Chapter 9
Malachi
“My father has given the okay for us to take the men out of Verona Falls,” Cain announces from the doorway.
His voice carries a lightness that must come from relief.
We’ve all been worried about what his father would say, but for Cain, it’s more than simply needing those men.
It’s personal. His father saying no would have cut deep and reopened old wounds.
He steps into the room, and I’m relieved when Ophelia follows, holding Daisy’s hand.
I can’t say I’m overjoyed to see Daisy back here, but I guess we need her.
Ophelia is looking a little calmer, too, which is the main thing.
Daisy keeps shooting us all secretive, wide-eyed glances as if she can’t believe what she saw.
Her issues with sex aren’t my problem right now; the bigger picture is more important.
“Good,” I say. “We need to prepare to get on the road, then. We’ve already lost a lot of time.”
I drag my hand through my hair then grimace at my nails. I remember Ophelia’s offer to paint them for me. Fuck. I so badly want to sink into a normal, peaceful life with her and the guys, it actually hurts.
“We have enough,” Cain replies. “I imagine Ophelia will want to shower and pack some things before we leave.”
Daisy’s eyes widen in panic. “Wait. You can’t take Ophelia with you.”
We men exchange a glance.
“We can’t?” Roman questions.
She shakes her head, frantic. “No, of course not. The Prophet is obsessed with her. He wants to make her a part of the ascension. He’ll be looking for her. If you take Ophelia, you’ll be delivering her right into his hands.”
I narrow my eyes. I don’t like this. “So, you expect us to leave her here? Alone?”
“There are many people here,” Daisy argues. “At the college. She won’t be alone.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Rome says. “They don’t care for her the way we do. We’ve already been separated once. We won’t do it again.”
Daisy glances around. “Don’t you have people here who will protect her? Look at this place. It has armed guards and everything.”
“We’re taking them with us,” I tell her.
“Not the ones on the main gate,” she replies. “They’ll be staying, right?”
Daisy seems desperate for Ophelia to stay. Why does she so badly want us to leave Ophelia behind? Is it because then we’ll be away from her, leaving her vulnerable? Yes, there might be armed men here, but they wouldn’t sacrifice their lives for her in the way we would.
Suspicion burns deep in my gut, and it’s making me want to shake Daisy and get the truth out of her.
“That’s not good enough. She’s safer with us.” I’m done with this conversation.
“No, please. If she’s near, the Prophet will sense it. He’ll know where she is and take her.”
Ophelia’s face pales, and now I want to fucking throttle Daisy. This is tapping right into all of Ophelia’s deepest fears. Screw that.
I clench my jaw, trying to keep my anger under control. “This is fucking insane. He’s not going to sense her. He’s not some all-knowing entity with supernatural powers.” As soon as I speak, I realize my mistake when Ophelia flinches. Shit.
In saying that, I’ve basically called Ophelia insane, too, and that’s not how I meant it.
Daisy is making everything worse with her dramatics, and I don’t want it to result in us having to leave Ophelia behind.
It’s also more than a little hypocritical for me to say that when Roman believes in the supernatural, and we’ve joined him during his rituals, but Daisy isn’t to know any of that.
“Umm, I am here, guys,” Ophelia says, holding up both hands and shooting me a hurt, angry glare. “Don’t you think I should have a say in whether I stay or not?”
Daisy snatches up her hand again, holding it to her and squeezing it. “You’re staying here, right, Ophelia? You wouldn’t put yourself in the way of the Prophet again, would you?”
I wait, breath caught in my throat. Will my words affect what Ophelia does? I hope not. I hope she understands how much I care for her.
Ophelia blows out a long breath and shakes her head at Daisy. “I can’t stay here, Daisy. I have to go wherever the guys are. They’re right when they say we’re not going to be separated again.”
Daisy’s eyes fill with tears. “No, you can’t. This is a terrible mistake.”
Roman steps in. “Ophelia, why don’t you take Daisy upstairs to get ready to leave? Maybe let her see if there are any other clothes she wants to borrow? Perhaps some sweatpants if you have any, and a sweater or two? It might get cold while we’re away.”
Because she ran away from Camile, Daisy never did choose any clothing, and she’s going to need more than the dress Ophelia has lent her while we’re at the compound.
“Really?” Ophelia asks. “You’re just going to send me off upstairs and overrule me? Make the decision without me?”
“We need to talk about this. In private,” he adds more firmly. “Trust me, please.”
He’s asking her to take Daisy out of the equation, which is a good thing because I don’t want her pale, watchful face looming over us as we try to talk about this. I just hope Ophelia understands that whatever decision we make, it’ll be made with her best interest at heart.
“Fine,” Ophelia huffs, “but if I don’t agree, I’m not doing it.
I have a voice now, too.” With those final words, she pulls a worried looking Daisy out of the room with her.
A moment later, we hear the hollow thud of footsteps on the stairs.
Ophelia’s are louder than usual, and I’m sure she’s stomping a little.
Cain sinks down onto the couch, his elbows on his knees, his fingers steepled at his lips.
“My vote is that we do the opposite of what Daisy is suggesting. I don’t trust her.
Maybe that makes me a complete asshole, but it all just feels too convenient.
She arrives here and then tries to separate us? I don’t like it.”
“I agree,” Roman says. “She seems desperate for Ophelia to stay here. Is that because the Prophet has given Daisy instructions to make Ophelia stay, so he knows exactly where she is?”
I take a couple of paces, shaking off some pent-up energy. “If that’s the truth, then he’ll be sending people here to take her. That takes some big balls. Daisy was right when she said we have armed guards here. We always said Verona Falls was the safest place for Ophelia to be.”
Roman jerks his head toward the window. “Yeah, but that was with Cain’s father’s men here. We’ll be taking them with us.”
I rub my hand across my mouth, thinking. “Which means Ophelia coming too makes more sense. With both us and Cain’s men, how could she be safer here? We know Verona Falls isn’t impenetrable. There have been security breaches before.”
Roman lets out a sigh. “I hope we’re wrong and that’s not what’s going on. It would break Ophelia’s heart if she found out Daisy betrayed her.”
“We don’t know for sure that’s the case, though,” Cain replies, “and maybe Ophelia will never need to learn the truth, even if it is.”
Rome clenches his jaw and winces in pain. “Secrets are never a good idea. That kind of shit can backfire real quick.”
“We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Cain says. “Borrowing trouble. We don’t know if Daisy is lying. Until we do, let’s just go with whatever is safest for Ophelia, because I think we can all agree that the Prophet can’t actually sense her, so she’s safer with us.”
Roman clears his throat. “I’m not sure I’m as blasé as you two are about the idea that the Prophet can’t sense her.
I shouldn’t need to explain to you both that there are powers in this world we can’t fully understand.
It still doesn’t change the fact, however, that I agree she’s safer with us.
We will protect her with our very last breaths. ”
I look between my fellow Preachers. “We’re all in agreement, then? Ophelia comes with us, and Daisy, too. We all stick together?”
“Agreed,” they say in unison.
I’m relieved because it could go so wrong if we leave her here alone.
In my mind, I can see the Prophet and his men closing in on Verona Falls while we are far away.
Of course, if the Prophet is coming here, we won’t find him at the commune either.
Our journey will be for nothing. No, I believe it’s far more likely he’ll send others to do his dirty work.
If Daisy has betrayed Ophelia for him, his men probably have instructions to bring Ophelia back to him.
Men like the Prophet prefer to be on their own territory where they feel protected.
“Until we’re certain, we don’t say anything to Ophelia about our suspicions about Daisy,” I warn the others.
“Nothing is going to drive a wedge between us quicker than claiming the girl she thinks of like a sister is going to betray her. If she takes Daisy’s side, which she may well do, we’ll only be risking her safety more. ”
Cain gives a curt nod. “I agree. We keep this to ourselves.”
We’re piling up secrets here, and keeping things from Ophelia, but we’re doing so in her best interests.
Sometimes, the truth sets you free, but other times it’s a cage, ready to drag you down into hell.
We’re already taking Ophelia into those fiery pits by taking her back to the commune, and those memories. It’s the safest thing for her, but I have to admit, I’m scared it might prove too much.
Ophelia’s belief in the Prophet’s hold on her has been persistent through therapy, time away, and even falling in love with us. What will it do to her fragile psyche to be confronted with him once again?
I pray it doesn’t shatter our precious Pet.