Live the life that Eric kept talking about.
But God, if Seth lived, she would do all those things, but the world would have one more brilliant spark in the dark.
Adria leaned into Eric’s chest and cried.
She felt Bryson come closer to her and Kaydon grab her hand.
“I’m sorry,” was all she could manage to say before breaking down to a complete pile of sobs.
She felt the warmth of the men around her. Felt the certainty that they had each other.
Then, through the pressure and heartbreak, a raspy cough split the air. Adria jerked upright, vision swimming with relief and disbelief.
Seth’s chest heaved. His dark lashes fluttering open.
He was alive.
CHAPTER 70
ROME
Bryson couldn’t hide the relief he felt at the sight of pink creeping back into Seth’s ashen cheeks. For the rest of his life, he would never take that blush for granted.
“Thought we lost you, Killer,” Kaydon said, pulling him into his body.
Adria descended on Seth like a storm of tenderness, her lips pressing desperate kisses into every inch of his face and neck. “Thank you, thank you,” she kept saying, although Bryson wasn’t sure exactly who she was thanking.
“What a touching fucking moment,” Callen said.
Bryson turned, his muscles tensing, to see his father kneeling on the marble floor, blood from his split lip trailing down his chin. Alessandro was dead next to him, and Helen’s right hand held a gun to the back of Callen’s head.
Elena walked up behind their father and locked eyes with Bryson. “Bryce, it’s your call,” she said.
Standing, Bryson moved.
Towering in front of his father, Bryson took off his belt.
“You don’t have the fucking guts,” his father said.
Bryson didn’t even respond. He moved behind his father and wrapped the leather around his neck. Callen’s hands pulled at his restraints, but otherwise he was in no position to fight him.
“You’re pathetic,” his father said, and Bryson responded by tightening the belt another notch, feeling the resistance of flesh and cartilage beneath the leather.
“It is known to us that power is a mighty force, as old as the earth and as fleeting as the stars.” Bryson’s voice was steady as he recited the end of the Nine’s creed.
“It is a thing of great temptation, one that drives men to madness, to betrayal, to the unraveling of all that is just and true. For when power is unbalanced, when it rests too long in the hands of the few or the one, it brings ruin to all.”
His father struggled under him. His entire body fighting against the inevitable.
“And so, we were called, the first of our Order, to keep the scales steady, to ensure that no hand, no kingdom, no soul would hold dominion over the wheel of fate for too long.”
Bryson pressed his knee into the curve of his father’s spine, he could hear the wet, desperate sounds of Callen fighting for air, each labored breath a losing battle.
The shallow gasps transformed into a soft, wet gurgle that reminded Bryson of water circling a drain. Callen’s struggles became more frantic, and erratic, before his body finally went slack beneath Bryson’s hands.
“We, the Keepers of the Balance, are entrusted with the ancient power to decide when the scales tip, and when they must be restored.”
Bryson maintained his grip for several heartbeats more, ensuring the job was complete before casting the belt aside.
