71. Chapter 71
71
Graysen
P ain…so much pain I thought I’d not survive.
I lay crumpled and broken like a dead leaf crushed underfoot.
My mother cried my name over and over—a shrill, terrified sound. I felt her trembling hands sweeping across my forehead, cupping my swollen, bloodied face before checking the useless arms that lay awkwardly by my sides. I knew her grassy-green eyes would shimmer and her cheeks streaked with silver tears.
But all I saw was her.
Beautiful…
Deadly…
Staring down at me with dispassionate golden eyes. As she stepped over my broken legs, the waves of her red hair swayed over shoulders so snowy-pale that it seemed they’d never tasted sunlight.
The Horned God crouched before my mother, capturing her chin between thumb and forefinger, and angled my mother’s face toward hers. “Tabitha Crowther…we’ve been looking for someone like you for a very long time…”
Panic overwhelmed me…
I knew in this dream and the waking world I’d be clammy with sweat, screaming for my mother. Screaming at the Horned God— Don’t you fucking touch her. Don’t you dare!
And I fell deeper and deeper into the nightmare that would greedily feed upon me the entire time I slept.
But…the dark dreamworld shifted and rippled and faded…as if someone caressed the darkness away…
And the dream of the Horned God dissolved into murkiness…
Peace blanketed me and I fell, fell, fell into blissful nothingness .
I drifted in that space for minutes, hours, an eternity.
Until—
I was jolted from sleep.
Something hard, like a boot, jabbed my gut.
On instinct, I crumpled in on myself, tensing for another kick—
That never came.
Blinking blearily, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and winced, shying away from the dim promise of sunlight. A dawn chorus greeted me, the busy hum of insects, and the gentle sound of small leaves rustled by a breeze.
What the?
Where am I?
Squinting, Caidan leaned over me, scrunching his nose. “You awake?”
“What do you think?” My voice was rough and scratchy from sleep.
It took a moment, as it always did, to readjust myself to waking, to tear myself from the dark dream of the Horned God who had come for my mother. Except, this time, she’d been soothed from my dreams. And for the first time in years, I didn’t awake to the heaviness of guilt and failure pressing upon me, or finding the clothes I’d been wearing were stuck to my body with cold sweat and my limbs were shaking.
I felt...
Gods, I actually felt refreshed, like any other person who slept peacefully and deeply, their energy recharged to meet the day ahead.
Frowning, I blinked rapidly, as I continued to stare upward. There was a crisscrossing of metal trapping me below a scudded sky.
The aviary—
Nelle.
That peaceful feeling fell away, quickly replaced by a dull, hollow ache that gouged a cavernous hole inside my chest. The emptiness swelled and choked up my throat with such ferocity I almost couldn’t breathe.
She was gone.
My little bird had flown her cage and I hoped to Zrenyth I’d never find her. Not me. Not my family. And certainly not the Horned Gods.
I hadn’t known this kind of raw emptiness before. It scraped against my skin and bones like skeletal leaves against a tombstone. The experience was almost equal to the desolation I felt after my mother had died. Nelle had been my world since I’d first laid eyes on her as a child. She’d always been there, right dead-center of my life .
Now…
She was gone.
And I was left alone.
Caidan shifted his weight. Blades of grass were crushed beneath his shoes. And for a moment there, I felt the same way, as if his heels were crushing my soul down into the dirt. Shoving back at the bitter emptiness of losing Nelle, I rallied myself.
Scowling, I pushed the locks of hair from my forehead. “What the hells are you doing here?”
My brother stepped away, shooting me a smug grin. His godsdamned dimples practically winked at me. “Someone had to watch over you while you slept your sorry ass off.”
I sat up, snatching a dagger from my inner jacket in a whiplash of motion, and hurled the lethal blade at him. It thudded into the ground, a hairsbreadth from his shiny shoes, the hilt vibrating with the force.
His smug grin got wider. “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” The dull light of dawn edged his brawny figure as he leaned down to tug my dagger from the earth and twirl the hilt around his fingers. Swaggering over to the park bench, he collapsed into it, slinging an arm over the top of the backrest before stretching his long legs out. Propping his chin on one fisted hand, he lazily tossed the dagger into the air, to catch and toss back up again. I noticed sometime during the night he’d removed his tux jacket and rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up.
Violet eyes slid to mine. “Anyone could have slit your throat while you slept.”
I slowly rotated my spine from side to side, my body stiff and sore from lying on the ground. “No one gets a jump on me.”
He hissed out an exasperated breath. “While you’re awake, idiot.”
Caidan had a point there. But fucked if I was going to say that.
My brother continued. “There were, in fact, a couple of shoddy attempts on your life by Byron’s minions throughout the night.”
My eyebrows shot up. Not that I should have been surprised. Being fast asleep and sprawled out in the aviary, I was vulnerable and pretty much fair game.
“Got your back, brother,” Caidan said with a wink, snatching the dagger out of the air. However, his expression grew darker and his tone became serious. “You didn’t alert any of us.”
I simply shrugged. Because of Nelle, there was no way I could have contacted any of my family. “Lost my phone.” She’d incinerated it, along with my previous tuxedo. And when I succumbed to sleep, it often happened fast. Sometimes I tipped over at the most inconvenient moments, or in the worst places, like last year when I’d been in the middle of a meeting with one of the Yakuza crime lords. Admittedly, meeting was a loose term. It was more like dunking the fucker’s head under the frothy water of his Jacuzzi for daring to skim the coffers of the Horned Gods. His replacement got my message—don’t cross the Horned Gods, and better yet, don’t cross me.
We often worked in pairs, and if I was off by myself, I usually managed to send an alert to one of my brothers before I fell into darkness. This time I didn’t have the ability to do so.
“Kenton and Jett had already left to shadow the convoy of tithes.” Caidan glanced around at the palatial birdcage and the birch trees, before sliding his line of sight towards the white mansion that peeked through the heavy boughs of the garden surrounding the aviary. “Besides, the party was getting dull. I wanted a little bit of fun before the family headed home.” He tossed my dagger back. It soared upwards into a gentle arc and then plunged downward, angling between my legs.
Right before the blade thumped into the earth, I reached out and snatched it out of the air. Rolling my eyes at him, I slipped the dagger into the inside pocket of my jacket.
Rising, I rolled my shoulders, stretched my arms above my head, and arched my spine. The sun hadn’t risen yet, but the horizon was lightening with the dawn that dusted the high clouds in pastel hues. I strode for the door of the aviary, cutting a glance over my shoulder. “I’ll get my shit and then let’s bail.” Reaching the opening, I halted. Resting my hand on the cold metal bars, I tapped them with a finger, as curiosity got the better of me. “How did you find me?”
An abrupt, tinny ringing noise cut through the natural sounds surrounding us.
Caidan fished his phone out of a pocket and swiped the screen to take the call. Before he answered, he replied with, “Evvie discovered you here asleep and got hold of me. She was looking for Nelle.”
I blinked, my mouth falling open.
Huh?
Evvie?
Evelene Wychthorn who abhorred my existence in her little sister’s life? Guess I wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe she’d warmed to me after helping her put Corné in his place.
“Brother…” Caidan answered. He gave me a pained look, the same one we’d often share whenever Kenton called .
Dark locks of hair feathered between my fingers as I raked my hands across my head, craning my neck back as I yawned. I guessed from the feeble light spreading across the sky I’d had a good six hours of sleep. I needed more, but six would do. Unbuttoning my jacket, I shrugged it off and folded it over the crook of my arm. Scrabbling at my tie to unknot it one-handed, I caught the dark look crossing Caidan’s features. His lips thinned and he cursed softly, dragging a hand down the side of his face while listening to whatever Kenton had to say. “Are you serious?” A long pause. “Why the hells would he do that?” He paced the aviary, tossing a pissed-off expression in my direction.
I stiffened. What was going on? I jutted my chin at Caidan, frowning, and he knew I was asking about the phone call.
Jett —he mouthed.
I groaned, tipping my head back and scrubbing my face with my palms. What the hells has Jett got himself into this time?
“Alright… Yeah, I got it… I got it!” Caidan barked. When Kenton fell into one of his bossy-ass moods, he was a bitch to deal with. “We’ll be there. Gray’s awake—” A pause. “Now, we’re coming now… Fuck, Kenton, don’t get your panties in a twist, we’re on our way.” He ended the call and kicked at a broken branch the storm winds had brought down. It spun through the air and struck the aviary’s wrought iron cage with a metallic twang. “Fuck!”
I moved deeper into the aviary. “What the hells is going on?”
Caidan let out a raw groan, flinging a hand upward before clenching his fingers into a fist around his phone and shook it. “The tithes. One of the trucks got hijacked.”
“By those—”
But he cut in, shaking his head, knowing exactly what I was referring to—that mysterious faction down in the catacombs. “No, not those things. Whatever the hells they are.” He shoved his phone into his back pocket. “We really need to come up with some kind of name rather than things. ”
“What happened to the tithes?” Last I knew, Novak had assigned Jett and Kenton, along with one of his family’s enforcers, to shadow the convoy of tithes from the Wychthorn estate in case that mysterious faction struck our shipment. The tithes had been split into three different vehicles, heading for three separate locations, with an array of foot soldiers for protection. “Which convoy got hit?”
“Sirro’s.” Caidan braced his hands on his hips, dropping his gaze to his feet. He scuffed the tip of his shoe into the grass to upturn dirt in agitation. “Half of them are missing. The rest burned. Kenton was first to get there—Jett’s scent was all over the scene.”
Shock flared through me. “Jett did that?”
He nodded slowly. “The good thing is, those things leave no trace of scent, so Kenton placed the blame on them.”
“Holy shit.” Great swathes of anxiety bloomed in a toxic breath inside my chest. If Jett’s treachery was discovered… Hells… By betraying the Horned Gods, he’d put our entire House in jeopardy.
Caidan glanced over, his narrowed eyes shining with anger. “Yeah. That’s putting it lightly. What is Jett doing?”
And then it sunk in. And I knew exactly why, or rather who, he’d done it for.
Red.
I groaned. “That red-headed girl. The tithe Sirro picked for himself—the Unbroken Shard.” And I explained to Caidan of our tithe hunt, how Red had been the intended victim of Gaptooth and what I’d ordered Jett to do—take Red somewhere far away to keep her safe.
“Well, obviously, someone was following him that night.”
“You think?” I bit back sarcastically. It would be too much of a coincidence that another House had been hunting in the same location that Jett had taken Red.
“Which House brought her in as tithe?” my brother asked.
My hair ruffled as I shook my head. I had no clue. At the blessing ceremony, the tithes had been mixed together and not presented House by House. It wouldn’t be easy to find out who’d stolen Red, but we had our ways.
“Jett’s gone off-grid. Kenton’s got no idea where to. He’s playing it as if he’s sent Jett off to hunt whoever hit the convoy.” Snatching up his jacket from where it hung over the armrest of the wooden bench, Caidan gritted out, “Ah, shit, let’s go. Kenton’s waiting for us. He’s pissed—”
“When isn’t he?”
My younger brother huffed a laugh in agreement.
I stalked toward the open door of the aviary. As soon as we met up with Kenton, hopefully between the three of us, we’d figure out how to find Jett and get our House out of this mess. Fuck. My father and aunt were going to castrate Jett when they got their hands on him.
Arching an eyebrow, I asked, “What about our tithe?” The fucker who choked young women to death. Sirro had picked him too.
Keeping pace alongside me, Caidan shrugged. “Burned with the rest, I guess.”
A shiver rolled down my spine. What the fuck had Jett done?
I was stepping outside the aviary, my shoes leaving the wild grasses for the rambling path when I heard Marissa’s panicked voice. “Nelle…Nelle!”
My footsteps faltered.
Confusion splintered my mind apart, and at first, I wasn’t sure if I’d heard right until Marissa cried Nelle’s name a third time.
Dread coiled tight in my gut.
What the hells was Nelle playing at? She wasn’t supposed to be here. She was supposed to be long gone, so far away by now, I’d never be able to track her down.
Tiny leaves brushed along the crown of my head as I ducked under the low-hanging branches from the trees that surrounded the gigantic birdcage. Caidan followed as I crunched across the pebbled path and out into the open.
There was a small gathering on the grass. A few early-rising servants stood behind Marissa, standing halfway down the length of the mansion. They, like their mistress, were staring upwards, their crisp black uniforms a blot against the fresh green lawn.
Nelle’s mother wore a robe. One of her bony hands clutched the silky material together at her chest while she’d outstretched her other hand, pointing upward. I followed her line of sight and came to a stumbling halt.
Horror hit hard like a fist to the kidneys.
The first fingers of light stretched across the sky, turning it into the shades of my sister’s eyes—dusky blue with clouds of violet and peach. And right up there, on top of the four-story mansion’s roof, at the very edge, stood Nelle.
Panic and fear erupted, billowing in my gut in a volatile storm that seared through my veins and froze me to the spot.
Nelle…what the?
I watched in alarm as she raised her arms on either side, palms upward, eyes falling half-mast as if she waited for the first ray of light to brush against her cheeks and warm her face. Her soft nightie hugged her lithe body as a gentle breeze caught the material and teased the ends of her long, wavy hair.
I barely heard my brother utter, “ Holy Zrenyth…what is she doing? ”
Because my heart stopped beating.
Someone was up there with her—
Byron.
Nelle spared her father a glance. There was nothing on her face, no emotion that I could read. No fear of where she stood with the tips of her toes curled around the lip of the roofline. She didn’t balk at the dizzying height below. Nor did she seem afraid of who was inching carefully toward her over the slate-tiled roof .
I couldn’t read the expression on Byron’s face. I didn’t know if he was there to save Nelle from the edge or push her over it.
Marissa shrieked, “Get away from her!” She took several hurried steps back, balling both hands. “Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare!”
Nelle turned her face toward the horizon, those expressive gray eyes seeking the sunrise. The first ray of sunlight struck her honeyed skin, illuminating it with brilliance.
She bodily swayed as if she was rolling on the balls of her feet back to her heels.
Her whole body rocked forward—
Then tipped back—
Byron lunged, momentarily blocking my line of sight to her.
My heart slammed into my throat—
And then…I couldn’t see. I couldn’t see what he was doing to her…but I saw the outcome and heard Marissa’s scream of terror.
Nelle pitched backward into the air.
The position of her body, the way she faced Byron, it was as if she’d changed her mind and tried to step to safety. Instead, she was pushed over the edge.
Head going back, legs tipping up—
She fell, and it seemed to take forever watching her fall—
Down,
Down,
Down.
She fell headfirst toward the flagstone path below.
Stone. Unyielding. Unforgiving.
At that height and smashing head first, she was going to die.
Pure terror twisted my insides.
Everything screamed at me to— MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!
In utter panic, I threw myself forward, surging across the pebbled path. There was too much distance between the aviary and the mansion.
Marissa froze, with her mouth open and eyes wide with horror.
I ran. A blur. Pushing, pushing, pushing.
Faster, harder, faster.
I was the wild wind. A ferocious roaring squall within a hurricane.
I’d catch her, break her fall, shatter every godsdamned bone in my body to save her!
Nelle…Nelle! NELLE!
I was there, and time slowed .
Slowed right down.
And I saw her falling in small increments. Strands of moonlit hair streamed across her cheeks. Loose limbs flailing. Short nightie rippling with her descent.
I was there—
Reaching for her—
Throwing myself bodily—
Sliding beneath to break her fall—
I’ll never forget that sickening thud. The splintering of bone. Organs splitting.
Her fragile skull struck the paving stone first. Her body followed, crumpling inward like an accordion to slam against the flagstone.
The tips of my fingers hit her fragile body, just as she smashed into an unyielding stone, and I shunted her sideways with my motion.
Too late… I’d been too late…
She lay sprawled awkwardly across the flagstone, and I scrambled to reach her.
Oh my gods…oh my gods…OH MY GODS!
Her large gray eyes stared blankly up at the sky.
There was nothing in my head but a screaming sound of panic and loss.
Nelle, Nelle, NELLE—
Sticky wetness spread out beneath her head—blood.
It oozed between her lips, her nose, and the corners of her eyes. A stark, horrid contrast against her moonlit coloring. She was a canvas of gray and ash…and now bright crimson.
I hovered over her, my hands numb and unfeeling as I ran my palms over her broken body.
Nelle gasped, her spine bowing.
Her chest convulsed. And there came a wet-burbling sound as she tried sucking oxygen into collapsed lungs. An agonizing heartbeat later, she expelled a vicious cough. Blood splattered across her cheeks and mine, too.
I didn’t know what to do.
I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!
Her eyes glazed over, becoming cloudy, far-seeing, not focusing on anything.
“Nelle…Nelle… NELLE… ”
She shuddered and spasmed. Blood bubbled from her mouth. Then her limbs fell slack, as did her entire body. She let out an awful sound—a long wet whistling breath. And her collapsed chest didn’t rise again.
Those pretty eyes that sparked with fire and glowed in happiness became blank as the life inside her winked out. And that glorious spirit of hers left me .
No…Gods, no…
No, no, no, no…NO!
I picked Nelle up and cradled her in my shaky arms. Broken…she was a broken bird, wings snapped at odd angles. I could feel the wrongness in her body. The shattered bones in my grip. I couldn’t breathe, it was as if she’d stolen my last breath as soon as she’d given her last. There was only devastation, such raw, vast devastation that devoured my soul with slivered teeth that left not a shred of myself behind as it consumed me entirely, leaving nothing but emptiness inside a hollow chest.
I didn’t know how long I sat there, holding her lifeless body. Screaming at Zrenyth, Skalki, Brangwene— Bring her back, bring her back, brING HER BACK!
Voices…so many voices surrounded me. But I didn’t take them in. I heard them—
What did you do, Byron? WHAT DID YOU DO?!
A shriek. A wail. A scream.
Nelle…oh my gods, Nelle, sweetheart…
You did this to her! You killed her!
Never. Never.
Gray… Gray…
But I didn’t hear them. My mind was desperately trying to take this in. Understand it all. It wasn’t possible. She wasn’t supposed to die this way. She wasn’t supposed to leave me like this.
Someone was making a strangled noise that cut through the clamor, a loud keening.
When I finally registered someone’s hand on my shoulder, squeezing their fingers hard as they shook me back to awareness…I realized it was me. It was me making that grief-stricken sound.
My brother, Caidan, gripped my shoulder, looking as shocked as I felt. Evvie clung to him, trembling. The shine of tears coursed down her blotchy cheeks.
Pity-filled eyes set within a face that had paled to an ashen hue implored me. “Gray, let her go.”
I violently wrenched myself free from his hold. Turning back to Nelle, grief pierced my heart. Gods, she was so delicate and light in my arms, her broken body limp and lifeless. My shaky fingers stroked through her beautiful wild hair, matted with crimson, the strands of moonlight now a blood-red moon.
Why did she stay?
She was supposed to be gone. Long gone. I thought she’d have escaped the estate and swifted away. That she’d swift and swift and swift until even I’d never be able to find her. She wasn’t supposed to be here. I pressed my quivering lips to her temple. “Why do you never listen to me?”