Ares stares at her in shock, and for once, he is speechless. I don’t blame him.
“Your father was not murdered by a religious group,” Hera continues. “He was murdered by The Luminaries because he broke their sacred rules when he married me.”
“But they pardoned him for that. I remember my father explaining it to us,” I blurt.
“Officially, he was pardoned, but they resented him for forcing their hand.”
“I don’t understand,” Ash says, peering around Ares. “What do you mean?”
Ares clings to Ash as they wait for Hera to elaborate. “I was a plebeian. A normal non-Luminary person,” she adds when she spots the confusion on Ares’s face.
I keep forgetting he knows fuck all about our world.
“It was forbidden for an heir to marry anyone but their intended. I didn’t know anything about The Luminaries at first. Clinton didn’t tell me until his father died unexpectedly and he found himself thrust in the spotlight. He came to me that night, told me everything, and asked me to marry him immediately. I knew the risks. He didn’t hold back in explaining. He told me we could all die for going against their traditions unless he could convince the board to make an exception based on my condition.”
Her eyes glisten as she stares at Ares. “I had discovered I was pregnant ten days previously. Clint seemed happy but worried, and I didn’t understand until that night when he told me it all.” Her eyes fill with unshed tears. “He loved us enough to offer us options though I could see it was killing him to consider letting us go. He gave me a way out. He told me he would protect and provide for us forever even if I couldn’t give up my life to marry him. He told me he understood and he would never hold it against me.”
Hera breaks down, sobbing, and it’s hard to bear witness to. Victor clearly agrees as he gets up, perching on the arm of the couch and holding Hera as he consoles her. She wipes at her damp eyes a few minutes later, accepting a handkerchief from Victor. “Perhaps I am a terrible mother because I couldn’t give Clint up. I took the risk. I married him that same night, knowing we all could die.”
Tension bleeds into the air, but no one says anything.
Hera blows her nose into the hankie before composing herself. “Your father smoothed it all over. He was given special dispensation, and the board agreed to let it pass. Clint never got complacent though. He knew some of the heirs weren’t happy about it. He suspected they were biding their time to retaliate. He just never expected his younger brother to betray him.”
I sit up straighter. “Are you saying Walter killed Clinton?”
“We have never been able to prove it, but we believe so,” Victor replies. “Walter was always envious of Clinton growing up. He was an arrogant son-of-a-bitch even as a kid. He had a heightened sense of his own importance, and he hated how lenient Clint was.” Victor leans back in his seat, blowing air out of his mouth. “Clint was a great Luminary, and he would have achieved so many amazing things if he hadn’t been taken out in his prime.”
“How did the others let him get away with it?” Bree says. “Surely, they must have known what happened? You can’t kill a Luminary. It’s one of our most sacred rules.”
“They may have given Clint special dispensation,” Hera says, “but it sat uneasy with them. They hadn’t really had a choice at the time. Clint had made sure of it.”
“The board was split down the middle, and if Stewart and Manford had forced the issue, if they had demanded retribution for the killing, it would have meant all-out war.” Victor looks at me. “You should talk to your father. He can tell you more, but ultimately, James and Eric chose to believe the bullshit Carter and Salinger were peddling for the greater good.”
Ash perks up. “Carter was involved too?”
Victor nods. “Don’t ever underestimate a scorned woman.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Ares demands to know.
“Cleo Carter was supposed to have married Clinton,” Hera says. “She was only paired with Rhett, a few years later, after his arranged marriage to Pamela fell asunder.”
“Rhett doesn’t need much incentive to break the rules and usurp his peers,” Victor continues, “but avenging his new bride gave him the credibility to feel justified in plotting with Walter Salinger to kill his brother and take his crown.”
A muscle clenches in Hera’s jaw. “And Manford and Stewart let them get away with it.”
ChapterTen
Ares
My head is about to explode with all this new knowledge, and I’m itching to gut a few motherfuckers. Every muscle in my body is stretched tight with rage and a deep sense of futility. Right now, my priority is getting my sister back. Everything else can wait.
“If you knew The Luminaries had taken Lili, why did you have me chasing the wrong leads?” I ask Mom, working hard to keep calm. It’s challenging because those bastards have had my innocent little sister for almost three years, and I’m ready to slaughter the world to get her back. I don’t know if I can ever forgive my mother for lying to me about it. If I’d known the truth, we might have found Lili already.
“You’re not chasing the wrong leads,” Victor replies. “If The Luminaries are behind this, they have covered their tracks well.”
“What do you meanif?” I lean forward, clenching and unclenching my fists. Ash sits pressed up against me with her hand on my thigh. Mom is staring at it but trying not to make it obvious.
“We have found nothing to link her abduction to them,” Mom says, stifling a yawn. Daylight has set outside, and night is steadily creeping in. It’s been another long-ass day, and I can tell everyone wants to get out of here.
