Daemon: Would you like to share with the class?
Finn: Loop us in before one of us gets thrust in the driver seat again.
“Well, Finn is never getting the driver seat again because he fucking locked in andforgot about it.Asshole had me in pretend jail with all the other whispers.” The alters froze, each of them metaphorically looking at me. “I told you that wefracture.The bits and pieces are still there but deep, deep down. It’ll be a while before we’re stuck in that mess. Now, you wanted answers, right?”
Killian: Yes. Answers.Goodones because I’m not entirely sure dear old dad is prepared to clean up Niles the way you need him to.
Finn: Let’s just kill them all. Problem solved.
Dark: Focus.
I leaned back in my chair, threading my fingers behind my head. “I’ve got a plan, but things have changed because Finn got someone pregnant.”
Killian: Seriously, focus! What’s the fucking plan?
I gritted my teeth, my fingers digging into the armrests. “Buzzkill.I know what I’m doing. Dad’s been burying my messes since I was a kid—Carlie, the others. He’ll keep doing it to save his image. I’ve known him longer than any of you. As for our men, they’re in. Slash loved last night, Aeron’s curious, and Samael’s hooked, even if he’s mad because he’s not in control.”
Daemon: And when Dad cracks? When Tyrone connects the dots?
Dark: You’re playing with fire, and we’re all going to burn for it.
Finn: Then we can roast marshmallows.
Another cackle fell from my lips at Finn’s humor. Hopefully, he’d get over the whole ‘I nearly had his baby mama killed’ so we could get back to the good stuff. I needed to keep fromfracturing, stress out my dad, and then make my men fall in love with me all over again.
A knock on the edge of my cubicle tore me out of my head and I looked up, horrified to see Alex grinning as he plopped into the seat across from me. “Okay, so I heard several names other than just Killian. Which one are you?”
My face contorted further, a mixture of anger and irritation flaring up as my hands fisted in my lap. He was becoming more and more annoying every day.
Finn: Deep breaths. If you blow up at him, he’s going to catalog it and you know he’s probably already got a project name.
Killian: Don’t give him the satisfaction that he’s looking for.
There was only one real way out of this. Unfortunately, that meant completely ignoring whatever Alex was trying to get out of this moment. I swallowed once and then stood up, offering him a tight smile. “I’m going home.”
“Really, that’s it?”
I sighed, my nails digging into my palms as I fought the urge to lunge at him. Alex was enjoying this, his eyes glinting like he’d struck gold.
Daemon: I’m not opposed to a little blood but we can’t exactly lure him to Bondage Palace.
Dark: Does he even like men? I don’t think we can seduce him.
Finn: I thought I was supposed to be the evil one.
Dark & Daemon: You are. We’re the fun ones.
I blinked several times, trying to stay present in the moment. In the many pamphlets and textbooks I had read, trying to understand my diagnosis, there hadn’t been much to go on. Aside from my consciousness or mind or whatever the fuck slowly fracturing into several parts, there was also the issue of all of it meshing back together. In ways that didn’t make sense.
Alters acting out or differently.
We would cease to be five separate parts and more like, parts of a whole. Kind of. Not really. But it was the only way to explain Dark and Daemon’s shift in personality.Fucking hell.
A tap on my shoulder had me gasping for air as I threw up my fists and then sighed when it was only Alex. “I’m taking some sick time. I think I have some stacked up.”
Alex said nothing as I gathered up my stuff and headed for the door. It took me entirely too long to swing by Dad’s house to swipe one of Dad’s cars. Fuck taking the bus, anymore. We didn’t have time for that shit. However, by the time I got to Aeron’s house, it was empty. Well, it was locked and no one was answering, which meant that they weren’t there.
I immediately called Samael, knowing that this was his doing.
