes, his fingers crawling to the back of my neck to spin me around. He lowers his lips to mine. This time I let his tongue slide inside, turning my head to give him more access.
He pulls back, a smirk on his face. “I’ll text you.” Then he walks off and I touch my back pocket, feeling the mask he’d left stuffed inside.
I bite down on my lower lip and watch as his back muscles ripple when he makes his way to a waiting blacked-out Range Rover.
“Okay!” I swing my attention back to the three of them. “Who is that, and I’m definitely keeping him.”
“Keeping him, huh?” War, now suddenly free of Emma so it’s just our “family” around this side, glares at me. He leans forward and it’s the first time I’ve noticed how angry he is. War has always been beautiful, even as a child. His baby features hardened over the years into a jawline sharp enough to slice your heart open, and cheekbones carved from a Greek god. His feather brown hair is kept shorter, just enough to be able to run your fingers through, but his eyes—they’re what you can’t see past. They’re the kind that burn your brain if you look too long, which is why people don’t.
Me included.
He’s one hundred percent a pretty boy, and he knows it. “Maybe try your first time with someone a little softer. Caden isn’t it…”
"Caden, huh?” I tilt my head to the side as Evie replaces my empty cup with a freshly poured one. “And who said it would be my first time?”
His body stills, and I watch the exact moment a dark shadow creeps over his face. I didn’t know much about the three of them and what they do on Perdita. They leave, and then every time they come back, they’re all on edge. The way War is staring at me right now is exactly what they’re like fresh off the plane.
“Halen, stop being a fucking brat.” Priest kicks dust into the fire. “We’ve got to head out for a bit. Can you behave while we’re gone?”
“I’m not a child!” I scold him. Either he’s realized there’s a lot that he doesn’t know, or he has finally given up. I’m not his child. I’m his sister, and as much as I know he will do anything and everything to protect me and destroy anyone who so much as looks at me the wrong way, he needs to know that I don’t need his help. We came from the same womb. Even though he doesn’t like hearing it, I can hold my own.
“Yeah, fuck no…” War shakes his head, leaning back and breaking eye contact. “We ain’t leaving them here.”
Priest ignores him as Vaden clears his throat. “We have to. They’ll be fine.”
War’s jaw tenses, annoyance once again flashing over his features. He stares at me like one would an enemy. This has everything to do with me and nothing at all to do with River.
War
I stare backthrough the cracks of the trees, watching as Halen moves around the party like she fucking owns it. Everyone seems to be smart enough to keep their distance, and now I know what Priest meant by leaving them here. They would be safe enough. And they clearly are.
Priest places a wet handle in the palm of my hand and I look down at it. I can’t see shit, but when I realize it’s the bone-carved Malum knife, I don’t have to. Blood drips down from the blade when he follows my view. We all have a family knife, where its handle is carved from the bone of our original ancestor.
“I told you not to worry. No one’s gonna touch River.”
Yeah… River. Because that’s who I was pissed about…
I swipe the edge of the knife against my jeans and shove it into my back pocket. “You gonna handle Caden?”
“Oh yeah?” Priest snickers, turning his attention fully on me. “And how am I gonna do that? Start a war?”
I bite back my anger. “Worth it.”
Priest holds my stare. “You’re starting to care too much.”
“He fucking paraded her around on purpose, to show that he could because the timer was up.”
Priest moves the branch away so we can see the girls clearer. “Let him have it. The only reason why Halen did it was because she doesn’t know who he is.”
“And who’s gonna tell them?”
Vaden steps up behind me. “Why we standing here creepin’?”
“Because this asshole was.” Priest finally turns and we follow behind him as he disappears farther into the forest.
One of these days, we were going to get caught. We just have to hope that when we do, it’s after the ritual and we’ve taken the place of our fathers.
I pull into the driveway of the Castle, resting my head against the back of the chair.
