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She’s just a pawn. Just a plaything,I tried to remind myself, the repeated thoughts not feeling nearly as believable as they had only days ago.
“An’ if she dies, then wah?” Declan asked, his eyes filled with challenge. He knew I was full of shite but I wouldn’t admit it.
Pure, unfiltered rage demanded to rise at the mere thought, but I tamped it down, hiding it away so that Declan couldn't sense it.
“She takes tha blame fer the ghoul attacks and tha deaths of her family.” Declan’s eyes narrowed as I continued, “Desperate fer control of wha’ she thought was her birthright, she brutally killed her family and tried ta frame me." I paused, my fingers crossing over my stomach as if it could stop the bile rising. “That’ll be wha’ we tell tha public, should she die.”
Declan said nothing in response, downing his drink and pouring another.
“Wha’ happens ta the La Rosa Mafia is na concern of mine. I don’t care if ’tis run by mutts or mortals.” I sat forward, standing and cracking my knuckles to escape the hint of guilt creeping along my spine. “All I care ’bout is takin’ care o’ whoever t’inks they can run my name through tha mud.”
The sound of Declan’s drink tinking against the wooden bar cart was loud, like a gavel putting an end to the conversation.
“Right,” he finally said, his tongue running over his teeth as he met my gaze. “So when ye shippin’ her off to the slaughter?”
Ottavia
Chapter Twenty-Six
Iflipped through the newest book I snagged from the library, devouring the words about a teenage girl forced to participate in brutal games to spare her sister suffering the same fate. The next chapter was gearing up, the games about to start, when Eoin entered my room without knocking. At the sight of him, my chest swelled and I could feel my mind reaching out for his, an odd and intimatehellobetween our shared bond.
But all I got back from him was the white noise of static at first. I frowned at him as I dog-eared my page in the book and closed it before standing.
“Yer uncle is dead.”
The words hit like a bullet when they exited Eoin’s mouth, but I struggled to comprehend them.
“What?” I questioned, sure I’d misunderstood. Surely another member of my family wasn’t gone. Surely not.
“Yer uncle is dead, lass, slaughtered by ghouls. And if I’m right about my suspicions, yer ’ather is next.” Eoin’s voice was grim, his face tight as he delivered the bitter news.
My heart beat hard against my ribs, pounding so ruthlessly it made me breathless. “You’re lying.” My voice was scathing. “You’re a lying piece of shit.”
Growling, Eoin rushed toward me, grabbing a handful of hair on my head, making me cry out with pain. Through the suddenly open bond, I felt his own raging anger, scalding hot below the surface of his skin. “Na’s na tha time ta be stubborn, princess. Look—look at t’is.” He shoved his smartphone in my face with his free hand and hit Play on the geared-up video. The news was reporting the gruesome attack—a horde of ghouls set loose into a suburban neighborhood. Multiple people dead, but the biggest known casualty of the night? Lorenzo La Rosa, CEO of the well-known entity, Ultra Corp. The business, while legit, was also a front for my father to have the opportunity to foster working relationships with the socialites and wealthy businessmen of the world.
With the CEO dead, the COO would take command for now. If I recalled correctly, the COO was Lupo’s nephew, a man I had only met once in passing. My mind was racing, trying to figure out what the fallout would be, trying to deduce how this would affect my father in both business and on a personal level.
I was officially the last living family member my father had left.
I had to get home. I had to get out of here.
“Did you do this?” I questioned, as his hand unwound from my hair. My voice was a mere whisper, but it trembled with my restrained anger. “Did you kill him?”
“No, lass. It wasn’t me.”
I didn’t believe him.
I had been so blinded by the bond with Eoin recently that I hadn’t even considered what was happening to my family. At some point, I had become impotent, useless, an empty shell of a girl compared to who I used to be. My righteous anger had fled, leaving me passive and impressionable. Now, that fury was kindled back to life, flaring into flames so large, so hot, that it came steaming out of my mouth in a scream.
I launched myself at him.
His phone hit the marble floor with a sharp crack as he caught me. But he wasn’t fighting back, just restraining me so I wouldn’t hurt myself. “Feel tha bond, love. Ye can tell if I’m lyin’.”
“Fuck you! This is all your fault. It’s all your fault!” I shouted, over and over and over. Until my voice was hoarse and I was shaking with my grief. “All your fault.” My voice was a mere whisper now as my breath trembled unsteadily out of my chest. But I did as he asked and focused on the bond. Through it, I could feel the edges of his emotions, and he was truly pissed—maybe not by the death of my uncle, but rather by the use of ghouls for the execution. The whole world knew he was in charge of the Wastes, and for this to happen? It made him seem sloppy.
I pushed Eoin’s arms and he let me go, keeping a watchful eye on me as I stepped away from him.
My mind was turbulent with emotions. A riptide of grief warred with anger inside of me, clashing together in tumultuous waves, and I worried I’d be drowned under the unending swell. I couldn’t stand the riotous feelings. I needed to escape. I needed to run. I needed—
