Chapter 11
Kane
“Sister?” I spit out. My entire body has gone numb. I grip Kori’s hand in mine like it’s the only thing keeping me tethered to reality.
Before I can process this bombshell, Rory bends down and picks up something else from the box—a folded piece of paper I hadn’t noticed.
“There’s more,” he says, unfolding what looks like an aged piece of parchment. “What the fuck. It’s some... riddle?”
Everyone’s attention shifts to him as he squints at the faded writing. The pressure in my chest builds as I try to make sense of what’s happening—a sister. I have a sister. And Tomas—the man I’ve called Uncle my entire life is my father?”
“What does it say?” Declan demands, reaching for the paper.
Rory skirts away and clears his throat as he begins to read.
“‘Where the stones kiss the sky and dragons once flew, seek the door that leads to the truth. Count seven steps east from the ancient throne, then three to the north, where seeds were sown. What was taken can be found again, but only by the blood that flows within.’”
“What the hell does that mean?” Kat asks, her voice echoing off the damp stone walls.
I finally release Kori’s hand, flexing my fingers as blood rushes back into them. “Sorry,” I muttered to her, not meeting her eyes. I can’t deal with sympathy right now. Not when my entire identity has just been shredded.
“It’s a location,” Declan says, taking the paper from Rory. “Dad’s telling us where to find her.”
“And himself,” Wren adds softly.
I snatch the photograph back, staring at the woman who is supposedly my mother. She looks happy, carefree, her dark hair blowing in the ocean breeze as she leans into Tomas’s embrace—nothing like the bitter, haunted woman who raised me.
“This is bullshit,” I spit out, my voice harsher than I intended. “My mother would have told me if Tomas was my father.”
“Would she?” Declan asks quietly. “If she was paid to keep it secret?”
The suggestion hits me like a physical blow.
I think about my childhood—the mysterious payments that always arrived just when things were at their worst, the way my mother would sometimes stare at me with an expression I could never decipher.
The times when Patrick Murphy, drunk and mean, would call me “another man’s bastard” before my mother silenced him with slaps or tears.
“Stones kiss the sky...” Kat murmurs, returning to the riddle. “That could be Skellig Michael. The monastery there is built at the very top of the rock.”
“Dragons?” Wren questions. “Ireland doesn’t have dragons in its mythology, does it?”
“Not literal dragons,” Rory says. “It’s probably referring to something else.”
My head is spinning. I need a drink—several drinks. I need to drown this revelation until it stops feeling like my skin is being peeled away layer by layer.
“I can’t do this,” I announced suddenly. “This is—this is too much.”
I turn and stride toward the passage, desperate for air, for space, for anything that isn’t this suffocating chamber of family secrets. I hear footsteps behind me, but don’t slow down.
“Kane, wait!” It’s Kori’s voice, not one of my cousins—no, my siblings. The thought makes me walk faster.
I emerge into the ruins of the castle, gulping in fresh air like I’ve been underwater. The sky above is gray and threatening rain, perfectly matching my mood. I hear the others emerging from the passage behind me, their voices a dull murmur I can’t focus on.
“Kane,” Declan’s voice cuts through my mental fog. “We need to figure this out.”
I whirl around to face him. “Figure what out? That my entire life has been a lie? That you’re not my cousin but my brother? That somewhere out there, I have a sister I never knew about?”
“Yes,” he says, his face set in that determined expression I’ve always both admired and resented. “All of that.”
“Why would he hide this?” I demand. “Why let me grow up thinking I was just some distant relation you all tolerated?”
“I don’t know,” Declan admits. “Maybe the same reason why I never knew Kat was my half sister. Whatever it is, that riddle is the key to finding him—and your sister.”
“Our sister,” Kat corrects gently, coming to stand beside Declan. The family resemblance between them is suddenly painful to look at. Do I share those same features?
I notice Kori hanging back, clearly uncomfortable with the family drama unfolding before her. This isn’t what she signed up for.
“You should go,” I tell her, my voice rough. “This isn’t your problem.”
She hesitates, tucking a strand of her choppy hair behind her ear. “Are you sure? I mean, I know we just met, but...”
“I’m sure,” I say more firmly. “Rory can take you back to your cottage.”
Something flickers across her face—disappointment? Relief? I can’t tell, and honestly, I don’t have the emotional bandwidth to care right now.
“I’ll take her,” Wren offers. “You boys need to work this out, and I can come back after.”
“Wren is right,” Kat nodded. “You boys need to work this out. I’ll go with her to take Kori home.”
Declan nods his agreement, and Wren gives him a quick kiss before leading Kori toward one of the rental cars. As the three women walk away, Kori glances back at me, her expression unreadable.
Once they’re gone, I turn back to Declan and Rory. “So, what now? We solve Daddy Dearest’s little puzzle and find the sister I never knew I had?”
“And your father,” Rory adds. “If he’s alive, we need to find him before the Russians do.”
“Why the hell did Tomas steal her?” I demanded.
“I don’t know,” Declan says. “But thirty-three years is a long time to hold a grudge. For whatever reason, it must have been important.”
Rory puts his hands on his hips, the riddle still clenched in one. “The ancient throne could refer to the Hill of Tara. That was the seat of the High Kings of Ireland.”
“Seven steps east, three to the north,” I recite, the words already burned into my memory. “Sounds like we’re going on a treasure hunt.”
I look at him—really look at him—trying to see if there’s any resemblance between us. His short hair is nothing like my dark waves, but there’s something about the set of his jaw, the shape of his eyes...
“This is so fucked up,” I mutter, running a hand through my hair.
“Welcome to the MacGallans,” he says dryly. “Where family secrets come with their own treasure maps.”
Despite everything, I feel a reluctant smile tug at my lips. “I need a drink before we do this.”
“No,” Declan says firmly. “You need to be sober. For once in your life, Kane, I need you sharp.”
I want to argue, to tell him he doesn’t get to order me around just because we suddenly share a father. But the truth is, he’s right. If there’s ever been a time when I needed a clear head, it’s now.
“Fine,” I concede. “But when this is over, I’m drinking Ireland dry.”
“I’ll help you,” he says. “Now, let’s figure out this riddle.”
As we head back to the cars, I find myself wondering what Kori is thinking right now. Is she grateful to be escaping the MacGallan family drama? Or is she, like me, caught up in the mystery of it all, curious despite herself?
Not that it matters. After today, I’ll probably never see her again. And that’s for the best. The last thing she needs is to get tangled up with me.
But as we drive away from the castle, heading toward whatever destination Tomas’s riddle will lead us to, I can’t help but glance at my arm where I wrote my number on hers. Part of me hopes she’ll use it. The other part hopes she’s smart enough not to.