My brothers were already in the room. Luckily, our father was not here yet.
The meeting room had one oval table in the middle, a desk in the corner, a big screen on the wall I had yet to see turned on, a whiteboard in another corner, and a cupboard next to it. That was it. We didn't use this room for anything besides family meetings and studying, back when we were younger.
Everyone looked like shit, except Wilder. My head was pounding. I didn’t even have time for coffee. Wilder and Bren were seated in the middle next to each other. Next to Bren sat Luc and Andras.
My eyes went to the one person in the room I both hated and missed like crazy. The boy who used to be my brother until he wasn’t, and maybe never really was. The person I wasn't sure I ever truly saw as a brother, if I was being honest with myself. And who I really didn't want to see right now. Not after what I'd done with his name on my lips less than half an hour ago.
Dagon was standing, leaning against the wall. His body was rigid, like he was going to detonate at any moment. When he looked up, my heart lurched, and I unclenched and clenched back my fists. My cheeks burned, and I prayed the ground would open and swallow me whole.
“Di, come here,” Wilder called out to me and pointed to the chair next to him.
I nodded, grateful for the distraction. My mind wandered to the possible reason for this meeting. Again. My leg started bouncing under the table.
I looked around at my brothers. We were all grown up now. Bren and I were 25, Luc was 20, Dagon was 28, Andras was 29,and Wild was 32. We all had stories, both outside and within this family. But we knew one thing for certain: we were a family, no matter what. So, I had no doubt we would go through whatever awaited us.
Together.
Just that one word was all the strength I had in that moment. I prayed to the universe it would be enough.
My thoughts scattered, jumping from one thing to another, refusing to settle. In the end, they circled back to Dagon. They always did… no matter how hard I tried otherwise. I couldn’t even look at him. Every time I did, I remembered how he’d sucked my skin,in real life, not in my dream. The mark was still there.
Yes, I was late partly because I was busy staring at it in the mirror.
Stop thinking about it! All he did was follow the script. It didn’t mean anything.
I rubbed at my chest against the ache that settled there. Everything that happened yesterday was all I could think about. It was all-consuming, so much more than I ever believed I'd have with Dagon. For fuck's sake, I had smiled like a lovesick fool in the mirror when I saw the mark. Yet I knew, in Dagon's eyes, it had just been a game between brothers. A move to win.
We didn’t win, we lost. Still, I had two things to smile about. First, playing on a team with Dagon again. A glimpse of thebeforeI thought I’d lost forever. Second, a fading mark on my skin that would live forever in my mind. Was I on a whole new level of messed up? Probably, but I didn’t care. It was what it was.
I knew I shouldn't be feeling like this. It would unsettle many people and horrify Dagon if he could read my mind. But they didn't know our story or our past. They didn't know me, or the war waging in my mind and heart.
Last night was unforgettable. But I kept asking myself: did we lose, or did we somehow win?
Chapter seven
Dagon
Past
20 years old
Icouldn’t believe I missed welcoming our newest family member because of a stupid school camp. When I signed up for it, I didn’t know it would be the same day he arrived. I tried to refuse to go, but Father would have none of it. I never hated being behind in high school compared to others, but now I did.
King picked me up from school, but it was already late, and everyone was asleep. All I knew about our new brother were the updates Andras had given me. I couldn’t wait to meet him. Toeveryone else, I was the moody one in the family. The truth was that I was just more reserved.
I knew people looked strangely at our family and didn’t understand it. Luckily, all I had to say to that was – fuck them. We may not be blood-related, but the moment King came into our lives and we stepped into this house, we became family. It took me a long time to realize it, but I did. And now I had one more brother. I smiled at the thought.
My curiosity was killing me. I tossed and turned in bed for hours but couldn’t fall asleep for some reason. Whatever. I got up, pulled on some trousers, didn’t even bother with a shirt, and headed downstairs. Maybe I’d drink some coffee and play a few games? Yep, it sounded better than this torture in bed.
When I was near the kitchen, I heard noise and rustling. I faltered when I reached the door and saw a guy trying to turn off the stove. I rubbed my chest because I felt something for a split second. Strange.
This must be Diablos. I smirked at his name and its meaning. I believed we would get along.
He was pouring hot water into his cup when I stepped out of the shadows and said, “Hi.”
He startled and spilled water all over the counter. “Shit!”
“Hey, hey, careful.” I ran to him and moved him aside. Steam came out of the spilled water, and it had to be scorching hot. “Are you okay?”
