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The place felt deserted, soulless somehow, even though the sun shone and the wind blew, swaying the wall of wild bamboo that grew on the east side of the gardens, leading to the expansive private retreat at the rear. But it was the house I wanted, the house I needed. Because if there was anywhere my father would be, it was here.
I closed the gate behind me and walked up the long, sloping flight of stairs to the frosted glass entrance of the single black door.
I pressed my thumb on the keypad and held my breath, almost expecting the light to stay red with the ultimate betrayal. But it didn’t. The light turned green and the lock released, allowing me to turn the handle and step inside.
It felt like a dream coming back to this place, especially after all that'd happened. All the lies and the betrayal and the sick alliances with men my father had sworn to destroy. Had I ever really known him, the man others knew as King, or was my entire life nothing more than a lie?
I moved through the foyer, heading deeper into the house, before I turned.
“Trouble,” Riven called my name cautiously.
I guess he had a right to be cautious. There was an eeriness about this place. A feeling that it was a little too perfect. Light cascaded through crystal clear windows, giving you an illusion of brightness, but that feeling didn’t last, not when you turned into the hallway and lifted your gaze to the room at far end.
The meeting room, my father called it.
But it was the one place where we truly came together. I kept walking, stopped at the keypad, and pressed my thumb against the sensor. If there was a point of shutting me out, it was this one. The information we gathered in that room was all we had.
Click.
The light turned green and the locks disengaged.
Only, he hadn’t shut me out. I swallowed the tremor of hope and pushed down on the handle, then stepped into our own seat of command. In my head, I still saw wall to wall maps, photographs, and a timeline of events. I saw Haelstrom Hale’s face in black and white sitting on top of the long list of men and women who’d become the players in that vile institution called The Order.
But that seat of command wasn’t what I stepped into now.
“What the fuck?” Riven muttered behind me.
At first glance, it looked like the place had been tossed, that somehow my father’s estate had been broken into and this one room had been destroyed. I stepped further inside.
“Hunter, search the perimeter.” Riven commanded.
But I shook my head, staring at the mess of strewn photos and trashed furniture. One chair was even embedded into a wall.
“Don’t worry,” I said carefully. “The place hasn’t been trashed.”
“What?” Riven stepped deeper into the room, scanning the utter destruction. “So, this is normal?”
Normal?
No.
No, it wasn’t…
I moved forward, finding the shattered screen on the large monitor mounted on the wall, then the upturned desk below it. Something had happened here. Something…painful. That’s what I saw…pain.
I moved deeper into the room, then headed to the one thing that hadn’t been disturbed, the drawn reproduction of DNA strands. Three of them, to be exact. The image was of big, muted colors against a background of the galaxy.
This is you and your sisters.
Your DNA, Helene.
Your’s.
Vivienne’s.
And Ryth’s.
You’re my entire world. Don’t you know that?
