"What do you mean?"
"I let you escape. I let you stay in his house. Earn his trust. I knew you were weak and would turn on us and fall for him, and I knew he would let it happen."
He starts laughing.
"You were the Trojan horse without even knowing it. I used you to get closer than I ever could so I could do all this."
"All what?"
He looks down at me and leans in. "Who do you think is going to come and save you, Sister Omega?"
I try to lift my head and try to smile. "Well, he doesn't know where I am."
Cormac's smile widens.
"You think I would leave anything up to you? You pathetic excuse for a loyal daughter."
And then he leans in closer and whispers in my ear, "We left clues, and when he gets here, you're going to watch me burn him alive."
My stomach drops.
"No."
"Oh, yes."
"You can't..."
"I can," Cormac says. "And I will. And you'll be here to watch. Just like I watched my family burn."
He turns and looks at his men.
"Prepare the fire. Let's get ready to clean the world of two ungrateful souls and send them to the Morrígan."
33
CALLUM
My mind is racing, and on any other day I would tell my sister to leave.
I would shut this whole thing down, clear the house, and deal with what needs dealing with without an audience. But my mother is sitting in the kitchen, smoothing her napkin over her lap, her shoulders a little more sloped than they used to be, her face tired in a way that has nothing to do with age.
She's been through hell. Keira's mentioned she's been down, withdrawn, which led to this lunch in the first place.
A reminder from my sister that I am not just a Don. I'm a son, too.
And the duty of a son is probably the highest one I have, and even now, with everything clawing at the inside of my skull, I force myself to keep this meeting with them.
I probably will not eat. I can't. Not with everything swirling through my head. Not with the image of an empty room and a folded piece of paper burned into my mind.
But I sit at the island anyway.
"Thank you for making time, Callum," Mom says, her voice soft. "I know you're busy."
"Always have time for you, Mom."
Keira slides onto the stool beside her, reaching for a glass of water Linda just set down.
"You sure you're alright, Cal?" she asks. "You seem preoccupied."
