She nods. “Yeah. Niko is… well, not good. But he has Lucas. I’m sure he’ll pull through.”
That’s easier said than done, though I don’t dare say it out loud. It would make all of this too damn real, and I’m not sure if I’m ready for this. With a deep breath, I start leading her away from the graveyard, my boots squelching as I step into the snowy field.
“You should’ve worn a warmer coat,” I mumble. “You’re shaking like a leaf.”
“I’ll be fine,” she defends, but the way her body is trembling betrays her words.
With a chuckle, I take off the wool scarf off my neck and gently wrap it around her neck, securing it tightly. A soft smile graces her features, and momentarily, I’m lost in the depth of her brown eyes.
This is why I’m doing all of this.
For her.
She’s stood by my side after knowing I’d stalked her, massacred the prison for her, and after she learned what my family did for a living. Not once did she seem scared of me. She accepted me the way I am to the core. She knows the terror I can invoke in the streets and the danger I pose.
Yet, she doesn’t care.
She loves me, and that’s all that fucking matters to me.
She’s the reason I’m holding on, the reason I won’t stop until all the motherfuckers who have wronged her are dead. The woman I’m looking at right now is stronger than most armies, carrying through the world with the burden of her past weighing heavily on her shoulders.
She allowed me to see her scars. She allowed me inside her heart. Well - she trapped me in, wrapping me with thorns, and such pain never felt so loving before.
Everything I’ll do from now on will be only for her. To ensure her healing, her safety, and most importantly, her revenge. This woman will be the biggest monster of their dreams, and I’ll make sure she takes them down to the deepest, darkest pits of Hell. A place where she and I will reign.
Softly, I reach up, stroking her cheek with my thumb. Her eyes flutter closed, and the complete, blind trust in me makes my heart skip a beat. Fucking hell — I’m no one without her.
“Blair,” I whisper, leaning in and kissing her forehead. “Let’s get you somewhere warm, yeah?”
She nods, taking a small step back. She inhales the scent off the scarf, a sigh of pure content coming from her. Then, she takes her hand in mine, and together, we start walking away from the graveyard.
Soon, very soon, all of this will be over.
And Blair will rise to the top.
THIRTY-TWO
Everyone’s already seated at the big table when I walk in. No one’s speaking, and all eyes turn to look at me. With ease, I stroll toward the head of the table. In a way, it’s rather nostalgic. It’s Dad’s seat, and without him, it feels empty.
I shove the feelings aside, sprawling my legs under the table, looking at each and every person sitting there. On the left are Cove, Lucas, Niko, Raven. On the right are Aria, Freya, and two of the men Aria seems to trust a lot these days — Brian and Keith. Apparently, they do the job just right and don’t ask too many questions.
I’m not sure if it warrants the seat at the table, butfor now, I let it go. There are empty seats for Dad, Mom, Blair, and X. X is… well, X. God knows where that man is, if and when he’ll be seen again. As for Blair, she should be joining us shortly.
Freya looks better. Just as grumpy, just as stoic, but with a little less weight. She’d lost a bit due to all the trauma she endured, and her eye is bandaged up. No one dares to ask her anything about it, because having her snap at us is the last thing anyone needs right now.
Jewel, on the other hand, is feeling shy. She’s a short woman with long, blonde hair and a certain look of innocence in her eyes. She’s one of the newer people, and Freya brought her in personally, which is all I need to trust her.
“Aria did a phenomenal job of leading everything while I was gone.” I clasp my hands in front of me on the table. “But it’s time for her to rest a little.”
“I don’t need rest,” Aria huffs, crossing her arms. It’s endearing, the way she looks like a petulant child.
“I wasn’t asking. You will rest.”
She rolls her eyes, sighs, but drops the subject. She knows the importance of what I’ll speak about, and she won’t interrupt or take attention away from what needs to be done.
“Let’s start with Amy Marshall.”
Everyone straightens up in their seats, and Lucas pulls out a laptop from his bag. It takes him a while to turn the device on and find what he’s looking for, but once he’s done, he turns the screen so everyone can see.
