I reach into my jacket for my phone, pausing as leaves rustle behind us, and the sound of them crunching suddenly grows closer.
“You’ve done a great job here, Beckett. Anyone would be proud of your loyalty to the Fury Hill founders.”
My blood runs cold at the addition of another voice. A familiar voice.
As Jean-Louis steps out from between the trees, my disgust with his existence resurfaces. He strolls forward casually, hands in the pockets of his suit pants, as sickly looking as ever.
“I should’ve known you’d be here. You never did like to manipulate from afar.” I glance at my brother, who’s no longer looking at me but at the ground, and force a laugh. “What’d hepromise you this time, Becks? A spot in the Curators again? His love? Council favor?”
“Oh, please. Like it’d take that much convincing. He was already on board the moment I mentioned another Anderson would be joining our campus this semester.”
My blood runs cold. “What?”
“Dear, dear, did the slut not bother mentioning me? How we met when I had her kicked out of the Grandeur Playhouse production she was starring in because she’d slept with the director for that part?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I snap, shaking my head. “She didn’t—she would’ve told me if you’d been the one?—”
I cut myself off, closing my mouth.
Maybe she wouldn’t have told me. Not those details at least, especially after I made it clear how I felt about them interacting. What if I scared her into silence, andthat’swhy she wound up getting hurt?
“Suppose she didn’t tell you I was the one who brought her and the Blackwater girl as offerings to you that night,” Jean-Louis continues, disgust lining his features. He pauses, coughing harshly into his fist, and his skin comes away covered in blood. “A shame you had to go and fall for her. I really had hoped she’d be rejected and our plight with the Anderson curse would be over.”
“The curse isn’t real,” I say.
“It’s real. You can try to convince yourself otherwise, but misfortune doesn’t favor fools for no reason. Just ask Beckett over there. You think your soul is stained, son? Surely, multiple attempted homicides is the sort of thing that alters a man’s character.”
Ice solidifies in my veins, sending a wave of nausea through me. My heart hammers erratically against my ribs, and I look at my brother—my baby brother, who used to smile more. He usedto be happy, and now, with tears pouring down his face, he looks like he’s being eaten alive by the weight of his poor decisions.
The desire to be loved is dangerous when the people around you use that emotion as a weapon.
“Think you can forgive him still?” Jean-Louis asks, walking closer. He slings an arm around my shoulders and slips something out from the inside of his jacket, wedging it into my ribs.
A gun.
My eyes find Beckett’s, whose own are wide and horrified. Which means Jean-Louis didn’t let him in on the entire plan, pushing a tiny sprout of hope inside my chest.
I can’t forgive him for what he did to Elle. I haven’t even had time to process the fact that he attacked her and forced her into that ceremony before she was ready. But the fear etching his face right now is something.
Maybe he’s not completely lost.
“See, I got Ms. Noelle blacklisted from Hollywood in the hope of sending her right into our waiting arms. My intent was for her to be here when Beckett killed the Anderson boy last semester, and we could just take the three of them out and be done with the bullshit line forever. But neither of those things happened, so when I learned she was herethissemester, I started hanging around more. Attending meetings. I figured she’d be drawn in by Death’s allure eventually. It’s like catnip to an Anderson.”
Nostrils flaring, I jerk my head to the side, trying to dislodge his hold.
He jostles me, gripping my chin. Rage boils in my blood, but I don’t react. Don’t give him what he wants.
“I watched you two together. Noticed how you couldn’t seem to keep your eyes off her, so when she practically dropped in my lap in Tartarus, I decided to try and kill two birds with one stone:I offered her as a Maiden. If you rejected her or the Director learned her last name, she’d be sacrificed just like your sister.”
My stomach lurches.So he did know.
“And if you still somehow managed to claim her, the Director would rejectthatand kill you both. Which would free up Incarnate’s space for Beckett, givingmepower by proxy. I knew you’d never do what I asked as their leader. Didn’t want to risk losing more control.”
Mustering as much strength as I can, I drive my elbow into his side, hitting the tender area beneath his ribs. He grunts, losing his hold on me, and I hurl myself away from his immediate reach. The gun falls to the ground, and he dives for it at the same time as Beckett, who seems to have pulled himself together enough to join the scuffle.
Despite being so sickly, Jean-Louis lands a punch to Beckett’s jaw, but my brother manages to headbutt him in the mouth, momentarily stunning him.
I freeze when Beckett grabs the pistol, clutching it between trembling hands. He’s on top of Jean-Louis near the quarry’s edge, his eyes wild and manic, like he isn’t fully aware of what he’s doing.
