Across the room, my father holds Delilah’s arm in a punishing grip.
My girl doesn’t show any discomfort, but from the thinning of her lips, his fingers are pressing into her skin hard enough to bruise. His actions are deliberate, calculated to assert control and invoke fear. It’s what he’s always done.
I’m going to fucking kill him.
Every instinct screams for me to intervene, to pull Delilah away from him and shield her from his manipulation and abuse. But the reality of our situation holds me back. Acting impulsively could jeopardize not only my position within the Order but Delilah’s safety as well.
“Don’t.” Declan’s voice penetrates the haze of anger covering me. “It’ll only make things worse.”
“I know,” I grit out.
I can’t afford to show any weakness. Any emotion. My father’s tactics, his manipulative games, are designed to provoke me, to push me into making mistakes. I have to focus on whatever lies ahead. But beneath that concentration, beneath the surface of my forced calm, the fury simmers—a constant, burning presence that only violence will satisfy.
My father leans down and says something in Delilah’s ear. All the color leaves her face, and her lips part on an exhale. What did he tell her? My mind races with possibilities, each darker and more threatening than the last.
I watch from a distance, powerless and frustrated, my body trembling with the effort to keep still and maintain my neutral expression.
“What the fuck is going on, X?” Benjamin nods in my father’s direction. “What’s he doing to her?”
“He’s using her to fuck with me.”
He squints at me, blame and anger filling his gaze. “Will he hurt her?”
My chest tightens at his question, and I resist the urge to rub it, to ease the ache. The very thought of my father hurting her…
I can’t fucking handle the thought.
“I’m going to kill him for simply touching her,” I say. “How long I torture him depends on what happens tonight.”
Benjamin nods, the worry in his eyes intensifying the longer he looks at me. “You really care for her, don’t you?”
I meet his stare. There’s no point in denying it. “I’m not going to hurt her, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
He shakes his head. “It was at first, but not now.”
“Come on,” Declan says, interrupting our exchange.
I glance at Delilah. My father continues speaking to her, filling her head with lies and threats meant to ruin her. Leaving my little raptor behind is going to bring me to my knees.
We stride through the doors, leading out into the corridor. The two other council members aside from my father, in addition to the other leaders of the founding families, stand in front of a long wooden table meant for dining. Nine syringes lie on the surface, each one meant for a recruit.
This has to be the second Trial.
One by one, we’re motioned forward. My blood pounds, not just from the rage lingering in my body, but from apprehension. As well as the cold, calculating look in the leaders’ eyes as they watch each recruit approach.
When my turn comes, I step up, extending my arm mechanically. A crow, his face obscured by a mask, injects the contents of the syringe into my arm. The sharp prick of the needle is nothing compared to the sting of agony I feel at leaving Delilah behind.
Returning to the line, the cool liquid courses through my veins, a chilling reminder of my station within the Order. The council members start walking and the rest of us follow in silence. Benjamin shoots me a questioning look as though I know what’s going on.
I shrug. The only thing I’m certain of is that my father is a dead man.
Chapter 28
XAVIER
The second we step through the door leading to the lower levels of the castle, the air grows colder, the stone walls of the corridor echoing each step with a hollow sound that seems to amplify our collective apprehension. The narrow passageway, dimly lit by flickering torches, descends deeper into the bowels of the castle, guiding us towards an uncertain fate.
Benjamin keeps close, his presence a silent support. We’ve trained together, faced numerous challenges side by side, and now, in this solemn procession, his familiarity is a comfort. Even if my jealousy over his relationship with Delilah makes me want to shoot him.
