Dagon and I both shrugged and kept at it like we didn't have a care in the world. By then all of us were seated with drinks in hand.
There was something grounding in being surrounded by my brothers. Moments like this, all of us in the same room, breathing the same air, were rarer than they should have been. I remembered how they had all jumped in to protect me. And the way they looked at our father? Disgust didn't begin to cover it.
I wasn't sure which hurt more – the cut on my hand or knowing that whatever we thought we had with our father was fractured now. I suspected I knew the answer.
I sighed, my mind trying to settle helped along by the alcohol and my second cigarette, when Wilder said, “I’m sorry.”
My glass froze halfway to my lips. Wild was staring at the floor, shoulders dropped. He looked like he just killed my favorite character from a book that came alive only five minutes ago.
“What?”
When Wild raised his head, there was pain in his eyes, and my heart broke again. Dagon moved beside me, and I felt the tension radiating off him too. Talk about suffocating energy in a room. If you have never felt it, try being in a room with us, the Hughes brothers, when we’re in a mood for an hour, and you will know what I mean.
“I’m sorry,” Wild said.
“Why are you sorry?”
“I’m the oldest. I should have stopped our father.”
“Wilder.” I sighed, “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I am.”
“There is absolutely no need to apologize. It was not your fault. There was nothing you could’ve done, and I gave my hand to him willingly.”
I shrugged, trying way too hard to look unfazed. The last thing I wanted was for my brothers to get a good read of me and worry even more.
“You didn’t know what that-” Dagon cut himself off with a low growl. “You didn’t know what King would do. He forced this bond on you without warning.”
Dagon was as furious as the others, and that shocked me, honestly. He was usually angryatme, notforme. He hadn't been on my side in a long time. A familiar ache settled somewhere deep, but then again, it had never really left, had it? Somewhere along the years, I had just learned to carry it.
I cleared my throat before speaking again. “It doesn’t matter. What is done is done.”
“Like hell it is,” Andras said, downing his whiskey in one swallow. “He can’t do this to us just because he adopted us. We’re not his property. We’re not-”
“Just because you’re adopted doesn’t mean we’re not a family! We are all brothers!” Luc cut him off.
“Damn it. Yes, we are, Luc.” Andras said, his voice dropping.
I noticed Bren avoiding everyone’s eyes while Andras was trying to mitigate the damage his words caused. I understood what he meant. He wasn’t implying we’re not a family, far from it. Andras wouldn’t do that. But Luc had always been sensitive about the topic of family.
Still, it was good having my brothers next to me. Knowing they had my back was reassuring, but I didn’t need them to protect me. I had survived seventeen years without them, after all.
As they talked, I drifted and looked out the window. There was a storm outside, and I couldn't help but think it was meant for me – a sign that this was only the beginning.
The cold, the night, the rain – none of it ever really left. For a while, I had found shelter in a home where I had found a family. But now it was time to leave… to step back into the heart of the storm. A place I always found myself in. A place with no exits. At least I knew how to fight demons. Maybe not the kind our father had spoken about, but demons, nonetheless.
No matter from how many angles I looked at it, I truly didn't have another choice. And honestly? There's no point in avoiding the inevitable.
“I’m going to do as King said.” I said it quietly. “I’m leaving tomorrow.”
All eyes snapped to me. Everyone started speaking at once, all except Dagon.
He just looked at me. Long and hard. Then he said, “I’m going with you.”
The room fell silent. I turned to him, and I didn't like what I saw in his eyes. Everything about Dagon's posture said stay back. He was as closed off and unreadable as ever.
“No one is going anywhere.” Wilder and Andras said together.
