“Can we just try to make the best of this? Do what we can to superhero it up, kill Adriel, save some ungrateful assholes who probably aren’t worth it and definitely won’t appreciate it?” I ask him as we stand there, breathing each other in.
He reaches up and caresses my cheek with his thumb, and gives me a small smile that doesn’t resonate in his eyes. He kisses the tip of my nose and then pulls away from me. My questions trail after him, unanswered, and I watch hollowly as he disappears through the kitchen door.
“You alright?” Sabin asks me as he pulls on a strand of hair that’s fallen out of my messy bun.
Everything inside of me screamsnoat his question, but I know if I speak that truth, I’m going to fucking fall apart. I shrug instead and swallow down just how not alright I currently am. I get the sinking feeling it’s going to become my go-to response with all of the shit that’s going down, but I plaster a fake ass smile on my face and try not to cry when Sabin pulls me into a hug and kisses the top of my head.
“Let’s get going before Aydin blows a gasket.”
I nod and nuzzle into the comfort of Sabin’s chest and the strong arms that he’s wrapped around me. “Why are we doing this again?” I tease, trying to lighten the mood.
“Because it’s the right thing to do.”
I nod at the simple answer and ignore all the thoughts that tell me, if the roles were reversed, I’d probably be the property of Adriel for the rest of my days. I’m pretty sure Lachlan would continue on with his life and just pretend I never existed, rather than stick his neck out for me. Fuck. Sometimes being the bigger person sucks unwashed, hairy balls. Laughter vibrates in Sabin’s chest, and I realize I must have said that last part out loud.
I look around the house that I’ve barely had enough time to call my own, and take a deep breath. Belarus, ready or not, here we fucking come.
3
Istare out the window of the plane into star kissed darkness. An occasional patch of clouds appears below the plane, and I like thinking we’re surfing the night sky as we make our way from Solace to Belarus. In my earbuds, Nothing More’s “Go to War” comes to an end, and Chevelle’s “The Red” picks up. I tap my fingers to the beat on the cream leather of the oversized seat I’m leaning back in. I lose myself in the music, using it to work out the tension that’s settled in my body since we climbed up the stairs onto this plane.
Enoch’s face appears above me, and before I can so much as pluck an earbud out to hear what he has to say, his head snaps to the left. His face turns from hesitant and questioning to pissed in less than a second. I sit up a little to track who Enoch is now snarling at, and feel zero surprise at finding Bastien on the other side of whatever the fuck is going down. I debate for a second if I even want to know. I’m about two seconds away from just leaning back in the chair and letting them figure it the fuck out when Enoch goes from pissed to enraged and rounds on Bastien.
I rip the music from my ears and unbuckle myself, ready to intervene.
“We would never fucking do that!” Enoch shouts at Bastien, his hands slashing away from each other, his body language punctuating his point. His eyes are filled with fire.
“Bullshit! You fucking knew what your dad and the other elders were going to do. You were all too eager to welcome her into your home and start working with her so you could see what her magic could do. Do you think we’re that fucking stupid? You think we didn’t know that you and your daddy were trying to set her up with you?” Bastien accuses.
“Oh please, Fierro. Despite your delusional conspiracy theory, there wasn’t some big evil plan to steal Vinna away. No one even knew your coven wanted to claim her until the fucking trial,” Nash interjects.
“Somebody needed to do something,” Enoch adds. “It’s not like you guys were stopping her uncle from treating her like shit.”
“You better shut the fuck up right now, Cleary,” Knox shouts and rears up out of his seat on the plane. The rest of the guys on both sides of the argument stand up too, and the tension goes from thick and uncomfortable to suffocating. “You don’t get to pretend that you’re some fucking hero, not when we all know what you let happen to Ryker!”
Enoch throws his hands up in exasperation. “I was a fucking kid! I didn’t know. I thought everyone’s home life was like mine. I had no fucking clue what he was going through with his dad!”
“You were his best friend, and it was fucking obvious. I told my parents that something was wrong, and they went to the council that same day.Yourdad tried to convince the elders not to look into it at all,” Knox bellows, his face red and furious.
I’m shocked by Knox’s revelation, and my gaze immediately jumps to Ryker. He’s standing next to Knox with his hand on Knox’s chest to keep him from advancing any further. His face is hard and unreadable, but his sky-blue eyes flash from torn to sad.
“Here we go again with theyour fucking dadbullshit. My parents were friends with his parents; they didn’t think Trevor was hurting Ryker. Either way though, that has nothing to do with me. You think my dad listens to shit I say when it comes to his decisions as an elder? I’m fucking sick and tired of you assholes blaming me and Becket every time the elders do something you don’t like.”
“Something we don’t like? They set our parents up to get captured and then refused to lead a proper search for them,” Valen counters. He brushes the loose strands of his dark brown hair out of his face and takes an angry step toward Enoch.
“Once again that’s not our fault, and once again no one knew about Elder Albrecht and what he was doing before tonight!” Kallan throws out, his tone fed up and tired.
“Please. It’s clear the apple doesn’t fall far from the fucking tree, Cleary. You took Vinna from our protection, where she was attacked, spied on like a fucking criminal, and threatened by your piece of shit dad that he would fucking expose her if she didn’t choose your coven over ours. You knew what she was the whole time, and youliedto her about it. And then when she wouldn’t give you what you wanted, you took it without her permission,” Bastien spits out venomously, and both sides press even closer together.
I scramble out of my seat and magic myself between them before the fists that both sides have clenched in anger start getting thrown. I pop up in front of Bastien out of nowhere. Which might not have been the smartest move on my part, because he slams into the back of me in an effort to get to Enoch, and I fly forward and slam into Nash hard. Pain slices through my stomach as I grab onto Nash’s shoulders to keep from falling. His dark blue eyes widen in shock, and fear lights up his entire face. I gasp, stunned and hurting, and we both look down at the same time to see the blue tinged blade in his grip. The blade that’s just been pushed through my stomach.
“Oh fuck!” he shouts out in panic. I reach down and wrap my hand around his, the one still holding the handle of the short sword he just stabbed me with, and I sag against him slightly. A whimper escapes me, and it’s like somehow the small innocuous noise penetrates the yelling, and the plane goes quiet for a breath.
“What the fuck did you do?” roars around me, and I can picture how Knox looks as the words leave his anguished and rage-filled face.
“No one fucking touch her,” Ryker commands, and I can feel the way his order lashes out at everyone, making them freeze.
“I’m sorry,” Nash laments. “I don’t know how it happened. Bastien came at us, and the next thing I know, I’m holding this, and then she was slamming into me,” Nash blurts, hurried and in shock.
