Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Peach
LABOUR - the cacophony - Paris Paloma
I don't think we're in Stoneview anymore. I'm in some limousine, my hands finally free, my gaze straight ahead, eyes blinking slowly.
I'm still crying.
Not because of my situation, but because I want to know if Wren is okay.
"It's a long drive." That's Elijah on my right. "We'll stop twice. Sleep in a hotel both times. You don't ask for help, you don't try to run away. I don't even want to see you blink at a receptionist. Clear?"
I'm in a middle seat, but there's no one on my left. Opposite me is Monty Hunter, staring at me, waiting for my answer to the question his son asked.
"Is he going to live?" I croak, running my arm under my nose. "Wren."
Monty's upper lip curls with disgust. But no one answers me.
Elijah continues. "When we arrive at base, you’ll get a room, clean clothes. Bathroom is communal. You'll eat and share the common area with the other girls. I'll be training you. We have six months, so I need you to behave, Peach."
"You're not going to kill him, are you? He's safe now…now that I'm with you?"
Elijah's hand is quicker than I can even process. He backhands me hard enough to throw me against the window.
"You're going to be sold to someone who will do whatever he wants with you, and all you want to know about is Wren ?"
Cheek throbbing, I drag myself back to a sitting position, look Elijah in the eye, and nod. "You can try all you want. You will never be half the man he is."
Elijah snorts, but I catch the flash of vulnerability in his eyes before he looks away.
"Don't worry, Son. She’ll soon feel the consequences of her actions." Monty keeps his eyes on me as he says that, but I don’t think he expected me to stare right back.
"The consequences of killing all your little friends, Mr. Hunter?" I smile at him. "Who says I won't do the same where you're taking me?"
"Shut up, Penelope," Elijah barks.
I don't. I keep staring at the man who had plans for me, but never realized I was more than someone who would take it without fighting back.
"You're dying to know, aren't you?" I say to Monty. "Why I killed them? Why I couldn't behave like the other Heras?"
He narrows his eyes. Pitiful man that he is. He has everything, but he wants more. Answers. So I give them to him.
"Do you know who controls the world, Mr. Hunter?"
"The Silent Circle, and it’d do you good to remember that."
"Yes, all of you," I agree. "From your grandfathers, your fathers, to you, and soon, it’ll be the sons you raised to make the same selfish, dangerous, destroying decisions you did. And do you know who suffers?"
His gaze points at me, but I don't think he understands what that means.
"Your mothers. Your sisters. Your daughters. Women, " I confirm. "Since the dawn of time, all you’ve allowed us to do is suffer. Every day, we’re forced to live with the consequences of your actions. Hide your bodies, show yourself. Be quiet, smile more. Give us children. Raise our daughters to fear our sons and raise our sons to abuse our daughters."
"Are you talking about the Circle now, or the world." He chuckles mockingly.
"Being a woman in this world is the exact equivalent to being a Hera to a Shadow. It’s just a different level. Become a Hera, you will get success and power, as long as you submit to the male ego. Stroke it, nurse it, and turn yourself meek when it hurts. Do you know what you’ve all done? Forced us to survive by hanging on to men’s fake promises of protection."
I snort, and it turns into a loud, desperate cackle.
" Protection. What fucking protection? Every day in this world, you men start wars, celebrate your wins, mourn your fallen soldiers. But do you know what you forget? The women you raped. You crush laws under the heels of your shiny shoes, revert us to old times because you’re scared. But do you know what you rejoice in? The women who bleed to death. You celebrate us if we stay in our place. If we don’t become threatening. If the minorities who are smarter and more qualified than you don’t get too close to power. If the privileged women stick to their internalized misogyny. If the people who are different from you keep fearing you."
I look him up and down with all the disgust I can muster.
"You are so fragile and weak that you would rather see us die than make space for us. I watch you murmur to a god who has died for men’s sins. But watch my lips, we, women, die from your sins. Every day."
I take a deep, relaxing breath that seems to make him uneasy.
"So I killed you. One. By. One."
I smirk at him. Everything is going to be fine, just because I got to watch Monty Hunter lose his composure.
"It’s your bodies," I say softly. "But it was my choice to bury them. And it was a pleasure to watch every single one of you die painfully. So…" I shrug. "Burn me at the stake, Shadows. Because this is what happens when you don’t let us be part of the system. When you don’t let us change things from the inside. A revolution. And if you think you're safe now that you're putting me away? Think again." I lean forward, lowering my voice to a whisper. "Who says I acted alone? And who says any of you are safe with your Hera?"
Monty shifts in his seat, taking my threat seriously. I enjoy my little win until Elijah pulls out a gun and points it at my temple.
"Did anyone help you?" he hisses.
I shake my head as my heart pumps a new wave of adrenaline through my veins. "No."
He presses the gun against my skin, and I can't stop the whimper pushing up my throat.
"Names."
"No one helped me. I promise you. No one helped me."
My fear makes Monty smile. "Not so strong now, are we?" He laughs.
That's until his phone rings, with Duval written on the screen. He picks up, putting it on speaker for Elijah to hear.
" He burned it to the ground! " Eugene screams on the other side. There're a million sounds around him, and he's panting, clearly running.
"Calm down," Monty replies, brow creased. "What are you talking about?"
" The temple. He set the temple on fire."
I lean back in my seat, close my eyes, and smile to myself.
"Who?" Monty asks, in complete denial.
" Who do you think? Your fucking son! "
"Wren is tied up in a dungeon," he hisses.
" He broke free. He killed them. Oh my god, he killed so many of them. It was a bloodbath. " Duval pants, catching his breath. " And now he's coming for you. "
I look at them again, just to see Duval's call cut off by a call from Wren.
Monty's wild eyes go to Elijah as he answers.
" I told you, didn't I?" Wren's savage voice resonates in the car, and my nerves fade into butterflies at the sound. " That if anything happened to her, there would be nowhere for you to hide. "
He hangs up right away.
I lick my lips, look at both of them, and whisper, "I think you made him snap. "
A second later, something crashes into our car.