He’s the most rational of us all. I know he’s looking at this from every angle, and I want him to agree with me. My heart hammers as I silently beg for him to choose me.
He slowly smirks down at me. “Let’s kill them all.”
CHAPTER 73
SOREN
I’ve never beenas loyal to the idea of Bellthorn and the four families—now five—as my brother, but being my father’s favorite has always been important to me.
From the time we were babies, I was the better twin. I never wanted to admit that I enjoyed the favoritism because it sounds ugly and beneath me, but I did. Being better than my brother and trying to distance myself from him has been a part of my personality, but I realize how much of that was taught to me so I would never truly have my closest ally.
I’m a smart man, and I spent so much of my life thinking everyone was beneath me because they gave in to the expectations, but how was I better? Judging my brother while I profited from the system destroyed not only Sable but my brother too. Losing everything and everyone taught me a lesson, and while I didn’t actually deserve what Arabella did to me, I almost appreciated the experience of being humbled. Otherwise, I don’t think I ever would have seen the complete truth—without Sable, I never would have.
Betraying my father was never part of my plan. Leaving wasn’t ever part of the plan like it was for Hadrian. I simply wanted to refuse the Offering for a few years and then fall inline just like they wanted from me. That was the real test, and I failed, but now? Everything is different. My stomach turns with nausea, but there isn’t any part of me that’s unsure about this plan.
I know exactly who needs to pay and how. They owe the woman I love blood, all of them, but still, I don’t feel like myself as I dial the number. I betray myself even further when I say, “Dad, you were right.”
“I often am, son, but right about what this time?” he asks with that arrogant air that says he owns the world, and maybe he does. But he can’t take it with him when he goes. Knowing I won’t hear his voice many more times coils my stomach, and I doubt what I’m doing for a moment before I look at my brother for strength. Orion stands at my side, watching me with a gleaming bloodlust. I know how badly he hates our father and how much he wants to see him pay for everything he’s done to Sable. For once, I wish I could be more like my twin because this is really hard.
“The Briarwicks are a problem, and they need to be ended, once and for all,” I say, hating the words as much as I hate myself at this moment.
There’s a long silence on the other end of the phone, and I know my father well enough to fear what that may mean for me. Eventually, he says, “I’m glad you finally see reason, son. What about your brother?”
“You know he never will,” I answer quickly. There’s only so far a lie can be pushed, and we just need to get him here.
“You have a plan on how to handle the fallout once she’s dead?” he asks.
“Yes, but we’re going to need help from the rest of the Founders. We’re having a dinner the day after tomorrow to discuss everything. Can you make it?”
“At Bellthorn?” he confirms. I hear the suspicion in his voice, but as soon as I say it will be at the school, he agrees and relaxes his tone.
Nothing bad could happen to a founder at Bellthorn, right? This school exists because of them, to serve them, and it would never turn on any of us.
One by one, we all call our parents and tell them the same story, with a little variation for each person’s personality, but if they speak to one another, it will all amount to the same story. We are having dinner to discuss how to end the Briarwick problem permanently because, as we all know, the web is too tightly woven to disappear just because one last girl is dead. We need to put this all to bed now and make it seem like their family never existed at all. A giant black mark on their family tree, just like was done to the Colefaxes.
After we all secure their arrival time, Old Sable comes to life with the party planning. She has some big elaborate plan in her head for how all of this will look, and frankly, she’s owed her revenge so while this bloodthirsty side of her is cause for concern, I can’t help but want to indulge her. Hell, who am I kidding? I want to indulge her in anything and everything. She makes me want to be a better man every freaking day of my life.
By the time she’s done, everything is exceptionally beautiful, and she’s beaming with pride. Everything I’ve been through overwhelms me at that moment. Everything I’ve lost, the things I’ve regained, the ones I can never have back, no matter how deeply I look. We both need to put this behind us. As hard as it was to make that call and despite the fact that I don’t actually want to watch my father die, this is for the best. Their death isn’t just what she needs. It’s what all of us do to finally be rid of these evil motherfuckers once and for all.
The guys stand around her, hugging her, and rather than inviting me into the circle, she leaves them to come and stand byme. “Are you sure about this?” she asks once she’s close enough to reach my hand. I take hers back and hold it tight. She’s the reason I’m still here, the reason I’m refusing to go back to the pills, and our families are nothing but evil, pedophile scum. “I’m sure,” I promise. “They have to die. I just don’t know if I feel good about it.”
“You don’t have to. I’m glad you’re still human.”
“You say that like you’re not,” I tease, and she just shrugs.
“I’m not sure I am anymore, Soren. I’m bloodthirsty. I don’t just want them to pay or suffer, or even to protect their victims. I want to watch their blood spill through my fingers.”
I nod, and I guess I can see what she’s saying. “There are five of us to keep you balanced, Sable. You might not always be entirely human, but we always know exactly who you are, and after everything they’ve done? Everything your uncle did? Not one single part of me blames you.”
“So you won’t see me differently after tomorrow?” she asks with a light tone, but there’s real worry underneath.
I laugh because I definitely did see her differently after we found her with her uncle’s dead body. “I can’t promise that, but I can promise I’m going to love you more tomorrow than the day before.”
She smiles, her cheeks warming, and I pull her in for a kiss. While her lips are on mine, the guys surround us to steal our moment, and we all hold her, forgetting what’s coming next. At least I am, but my brother says, “I can’t wait to kill every last fucking one of them.”
“We’re one of them,” Parker says, coming to know my brother a little too well in the time when we weren’t friends.
“I won’t kill you guys.” He waves it off like it’s an insane suggestion. “Unless Sable does. I can’t control that.”
