Page 142 of War and his Queen

Stella’s hand rests on the knife in front of her, and River swipes up the tumbler filled with whiskey. The silence between us down this end isn’t loud, since the pianist won’t shut the fuck up, but the tension in the air is deafening.

“This is going to get interesting,” River murmurs from behind her glass, her long blonde hair brushing my arm. It’s a subtle reminder of the sins we have all drowned ourselves in and what possibly led us to this moment.

“Good,” Stella exhales blandly. “I’m bored.”

A foot collides with mine beneath the table and my eyes fly up to the half mask in front of me. The hard edges of the Malum Calvaria, slightly different to River’s. I wish his did cover his face. Then I wouldn’t have to stare at the pillowy swell of his lips, or the sharp lines of his jaw.

My foot flies forward, hitting his shin.Asshole.

“Let’s begin,” Pop Hector, a recovering villain from our parents’ younger days, announces from his side of the table. I guess we can’t really be mad at him for fucking shit up during their years. He didn’t create this world; he merely drove it forward so it would never stop.

And it never stopped.

It will never stop.

A wave of electricity prickles over my skin. My smirk deepens as I tilt my head to the side while keeping my eyes locked on War.

My heart stops beating when he leans over, tattoos slithering up both of his arms, and my eyes fly back to his when he finally stops. His lips part, ready to say something, when Dad interrupts from the opposite side.

“Halen.”

War’s annoyance swings between my father and me.

The room falls silent. Cold. So cold. Like the final fucking ride.

I come from a line of powerful men, and only since my mother and nan, women. All of us here tonight yield the kind of mass influence and power that you can’t replicate or marry into. This isn’t a matter ofdo you want to join the EKC?It puts a new meaning to the term ride or die.

I can taste the blood in the air already, as if my suspicions are the centerpiece of our night. But we all have secrets. Mine just never wanted to be found.

Stella’s hand squeezes my thigh and I rest mine over the top of hers. Spellbound with divine feminine energy, Stella is the Devil’s goddess and she damn well knows it. Only this time, she can’t prance her way out of what I’ve gotten myself into, because she doesn’t even know the truth.

I clear my throat. “Yes, Papa?”

Seated around the ornate skull-carved marble, is my pop at the head, my father to his right, and Nan to his left. Beside Dad is Mom. Opposite Mom is Brantley and Saint, and then Nate and Tillie, River, Stella, and me on the other side. Beside me is Vaden, who has Priest next to him at the opposite end of the table facing Pop, and then it goes War, and five empty seats.

I don’t much like empty seats.

The tension is crippling, and I can’t believe I used toactuallyenjoy our monthly dinner parties.

“I’m proud of you,Amica. Of all of you.” Dad lifts his whiskey glass to us all and a smile touches the side of my mouth. My attempt to not look at Pop fails when my eyes drift there of their own accord.

Pop nods his approval at me and lifts his own as we all chant the thousand-whatever-year-old riddle. “In sin, and until thelast drop, long live the EKC, until our hearts stop.” We lower our Calvarias from our faces and place them onto the table beside our plates.

But the truth is, we have a job to do. Our ancestors made sure to scratch it in thick enough to bleed into our bone marrows, so no matter what, I’ll always do what I am born to do.

Whatever that looks like to anyone else. War included.

“We’re just waiting—” Dad pauses, lifting his glass toward the entrance of the dining room. Like the rest of the Castle, it follows a Romanesque design, only with Mom’s light-handed changes. “Here they are.”

Everyone follows Dad’s line of sight except for me. After allowing the warmth of the tequila to rest on my tongue, I swallow and finally turn.

Holy shit.

I throw myself to my feet. “Oh my fucking God!” I’m around the table before anyone can stop me, only instead of hugging Eli, since I’d seen him already recently, my arms tighten around Lilith.

She buries her laughter in the mass of my hair. “When the fuck did you get so tall?” Her hands come to my arms as her eyes sweep over me. Her head cocks. “Such a shame. Bet you could work a crowd.”

“I’ve missed you! Why has it been so long?”

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