Chapter 42
OCTAVIAN
Iwatch her walk out, the door closing behind her.
For a long moment, I don't move. Silence regains the room, and even my breathing sounds different.
I stare at the spot where Keira stood seconds ago, and while the zip ties have made my skin raw and I still have wounds that need tending, I don't feel any of it. Not really.
She said she loves me.
The words loop in my head, over and over: I love you, too.
My throat closes. My vision blurs.
I drop my head back, and all I see is her face. The tears on her cheeks. The way she looked at me.
She knows everything now.
Keira knows what I've done and what I didn't do. What I've lost. What I kept secret. She knows about Nicolae's power over me, my brother, my mother, all of it.
And she still looked me in the eye and kissed me.
She still whispered that she loved me.
I exhale long and slow, something between a laugh and a shaky breath.
For the first time in my life, someone knows the whole truth. The ugliest parts. The parts I buried so deep I convinced myself they didn't exist.
And she looked at me with love and compassion, not disgust and shame.
My shoulder throbs, a dull, insistent ache radiating from the stab wound that I don't know how bad it is. My back is stiff from hours in this chair, muscles cramping, spine protesting every breath. My wrists are on fire, the plastic digging deeper with every unconscious flex of my hands.
It would be easy to collapse here, to let the exhaustion pull me under, but I don't, because I know what comes next.
The second the door opens again, the test begins, and I sure as fuck am going to rise to whatever level Keira needs me. Never again will I let my mind venture into any territory that puts her in any kind of harm, even if I think I won't let it happen or that it'll fix everything.
The door suddenly opens, and I already know who it'll be.
Callum.
He walks in and stops a few feet in front of me, studying me without speaking.
"I told you," he says, voice firm, "next time you saw me, it'd be to untie you or kill you." He pulls out a knife. "Keira made her choice. Today seems to be your lucky day."
He crouches in front of me, the knife resting on the tie around my right foot.
"Before I do this," Callum continues, his tone sharpening, "I need to know, what happens with Nicolae?"
I hold his stare, refusing to flinch.
"I'll tell him the plan went south," I say. "That I tracked Keira. That I found the Phantom King, but he escaped before I could finish him."
Callum's jaw tightens.
"I'll deliver him when we find him," I continue. "That was always the deal. But after that..." I pause, tasting blood on my tongue. "After that, I want no part of the alliance. That's your choice. Yours and Enzo's and Ares's. How you handle Nicolae is up to you."
"And what's your priority then?" Callum asks, his eyes narrowing.
"Keira."
The word comes out hard, certain.
"Not family politics," I add. "Not Nicolae's ambitions. Just her."
Callum studies me for what feels like an eternity.
Then he nods and cuts the ties from my legs. Blood rushes back into my feet, pins and needles stabbing through my calves.
He stands and walks behind me.
"I heard everything, by the way," he says, slicing through the plastic and freeing my hands. "Every word you said to my sister."
I feel nervous and exposed, but I get it. I'd be monitoring too, now that I think about it.
I bring my arms forward slowly, hissing through my teeth as my shoulders sting. I rub my wrists gingerly, smearing some blood across my palms.
Callum comes back into view. "Truthfully, I don't know if I respect you or hate you right now," he says.
"Either's fair."
"Well," he says, tucking the knife into his back pocket, "it's going to take time to bury this."
"I know," I reply. "But I meant what I said."
He crosses his arms. "So did she. And so did I."
He turns around. "For some time, you'll be watched. You understand that?"
"Of course," I say, wincing as I stand. "I have nothing to hide anymore."
"Good," he says, looking over his shoulder. "Let's go upstairs."
I follow Callum, my legs unsteady beneath me. Every step sends a jolt of pain through my shoulder, but I grit my teeth and keep moving.
We climb the stairs, my hand gripping the railing to keep from stumbling, and emerge into the main living room.
Declan is there, standing near the fireplace next to Lyra. His face is firm, and his eyes lock on me the moment I step through the door.
There are a few other men, Shane included, off in the corner, staring at me.
Keira is on the couch, legs tucked under her, an iPad in her lap. She's swiping and typing, her face deep in concentration. She doesn't look up.
Callum stops in the center of the room.
"I gave Keira the choice," he says. "We respect it."
He doesn't look at me. He looks at Declan.
Declan's jaw clenches. His hands ball into fists at his sides.
He nods once to Callum and looks back at me, his eyes full of fire.
He pushes off the wall and closes the distance between us.
"If you hurt her again," he says, his voice dropping low enough that only I can hear, "I don't care what Callum says. I don't care what Keira says. I'll bury you myself."
I hold his stare.
"I know," I say.
Declan's jaw muscles flex, and for a second, I think he's going to hit me, and I wouldn't stop him if he did.
But he steps back, his hands still clenched, his eyes burning with barely restrained fury.
I understand it. If someone did to my sister what I did to Keira, I'd want them dead too. I don't blame him. I'd feel the same.
"Lyra," Callum says, breaking the tension, "can you look over Octavian's wounds, please?"
Lyra looks at Declan first, who nods slightly.
"Sure," she says and walks over to me.
I sit down, and she looks at my shoulder, ripping my shirt open.
"Oh. You've got a stab wound," she says.
"And this," I say, lifting my arm to show my gash.
"Okay, let me get my stuff."
She walks out of the room, and Keira's voice brings my attention back to her.
"I can't find a Cormac Donoghue anywhere." Her tone is sharp, frustrated. "Instagram kids. Random Facebook profiles, yes, but none of them match."
"Who's Cormac Donoghue?" I ask, leaning forward but still trying to keep my distance, careful not to crowd her.
She looks up at me, her green eyes red-rimmed from crying.
"The Phantom King," she says. "That's his name. He told me before..." She trails off, her gaze going back to the screen. "Before you showed up."
A knife twists in my chest. She was alone with him. Talking to him. While I was…
Guilt crashes over me, sharp and suffocating.
"Catch up, man," Declan snaps from across the room.
I ignore him, focusing on Keira.
Lyra comes back into the room and starts patching me up. It stings, but I just focus on the woman I love in front of me and almost feel like it's what I deserve.
I watch her fingers moving faster now on the iPad, more frantic.
"Yeah. Damn it. There's only one article with that name," she says, mostly to herself. "From like forty years ago. A house fire. But everyone died, so..."
Callum slams his hand against the back of a chair.
"Fuck," he growls. "Why can't we make any traction on all this?"
I clear my throat. This is the perfect way for me to show my worth, to her specifically.
"I may have someone," I say. "Back in Bucharest." I wince as Lyra presses something against my shoulder.
Everyone turns to look at me.
"A contact," I continue. "He specializes in finding people who don't want to be found. I've used him for years. If Cormac Donoghue exists, he'll find him."
Declan scoffs. "Like what? A hacker or some shit?"
"Something like that," I say. "He's discreet. Expensive. But he delivers."
Callum's eyes narrow. "Can we trust him?"
I meet his gaze without hesitation.
"I do. I'll pay his fee myself."
Silence fills the room.
Callum looks at Declan. Declan looks at Keira.
"Look," I say, breaking the quiet, "I know trust is thin right now, but if we're going to stop this, Cormac, the Morrígans, whatever's coming, we need every edge we can get."
The words hang in the air, heavy and fragile.
Then Keira speaks.
"He's right. I trust Octavian," she says softly, looking at me.
"I mean, if he's paying for it..." Declan says, trailing off.
"Alright," Callum says finally. "Reach out to him. Keira, give him whatever information he needs. Let's see what your guy finds."
"Okay," I say, feeling relieved that I can do this. "I'll call him right away."
Callum sighs and checks his watch.
"Shit, it's almost 4 a.m. None of us have slept. Keira, after everything, you should go home. Get some rest."
She nods, turning off the iPad. "Yeah. Okay."
Callum turns to me.
"Here's your first trust assignment," he says. "Don't let her leave under any circumstances. Not until we know who this Cormac is and where to find him. Understood?"
"Of course," I reply, starting to stand.
"Hold on, one more second," Lyra says, putting the finishing touches on my arm.
"Declan, you and Lyra should head home too. Take a few men for patrol. Play it safe," Callum says.
"Okay, that should be good," Lyra says, standing.
"Thanks," I say, moving my arm and shoulder. "It feels better already."
That's not one hundred percent true, but I know it will be.
I stand because I want to go. All I want is to be alone with Keira.
To prove to her that what I said was real.
"I'll need a car," I say to Callum. "The one I was using, I didn't drive it back from the hotel."
Callum nods and looks at Declan, then back at me.
"I'll get you one," he says. "And we'll send someone to pick up the other."
"Thank you," I say. "As soon as I hear something, I'll let you know."
Callum tilts his head. "How long does your contact usually take?"
"Depends. It's afternoon there now. Maybe a day or two at most."
"Alright, keep us updated."
He crosses to the intercom on a small table and presses a button.
"Gerald, give Keira and Octavian the keys to the black Audi."
Then Callum turns back to me, his expression unreadable.
"Keep her safe."
I nod.
"I will."
Keira stands, setting the iPad on the couch cushion. She doesn't look at me as she moves toward the door, her shoulders tense, her jaw tight.
I follow a few steps behind, giving her space.
My body aches, shoulder throbbing with every heartbeat, wrists burning, legs unsteady, but none of it matters now that I am with her.
We step into the quiet corridor, the sound of our footsteps muffled by the thick carpet.
Keira stops and turns, her green eyes locking onto mine.
"Don't make me regret this."
I swallow hard, my throat tight.
"I won't."
She holds my gaze for a long moment.
Then she turns and keeps walking.
I follow her into the night, knowing I've been given a second chance I don't deserve, and I'll spend the rest of my life burning every shadow between us to prove I'm worth it.
No matter what it takes.