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A sharp bark came through the speaker, followed by a low growl.
“Where the hell did you have that hidden?” Emerson spat. “And who’d you steal a fucking dog off, Spence? Give it back.”
“Her name is Fran, notit.And she belongs with us. Her name rhymes with Tan.” Her voice was confident, as if that meant anything.
“She is actuallyhe,” Ava enlightened. “As you can tell by his massive balls hitting the pavement. Fran is short for Frankenstein.”
“Don’t give me that face, Meek. I’m not giving him back. Fran wanted to come with me. His previous owner was a downright cunt.”
“Well, you’re not wrong there,” Ava replied.
Right on cue, Eden scurried past me on her hands and knees, hysterically screaming for her lost Fran. Spencer chuckled with mirth in the background.
As I turned the next corner, my Variant flared to life.
“Take Ava. If I’m not back in time, get Psycho out of Oakview. Don’t wait for me.”
Simultaneously, my sisters’ berated shrieks echoed through the intercom. I removed the grain-sized gadget from my ear and crushed it beneath my high heel.
The musicgradually diffused as I tracked Oscar’s aura further into the building. I’d passed countless passageways and descended multiple sets of stairs, the pink mist well and truly gone.
My steps slowed, movements wary as voices grew louder with my approach. Oscar’s undeniably gruff tone could be heard through the wooden door in front of me, clearly unimpressed. “What the fuck happened up there? You know my boss putsconfidentiality above all else. We don’t like surprises.” I couldn’t hear the reply, except placating undertones.
All fell silent, as if they had disappeared. I hadn’t come this far not to follow through.
My hand idled on the door handle when a solid weight slammed into my side, pushing my back against the adjoining wall, a steady palm held firmly against my mouth.
Surprise flickered through my system in clear warning. I didn’t feel his approach, couldn’t read his attack. He had fully invaded my space undetected.
Unheard of.
My expression cleared as his cold, dark brown eyes engulfed my own. I wasn’t the only one slinking round this joint, the pristine black-haired male making his own exploration. And unlike his brother, he was dead sober.
I caught his hand as he retracted from my face, my fingers intentionally digging into the same brand raised on his inner wrist. He didn’t stop me, didn’t attempt to contradict my find.
The same blazing fury simmered in my veins at the confirmation. A high-ranked member of the Treasury, identified by the design of his brand alone: a coin with a dancing dragon in the centre, permanently engraved into his flesh.
My mouth curved into a scowl and I hissed. I pulled him closer and raised my knee to connect with his balls. He easily deflected the assault with a flick of his wrist and stepped out of range.
He was unnerving. Nil aura, nil emotion, nil inner being. He may as well have been dead inside, or not existed at all. My Variant wavered in my chest, as if trying to catch smoke with my bare hands.
“What the fuck did you do to my brother?” he snarled under his breath.
I folded my arms to stop my fingers from wrapping around his clean-shaven throat. I had to remain calm, before we were found. “He saw a ghost.”
He caught the movement, eyes homing in on the centre of my chest, features stalling as he registered the golden crown tattoo of the Sovereign.
His lips hardly moved as he said, “Who are you?”
“I’m your fucking conscience, in living form.”
His stare glazed over before he shook his head, as if to dispel past memories. He retreated backward, one careful step at a time. “Do not follow them down there. The Caverns are too vast and elaborate. It won’t end well for you.”
Why did it sound like he was concerned? Like he was warning me?
I had two options: pursue him, or pursue Oscar. The result wasn’t even a conscious decision. Ever since I’d seen my father’s old friend and enforcer alive, the need to enact revenge and gain answers had consumed my every waking moment.
Betrayal. The sole answer I could easily identify. So, with my Variant practically dying, cinders in my bones, I pushed away every cell in my body that screamed to stay, fight and interrogate the male in front of me.
