But still, this guy was a chief of our tribeandAva’s father. I didn’t want to fuck up and make him disappointed in me, though I had. His piercing silence made me feel like a child.
“Sorry isn’t going to cut it,” Liam said roughly. “Do you have any idea how worried we’ve been? You tried torob a bank. Do you realize how serious this is? What iswrongwith all of you? And then you left us with a mess to deal with here at the palace. Don’t try to tell me that curse wasn’t your doing.”
“I spent all morning breaking it,” Nadine said. “I had to track down everyone it affected and remove the magic from them personally.”
Marcus blew a breath. “Don’t look at me.Ididn’t cast the curse. That was Alistair.”
“I’m notmadat you,” Nadine said gently. “I’m worried. You could’ve gotten yourself killed.”
Marcus groaned. “Mom, I’m a demigod. You don’t need to coddle me anymore.”
“We’re concerned,” Lucas cut in. “We know things have been hard for you, especially in the last couple of years. We had hoped when you went to the Institute that it would help you, but now you’re robbing banks? Marcus, what happened to you at that horrible place?”
Marcus nearly snorted. “Believe me, Dad, you don’t want to know.”
“Wedowant to know, because we care,” Nadine insisted. “If we understood, maybe we could help. What you did was dangerous, and we don’t want to see you get hurt. We’ll get you a therapist?—”
“I don’t need a fucking shrink, Mom,” Marcus snapped.
“He’s right.” Queen Emmaline broke in. “Why are we talking about therapy when we should be discussing the matter at hand? Our children have caused magical chaos! Maybe if you didn’t sit back and put up with your son’s shit, Nadine, none of them would be in this mess!”
“You think this wasour son’sidea?” Lucas demanded.
“I know our daughter is smarter than this,” Emma replied.
“Indeed,” King Ethan agreed. “We raised Kalina well. She understands this type of work takes secrecy. My child, you should’ve known your plan needed better execution.”
“Dad,seriously?” Kallie complained. “I know how to pull off a job! Things got out of hand.”
“This isn’t helping—” Sophia started to say, but the others weren’t listening.
“Kalina, if you and your friends wanted to rob a bank, you should’ve done it under the cover of night,” King Ethan reprimanded. “To pull off something like this in the middle of the day is ludicrous. Did Marcus convince you otherwise?”
Nadine scoffed. “You think Marcus dragged your daughter into this? May I remind you that you’re promoting criminal activity,Phantom.”
“My vigilante days are behind me—” King Ethan started.
“Apparently not, if you’re giving her tips on how they could’ve committed a felony better!” Lucas barked.
“Well, if she’s going to be a criminal, she might as well do it the right way,” Queen Emmaline shot back. “Kallie, you’re a member of the royal family. If you’re going to break the law, at least don’t get caught. I expected more from you.”
“You’re being too hard on her,” Nadine insisted.
“And you and your husband are a soft cinnamon roll,” Emma sneered. “Parents need to push their children to do better.”
No wonder Kallie was so tough. Her parents loved her, and they were fair, but they could be a bit too strict.
I’d had enough of listening to this. I shot to my feet. “Kallie’s a vital member of this team, and her skills are invaluable to us. The last thing she needs is a lecture about how much of a screw-up she is. And this wasn’t Marcus’ idea, or his plan— it was mine.”
I’d felt like such a coward when I walked into the room, but I wouldn’t let these people belittle my friends. Our parents might be disappointed in us, but they could only make us feel guilty about it if we let them. We were the ones in charge here, and we hadn’t done anything wrong.
“You know what? I’m not sorry about any of it,” I decided. “I’m in charge of this operation. I shouldn’t be apologizing formaking the right call. Kallie got us into the vault. We almost had the vampire key, but?—”
“I don’t want to hear excuses,” Liam cut me off roughly. “I don’t think you realize the gravity of the situation. Allow me to show you.”
Something clicked, and a TV on the wall started to play the supernatural news. “The suspects have been identified as the infamous Villain’s Club, the gang name which they were known by during their time spent behind bars at the Darke Institute for Supernatural Offenders. Reports say the robbery was led by Charlie and Ava-Marie Wahkin. Witnesses are calling this husband-and-wife duo the supernatural world’s own Bonnie and Clyde.”
Oberi gave a low whine at my feet.They’re rolling security footage of you two inside the bank, Oberi told me.They’ve got a video of you two kissing while you were attempting to break open the vault.
