42. Gemini
42
GEMINI
“ W here is she?” I growl as soon as I open my front door, Mercy and Belladonna standing on the other side.
It’s been three long days since I learned that Veil is with child— my child—and I’m about ready to raze the entire city just to find her.
“Lovely to see you too,” Mercy says, clipping my shoulder as she walks in.
Belladonna glares at me, still standing outside the door, until she relents and says, “She’s been staying with me.” Pushing her way through the threshold, she adds over her shoulder, “And, no, she doesn’t want to see you.”
Indignation flares inside my chest.
She doesn’t want to see me?
Impossible.
Both Belladonna and Mercy stand in the middle of the living room, arms crossed. They are visual opposites—one dressed in all black, the other in all white.
“This is ridiculous,” I mutter under my breath but loud enough for them to hear.
Walking to the wet bar, I pour myself a scotch, neat. Champagne feels too festive for the occasion. I don’t bother offering a drink to the others.
“What’s ridiculous , Gemini, is how you thought you’d walk away from this unscathed,” Mercy says, finally settling on the couch, Belladonna following suit.
I swallow down the scotch in one large gulp and pour myself another glass before turning to face my jury of two.
“Since when do we care about the consequences of our actions?” I ask dryly as I sit down, forcing a bored lilt to my tone.
Belladonna clicks her tongue, but doesn’t answer before looking away.
I puff out a cold laugh. “Don’t tell me … Belladonna’s made a friend?”
Her gaze snaps back to mine, and she sneers.
Mercy clears her throat, most likely to try to break the tension. She stares me down, her face as blank as an untouched canvas. “You can’t be this clueless,” she says.
Guilt pangs against my ribs, twisting my stomach, but I pretend not to be affected. “Whatever do you mean, my dear Cee-Cee?”
She tilts her head, dark hair tumbling off her shoulders, narrowing her eyes. “Tell me, why jeopardize the one thing you claim is your destiny?”
“Jeopardize?” I scoff in disbelief. Finishing off the scotch, I settle my drink on the glass coffee table in front of me. “Who said anything about jeopardizing my destiny?”
“Veil,” Belladonna answers.
My heart drops, and I suddenly wonder what kind of conversations they’ve been having behind my back.
“She’s mine,” I hiss.
“Please,” Mercy volleys back, crossing her arms. “You, of all people, should know that you cannot own a servant of the gods. You’re living in a selfish fantasy.”
I spring up, my chest rising quickly with anger.
“Let me see her,” I demand, “before you pollute her head further with more of your silly notions.”
“No need to pollute her head when your actions have already done exactly that,” Belladonna says.
A sudden and overwhelming fear grips my lungs, and I forget how to breathe.
Did I push her too far?
The room falls silent, ripe with simmering hostility.
Slowly walking up to the windows, I peer out into the inky harbor, the stars twinkling on the surface of the water. I find my reflection staring back at me, and I yearn to see Veil’s reflection beside mine.
I turn back to face Mercy and Belladonna.
“And what about the others? Do they think the same?”
There’s a flash of pity in Mercy’s green eyes as she slowly nods, and my anger flips on its axis, now directed at me.
Two days later, I find myself standing at the entrance of Belladonna’s condo building, trying to smooth-talk the two guards manning the door. Luckily, since my name is still Gemini Foley, it doesn’t take much effort for them to agree to let me pass.
I run the risk of running into Belladonna, but I’m much too impatient to wait for Veil to come to her senses. The silent treatment has gone on for long enough. I need to see her. I need to talk to her.
I’ve never visited Belladonna’s condo before, but it doesn’t take long for me to figure out the layout, and after a few wrong turns, I find Veil curled up in a reading chair in what looks like the library. It’s mid-afternoon, but the pouring rain has darkened the skies, cloaking Pravitia and this room under a moody gray light.
“My beloved,” I sigh with relief when I finally see her.
I step into the library without any invitation, but my heart cracks when a look of alarm splashes across Veil’s face.
“Gemini,” she says, her book dropping to her lap.
This time, the tone of fear in her voice isn't welcome, and I yearn to pluck the sound directly off of her vocal cords.
I fall to my knees in front of her chair, reaching for her hands, but she evades me, crossing her arms, so I rest them on her bare knee instead.
“Forgive me,” I say breathlessly, my gaze imploring her to hear me, hear the ache.
She doesn’t appear moved, and my throat tightens as I wait for her to speak. My heartbeat fills the silence for far too long before her lips begin to move again.
“For what exactly?” she says slowly, her brows furrowing.
“What? I?—”
“What exactly are you apologizing for, Gemini?” She pushes my hands off her knee, and my arms fall to the sides. “The pregnancy? For tricking me? For everything else?”
“For whatever you want,” I rush out to say. “Just as long as I can bring you home.”
She lets out a groan of frustration, shoving my shoulder so that I slump backward on my ass while she stands up, distancing herself from me.
“I don’t think you are physically capable of showing remorse.” She crosses her arms and curls in on herself as her lips quiver. “I was right; you are a monster.”
Frustration spikes, but it’s mixed with a deep ache at seeing her like this.
“What do you expect from me, Veil? I worship the god of trickery . How can I apologize for something that I was born to chase?”
“I am your equal , Gemini.” She seethes. “I am not one of your lowly followers.” Her nostrils flare, breathing hard. “Are you so conceited that you cannot see the difference between the two?”
Her words prickle uncomfortably across my skin as the silence falls between us, the rain growing louder outside the library windows. I turn, desperate for her forgiveness, ready to give up anything—everything—for her. Whatever she wants, I’ll accept.
“Terminate the pregnancy then. Erase my mistakes. We can start over.”
She narrows her eyes as she sneers at me. Whatever I say only seems to enrage her further.
“You can attempt to erase your wrongs, Gemini, but it will never erase the betrayal.” I try to speak, but she cuts me off. “And if I do decide to get rid of it, it won’t be for any reason but my own.” Her arms tighten around her chest. “Now, leave.”
My chest feels cavernous, a gaping hole where my heart should be.
“You can’t stay at Belladonna’s forever,” I mutter as some sort of weak protest, eloquence escaping me.
“I’m not,” she answers primly, raising her chin and straightening her shoulders.
“Then come home,” I implore.
“I have my own house now.”
I take a step back, my mind reeling, having never expected for this to go this far. “A house ?” I repeat in shock. “In what neighborhood?”
“Mine.”
I’m momentarily stunned, uttering half-finished responses before croaking out a simple, “How?”
She sighs, as if fatigued by our conversation. “Mercy and Wolfgang thought it fair to donate me some land.” She pauses. “They gave me half of your neighborhood.”
“Half of my neighbor — and no one bothered telling me?” I sputter out loudly, a mixture of shock and anger lacing my voice.
She shrugs and looks away. “Not my problem.”
I gnash my teeth together, my heart beating wildly with indignation.
I need to find Mercy.
I raise a finger toward Veil. “This is not over.”
It’s a threat. A promise. A vow.
I don’t let her protest before I storm out.