I took a deep breath, lowering my eyes.
“I don’t believe you,” she scoffed.
“I wasn’t going to continue his sick game,” I snapped. “It has left too many motherless children. Just like you.”
“That is not his fault!” Her voice cracked. “My mother passed in childbirth; so did the others.”
“Is that what he told you?”
“I have no reason to distrust it!”
“He killed her, Phoebe. Same as all the women before her.”
“That’s an absurd claim. Your mother had five daughters after you.”
“My mother was bred to death.”
“He wouldn’t do that!”
“Your mother, and all the others after mine, were killed for having one too many daughters,” I hissed.
“That’s not true?—”
“Phoebe!” I raised my voice at her. “One after the other, he killed them if it wasn’t a son. He had an obsession with having a spare. He was driven mad from the obsession born of my mother’s death.”
She didn’t speak, and there was a deafening silence between us. Something clicked, and it was like we were seeing eye to eye, even if it was reluctant.
“Why are you here, then?” she spoke softly.
“You already know.”
“Are you here for Alina or for your Nest?”
“Both. I do it for her.”
“All of it?” She raised her brow at me.
“Of course. I need her. She will realize she needs me too. Sooner with pressure.”
“Why wouldn’t you let her choose you, then?” She crossed her arms. “Are you afraid she won’t?”
“We don’t have the luxury of waiting to find out, not this time.” I glared at her.
“That is your fault.Youare the one who turned to kin killing.”
“You know very well the offer is the best you will get,” I droned. “What is the rule again? Utilitarianism?”
“Silas, trust me when I say you do not want it to come to that. She will hate you for it.”
“Our bond was born of hate; she will come around.” I stood from my seat. “Have a good evening, sister; extend my well wishes to the girls.”
26
THE POISONER
The stairs squeaked louder this morning, or maybe I was hungover. In reality, I was not sure how I got home. My body ached, more so than the standard drunken recovery. It was like I had pulled an ox cart all on my own. Not only that, but I had a dreamlike mindfulness and a dry croak in my throat.
When I dragged my feet to the kitchen, Phoebe sat at the table as she spoke quietly to Rebecca and Adeline. A few other girls were present as they were cleaning their plates from breakfast. The clinking of utensils against plates chimed in my ears louder than necessary.
