Page 119 of Outcast’s Vow

“That’s a big call, coming from you.”

“I’m never wrong. That’s why I’m sitting here.”

“You’re so sure he wants to be Supreme Elder?”

“Oh, daughter. Don’t tell me you believe he’s not ambitious. Don’t tell me you don’t understand your own husband.”

“With the way he’s going...”

Father cuts me off.

“Don’t forget, your destiny will always be tied back to me, no matter what last name you have.”

What if he’s right about Baptiste? I witness the ambition burning in my husband’s eyes every day. It’s the fuel that has rocketed him into who he is today. But what if that aspiration changes him? What if he gets everything he wants?

Could I be married to the future Supreme Elder?

Could I be like my mother?

Could I live that future?

“Is that what Mother’s father said to her when you claimed her?” I question Father.

“You want to talk about that?”

“Yes.”

“She knew what she was getting into,” Father replies. “She knew the life.”

“And she accepted it? Would she relive it all again if she had a second chance?”

Father sneers.

“She accepted her fate. She didn’t fight every inch. She didn’t question my ambition.”

“Maybe there’s a reason I’m fighting,” I mumble, looking down at my wine.

“You’re a struggle, daughter. Ever since you were born. Bold and stubborn.”

“Maybe I got that from you, Father.”

He can’t help but let out a smile. It’s quickly extinguished.

We sit in silence for a long while in this musty old room.

“What happened with Alwin Beckett?” I delicately ask. “I saw on the news. Is someone really targeting Elders? What’s next? Who’s next?”

Father’s eyes shift away from mine to the other patrons in the room. It’s merely a flicker, but I notice it.

“You know you can’t ask those questions.”

“I am asking them.”

“Don’t concern yourself with Castaways business,” he says with his voice low.

I’m not letting go that easily. Not even with Father.

“Castaways business concerns me, so of course I’m asking. The Masked Killer was around before, wasn’t he? Years ago. Why is he back? I’m worried for Baptiste.”