I step closer to him and aim the gun at the center of his forehead, pressing it into his skin. “No, you stay the fuck away from her, or I promise you, I will burn all this shit down with you in it.”
I leave the study, move through corridors that feel like they're closing in, and emerge into the gala where Christmas music plays, and people laugh, and nothing looks like the nightmare it is.
I scan the area for Peyton, find her near the windows with Helena. The Frost Society matriarch has her arm around Peyton's shoulders and is speaking quietly, intently. Protecting her. Good. If she doesn’t trust me, at least there’s someone she can lean on.
Talia appears at my elbow. "What happened? Why is Peyton over there, and you are over here?”
"Edmund told her something about me that she’s pissed about.”
“What?”
“I met her mother.”
“You what?”
“Before I left town, I met Lila. She came to me for help regarding this Kingsley shit, and I turned her away."
"Jesus, Blake." Talia's voice is pained. “Have you fucked her?”
“Yes,” I exhale harshly.
“When the hell were you going to tell her about her mother, Blake? After you got her pregnant?” she scolds.
"I was going to tell her. Eventually. I just didn't know how. Didn't know when." I run a hand through my hair. "And now she hates me. And I can’t blame her. I deserve it."
"What you deserve is irrelevant. What matters is keeping her alive." Talia's pragmatic, always has been. "Silas is here, somewhere in this estate, and the fact that he’s not walking around, politicking, is a red flag."
“How do you know he’s here?” I don’t see him or any of his flunkees.
“Because Luca’s here.”
Our little brother.
Shit.
Talia notices my face drop. I hate that my brother could be part of an off-the-rails plan that Silas thinks he can actually pull off.
“Okay, plan adjustment,” Talia says. “You protect her from a distance." Talia's jaw sets. “I’ll find Silas or corner Lucas, and we’ll stop whatever he's planning. That way, we keep Peyton alive whether she wants our help or not."
"Where's Nico?" I ask.
"Haven't seen him.”
“Which either means he's avoiding us because he knows the setup failed, or he's wherever Silas needs him to be."
“Or he gave us the intel and got out of dodge because he doesn’t want to be part of it like he said.”
“Wishful thinking, T.”
My phone buzzes. Unknown number.
Unknown: Second floor. East wing. Come alone. We need to talk. - Silas
I show Talia.
“Nope,” she says immediately.
"I need to know what he's planning. Need to buy time for Helena to get Peyton out of here."
