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“Wives to bed,” I added, earning a sharp look from him. “What?” I asked, feigning innocence. “I’ve seen your dedication to that task. It’s far greater than anything else. You even wanted me to have visions of another woman for you. Someone new to add to your collection. Because that’s what it is—a collection.”

“They are servants of the Lord.”

I snorted. “It’s a harem. And the only reason they put up with it is for the perks it affords them.”

“Like what?” Keaton asked, his voice flat.

“More food. Better sleeping quarters. Less chance of being tied to the stake. Notice, I said less, not none. If Willy Boy tires of one, she gets sent out there. And if she doesn’t turn the first time, there’s always the next. They’ll turn eventually.”

“Enough!” William spat. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

My speech hadn’t been for him, though. It had been for Bruce. All so I could watch his reaction to it. And his slightly pained expression said that every word had hit home. “Is that what you expected when you joined the Seekers, Bruce?” I asked. “To end up as a glorified pimp?”

William rolled his eyes. “Ridiculous!”

“Did you think your job would be to search for vulnerable women to keep William’s bed warm?”

Keaton stirred beside me, voice sharp? “Did you touch my sister?”

“He didn’t,” Bruce said. “She wouldn’t let him. It pissed him off.”

William’s silence was all the confirmation needed of that being true. I pressed on. “Remind me… how many wives does William have? And how many wives do the other men there have? That’s right. None. They’re all for William. Is that what you wanted out of life?”

“No,” Bruce said quietly, the word having no less impact for it. “It was good at first. There was a sense of community, a shared purpose for something bigger than merely surviving. Then, over time, it changed.” He flicked a glance in William’s direction. “You changed. You twisted it into something else. I tried to ignore it, tried to tell myself that nothing ever stays the same forever. But what could I do? I’m only one man.” His lips curled slightly, his gaze returning to me. “And then you came along, and I knew there was some sort of game being played. I just didn’t know what it was.”

He exhaled, shifted his stance, and turned the gun—not on us—but on William.

William laughed. “What are you doing?”

“Handing in my resignation as your lapdog, Father. Disowning you. Freeing everyone in that castle.”

“They don’t want to be free,” William said, his face paling. “I didn’t drag any of them there kicking and screaming.”

“We’ll see,” Bruce replied. “Without you there, they can choose. It will be a different place.”

“Without me, it will be nothing,” William sneered. “A draughty castle with no purpose.”

“That already sounds better,” I said.

“Do you want to do it?” Bruce asked Keaton.

Keaton stayed silent, staring at William. “I’ve done nothing but hate this man ever since I found out about Serena.” He gave a humorless laugh. “But now he’s here in front of me, my rage has just… gone.” He glanced my way, apologetic. “I’m sorry if that sounds ungrateful.”

“It doesn’t,” I said. “I understand.” Keaton might have been in the army, but he wasn’t a violent man. Biters, yes, but humans were different. “You don’t have to do it. You never had to do it.”

Keaton frowned. “But if he lives…?”

“Not an option,” Bruce cut in, gripping William’s shoulder and shoving him toward the door. William resisted, but Bruce was stronger and more determined. This wasn’t a sudden conversion. The doubt had always been there. He’d just needed a push. Part of me suspected he’d been waiting for me to be that catalyst, and now that the chance had come, he was seizing it.

Keaton and I exchanged glances, shrugged and followed, pausing only to retrieve our various weapons. Outside, Bruce’s grip on William was so tight his knuckles had gone white. William spoke urgently, the wind carrying his words away. I assumed he was trying to strike some sort of deal. From the bored expression on Bruce’s face, he was having none of it.

“Where do you find biters around here?” Bruce asked as we approached.

William struggled anew at that question, but Bruce held fast. “Don’t force me to knock you out,” he warned.

“There’s a shopping center full of them,” Keaton said. “They got in but couldn’t get out. I stayed away because there were too many.”

Bruce nodded. “How far?”