40. Chapter 40
Eden
S he closed the door to Eloise’s office with a messenger bag slung over her shoulder. Eden went over to her desk and unpiled a stack of books from the back corner. Her most recent assignment had been to go over everything her mother had discovered over the last few months. Study the Fallen Angel held within the body of Aron and get him into the basement once they had his dagger back. If she was honest with herself there wasn’t much to go off of. Most of it seemed like rumors, however that could be solved soon enough. Her attention briefly turned to the dagger that sat to her right, the name of the demon who kept slipping through their fingers causing her jaw to clench.
The true question was how to get a demon with an angel lurking underneath into the basement without drawing too much attention. Eden leaned back in her chair as her thoughts drifted to the other day and the way he swooped in to help her. If there was anything she knew about each Head of House since being at SCHUni, it was they both liked to play heroes. I can play into that. Eden picked up her phone and went to pull up Aron’s contact before a knock on her door stopped her. Quickly, she placed it back down and pulled open the door to see Holden standing in the door frame with an arm on the side, his eyes already on hers.
“Can I help you with something, Heir Holloway?” She asked and folded her arms, bitterness filling her mouth.
“Oh come on, Eden. I know you don’t have the dagger back yet, let me help you.”
“Heiress Miller,” She corrected him as she refused to back down despite his higher ranking. “Niceties still apply here since you almost shot me and on that particular note I think you can see why I don’t want help from you.”
“If it wasn’t for that demon I would never have had to steal your gun.”
“If you all would just accept the fact I just don’t have a place in this family anymore, maybe we’d all be happier.”
Silence filled the space between them for a moment before she went to close the door. Always saying too damn much. It was much more than she wanted him to know. She thought back to all the larger family meetings with the other Heirs and Heiresses and remembered the comments. She’ll be nothing useful to this family, Matriarch Miller couldn’t produce any Heirs before her husband’s death so what makes her think an orphan would be able to run the family? A hand stopped her before she could try to push the door closed.
“Little Bird, you do have a place among The Salavamari. Beside me.”
Holden took a step toward Eden as he pushed on the door to keep it open. He slid his hand down from the door and reached out for Eden who moved to step back just before his hand found its way tracing down her arm to her hand.
“I told you I’m not interested in the arrangement, I’m doing all of this to protect Bastien and that’s it. I don’t feel anything for you anymore.”
“That’s a shame, you and I would make a great team. The two enforcer families joining together for the first time. We’d be a force to be reckoned with.” Holden leaned in before someone behind him cleared their throat.
“If she chooses you, that is, Heir Holloway.” Chase’s voice was polite but with a sharp edge. “Mission assignment and research may not be as exciting but it’s the most vital part of our jobs.”
“Baron Donovan,” Holden’s hand dropped from her as he turned fully to face the blond-haired Baron. “I’d say too much time in the library makes it harder when it comes time to fight.”
“There’s strength in balance, Heir Holloway. Brawn doesn’t always win.” His ice-like eyes pierced into Holden’s.
“I just believe I have the best chances, given our past.” He smirked as if he had won already.
“I think both of you have very even chances. Now if you excuse me, I have a demon to trap and a dagger to get back.”
“Catch you later, Heiress.” Chase sent a smile as Holden stepped toward her.
She swiftly made her way back into her room, closed the door and locked it with a click. Now wasn’t the time to get distracted with the arrangement though Eden could hear them fight outside her door. She ignored it, went back to her phone and the task at hand. Quickly, she typed a message to Aron she felt the familiar pang of her heart as it dropped into her stomach as Wyatt came to mind. They had spent last night drinking their stress away where he tried to find out what things she had to do that he wouldn’t like. For Bastien and Corvus to be able to have their chance.
Eden Miller- If you surrender yourself to us and bring your dagger to Elder Row, I will destroy her dagger and leave her be. -Sent 4:56 pm
Over an hour passed as she waited for him to respond during which Eloise had attempted to drop in on her but she hadn’t answered her door. Eden was busy as she waded through her pool of guilt as she thought of Lennox and everything she had told her in the hallway. Of course I wanted you! It was only till I was sure the curse was broken. The very curse Wyatt had put on her blood family. The one Xemos had helped Lennox break. However, the memory of her deal with a Crossroad Demon caused the anger to rise once more. A loud chime on her phone drew her attention as a single letter appeared on her screen.
Aron- K. -Sent 6:04 pm
More hours passed…
7 pm… Eloise attempted to talk to Eden about the arrangement.
8 pm… Eden warned the house of her plans, everyone would stay out of her way once he got here.
9 pm… A crack of lightning, had Wyatt figured out what she was doing?
Aron- I’m here -Sent 9:39 pm
She slid Lennox’s dagger into her weapons belt. As she waited, she allowed her fingertips to trace the outline of the crest on her right hip. Her skin crawled as she peered down at the peacock. For Bastien. Within a few minutes she saw a shadow lurking outside the front door looking around nervously. It worked. Eden opened the door and met the demon’s eyes, her hair stood on end as she remembered Armaros glaring at her. The image of the rage she saw that day had turned up a few times in her dreams since she attacked Lennox the first time. A murderous fire burned white hot within the pitch black that covered his irises which bore into her very soul. However, he was Aron again as if none of it had ever happened, disdain in his gaze. She peered around behind him for a second for any footprints that didn’t belong to him before his voice caught her attention once more.
“Yes, I’m alone. Are you going to kill me here or do I get to come in?”
“Out here leaves too many witnesses, duh.” Eden sneered and stepped aside for him to follow her inside.
Aron walked into the house, his attention captured by the dark victorian style Stacey and Eloise had decorated the interior with. Her gaze followed his to an old photo of the entire Salvamari from over sixty years ago. She moved to stand beside him and looked for a clue of where he had his dagger stashed away. As if he knew, his hand reached into a side pocket within his jean jacket and produced the weapon. He held out the rosebud hilt and nodded his head toward it. Slowly, she reached out to take it and found he wasn’t going to let go of it right away.“I just need to know why.”
Her eyes darkened, “We protect humanity from creatures who want to use them as play toys. You don’t get to play God without it coming to bite you in the ass.”
The dagger suddenly slipped from her hands as Aron retracted it from her grip. Eden’s eyes snapped up to his face to see one of his eyes had gone black. “How dare you.”
The same distorted version of two voices as they spoke at once filled the entrance way. In the light there was a flash and the color red as he swiped at her. Without a second thought she had her gun out in a second and shot it at his leg. He roared as it ripped through his thigh and at the same time a searing pain across her collarbone now radiated as something cut into her chest.
Eden launched herself toward him as he stumbled slightly. She raised the butt of the gun above her head with both hands and brought it down at an angle to hit beside his temple. With a loud thud, Aron dropped to the ground motionless. She allowed herself a minute to catch her breath as the adrenaline of the moment faded, the sound of footsteps made her turn on her heel to the left.
“That was hot, Heiress Miller. I’m impressed.” Holden smiled from the doorway of the kitchen.
“Is there not a corner of this house you’re not fucking lurking in?” She spat at him as Bastien appeared beside him.
“I told you she could handle it,” Her Uncle smiled before he approached her with the dagger that had been tossed to the side.
“You want me to patch you up?” Holden offered with a mischievous glint in his eyes that reminded her of Wyatt.
“I’d rather sew it back together myself without lidocaine.”
Eden walked past the two, knowing Bastien would take their new prisoner to the basement while she stopped the bleeding on the still stinging cut. Her hand went to the spot still fresh and bleeding as she walked back to her room. Her eyes fell on the disturbing familiar sight of blood on her hands, this time it was her own. An unsettled feeling replaced itself in her chest. He was aiming for the throat .
The stale basement air filled Eden’s lungs as she stood beside the metal table, waiting for their newest captee to wake. The sounds of Basiten going through their weapons cabinet was the only thing that filled the quiet as she silently plotted how to lure her true target here. Remembering the other night where Wyatt had begged her to tell him what she was doing to keep Bastien safe however it had turned into an argument about the duties she was being forced to uphold to keep her uncle safe. She had to swallow the guilt that had formed in her throat as she shook her head and stopped speaking for the evening.
“This would be easier if we had that summoning spell,” Bastien complained.
“Don’t you think I know that? I went into her room the other day and found nothing in her personal journals. Chase and Holden are still reading through hundreds of old grimoires.” Eden shook her head in irritation.
“You don’t even want to be doing this.” He pointed out. “So why are you?”
“I'm doing it to protect you, Bas. Holden saw you and Corvus. You’re the only family who cared about what I truly wanted and I wanted to return the favor.”
His eyes filled with sorrow as he looked at her. “Eden, you didn’t have to. I know how happy you are with Wyatt, you don’t have to stay to protect me, you deserve to leave if you don’t want to stay. You didn’t have to stay just so I wouldn’t become a Heretic, I am a Baron and easily am already on my way there.”
“It’s easier said than done and you know that. It doesn’t matter what's done is done and right now I want my revenge on that peppy bitch. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it the Miller way.”
On one hand she didn’t want to return to who she was before she had met Wyatt. He had changed her forever, but on the other hand the grudge toward Lennox still remained. The anger Eloise had put there and helped to fester over the semester. Though Xemos seemed to think they could move past their differences, Eden continued forward despite the sudden quiet from the god. She glanced over to Aron for a second to make sure he was still asleep and moved to the weapons cabinet and started to pull out enchanted knives. Her eyes fell on the shine in the dim light and could feel the magic as it buzzed through the handle tipped with a poison that would prevent any demon from healing the wounds it creates for days.
“He’s Armaros too, we have to be careful. Even with those chains we don’t know if they will hold him the same as other demons.”
“I’ll be right behind you and everyone else is nearby just in case.” Bastien promised as he helped prepare the other tools she pulled and passed to him.
After about ten minutes the sound of the chains moving across the floor drew her eye to the right. As he did, she picked up the dagger with his name and hooked it to the back right hip of her weapons belt. Quickly, she added three more spelled knives each with its own kickback. Her eyes moved to the man who now sat against the wall with the cuffs around his wrists. The chains only allowed him to move a few inches in any given direction. Once he realized this, his attention turned to her as he glared at her with a dark smirk and black eyes.
“Well if it isn’t Wednesday and Pugsley from the Adams Family!” The demonic voice echoed.
“I resent the Pugsley comment,” Basiten added as he added a spelled weapon to his own belt before joining Eden.
“If you don’t wanna be Pugsley, stop acting like him.”
Eden rolled her eyes at the two. “Would you stop feeding into him for a second? We actually have things to get done.”
“Ah yes, just like her, but missing the braids and the bangs. Nothing I couldn’t fix.”
“If you ever touch me I will cut off your fingers one at a time.” Eden threatened with narrowed eyes.
“Oh, Lenny’s daughter has some bark to her! This is going to be fun isn’t it? But I am curious while you’re doing all this, does Wyatt know you’re trying to kill more of his friends?”
She gritted her teeth and her eyes went a dull blue as his smirk widened at her reaction. Anger bubbled up in her chest and she pulled on the blue thread. Eden brought both of her hands up vertically in front of her and brought up the first two fingers of each hand.With a swipe across each other and turned the chains to ice so she could get close to him. Aron struggled for a moment as she stalked toward him, her hand going for her belt. For a second there was something that shifted in his eyes as if he wasn’t fully present for two seconds before seeming to return to the moment. It was so fast she almost questioned if it had happened. With one of the daggers she had equipped herself with was drawn in seconds. She pressed the cold blade in the space between his collarbone and throat. Her right hand was on his left shoulder as she leaned down beside his ear.
“Wyatt will never know,” She breathed. “Because we both know you’re not leaving here alive.”
“I will and you will beg me to leave after I kill one of you.” He growled the threat.
Slowly she applied pressure so the blade cut into his skin which drew the deepest color of red blood she had ever seen. Once she was happy with the depth she dragged it as slow as possible all the way to the top of his shoulder. His body shook under her hand as he let out a strained gunt of pain she pulled away and stepped out of reach. She watched as the skin around the cut turned black as if frostbite had set in. Red covered her hands and soon an image of Lennox entered her mind, unable to see past the anger. She only debated for a few moments on how much she was going to allow him to know. He probably has heard her side, why not share mine.
“You want to know why? Lennox and I have unfinished business. As I’ve discovered over the semester, Val was the one she met at the Crossroads, a place she should have never gone. She let her paranoia get in the way and look at what she is now. She’s not who she appears to be, hell look at how easily she killed Alaric.”
“I don’t agree with what she did, but you all were threatening her life, she did what she had to.” Eden paused and remembered something Rosalyn had let spill while the two were drinking with Bastien and Octavious. “All she did was lie and you saved her. From what I know of your true nature, you’re not one for liars, are you?”
“Honesty is the golden rule... just like sharing and using our words. We all learned that in preschool, right Pugsley? You were just there last year, congrats on your graduation to big boy school by the way!” He continued his demeaning jokes as he scanned the room.
“Sharing, like how you shared your double life with the group? That went over really well didn’t it? I saw the look on her face when she saw you. It seems as if the golden rule doesn’t apply to you either?”
Aron suddenly seemed to have no retorts which caused a smile to cross her face. She turned her attention to Bastien. “You know, when I was told who I was making the dagger for, I almost didn't believe it. I mean, the head of the frat boys, a fallen angel? I wondered why I had been assigned so many books about angel lore by Eloise two years ago.”
Eden pocketed the knife once more and turned to glance at the stairs. She could hear the footsteps of the others above them as they milled around the kitchen by the door. Eden paced but stayed a few feet from him as she went over the few things she had discovered.
“Let me see what the books got right and wrong.” She locked eyes on him and scanned his features for reactions as she spoke. “So you fell, right? Smashed into hell and became a demon at God’s will? Brought magic to the witches of Earth. Then after decades or centuries records of your deals seemed to fade off. Your need for privacy has seemed to pay off. I am curious as to how you obtained a new body? Possession I’m guessing.”
“Look at her everyone, she does know how to connect the dots. Might be a Miller but your Cade is showing. Always looking for answers in books, such a nerd like your mom.”
Eden glared and quickly drove down the knife she had just used and let it sink into the shoulder she had cut into. Another patch of black froze his skin right at the joint, a second grunt of pain echoed on the walls as she bent down to his level a few inches from him. It was better to ignore her strong desire to pull out the one with his name for now.
“Enough with the shit, Aron. I know you know how to summon her.”
“There it is, the real reason you haven’t just killed me already. I’m the bait.” His eyes hardly showed the fear and only widened for a second beneath the anger burning in his pupils. “You’re scared of me.”
She scoffed, “Absolutely not.”
“You are of him .” Aron accentuated the last word.
Eden watched as the whites of his eyes filled with darkness and only left the green ring in the center. The sound of the chains suddenly as they broke from the ice sent panic through her as his hands grabbed her hips, the still attached chains now giving him a small amount of movement,and forced her away. She stumbled and slid back. On her feet in seconds, she felt her heart trying to beat out of her chest as his twisted smile formed across his lips once more.
“Girl, your knives do nothing more than give me a new piercing, I don’t give a fuck what you do to me, I’m not going to tell you how to summon her here. You think you’re so much better than us? We aren’t the only ones with a torture chamber.” Aron’s voice went deeper but not as deep as Armaros’s.
“We will stop when you’re all back where you belong. The world doesn’t need someone like her or you running around.” She repeated Eloise’s words from the other night. “I still think two demons with the ability to take someone’s soul so easily are the biggest threat to humanity despite my personal vendettas. With the daggers tucked in my belt at least I have the solutions.”
She pulled out the one belonging to Lennox and held it up so her name shone for both of them to see. Her eyes examined the sharpness for a second before she glanced back to Aron. His eyes were now locked on the weapon as well, desire in his eyes as he pulled against the chains. He did this to his victims for fun, there’s no way I’m going to get to him this way- I have to play his game better than him… Sheer will of the mind.
“Nature always finds a way to bring back balance doesn’t it? I almost didn’t believe the great Armaros would leave hell but then Arthur and Richard tracked down two demons, Silas and Lumina from what I hear, and then it started to make sense once you saved your little girlfriend.”
She watched his face shift from anger to rage at the name of the demons. He slammed his eyes shut and shook his head as if suddenly fighting within himself. His body shifted forward as his hands clutched at his head as it seemed to become overbearing, Aron shouted out loud.
“STOP-” His eyes opened up wide to reveal flames that danced across his skin blackening his protruding arm veins.
“You’d better believe me now!” Armaros replied, in that combined voice of his and Aron’s. “Lumina? She's here?! Why!”
Armaros tried to lunge at Eden but was stopped by chains. He propped up on his knees and pulled his arms into his chest in an attempt to break them but thankfully they held him to the spot no matter how hard he pulled. He hunched forward, a pair of black charred wings with feathers hanging from the top but not all the way down jutted from his back, sparks of fire spit across the room as he did. As they flew around the room, Eden held up her hand with a quick tug and put up a shield in front of herself just in time for one to miss her head.
“Why would I know the true answer to that?”
Eden twisted her fingers into a fist and pulled the moisture from the air to quickly extinguish them. The silver chain markings flashed in the last seconds of the orange glow. In one motion she had Lennox’s dagger poised for a fight behind the shield slightly distorting Armaros in front of her. The two didn’t move as she heard Bastien move to the left of Eden once more.
“You’re supposed to destroy the dagger of Lennox Cade… You reek of lies, you were right. I don't like liars.”Armaros snarled, his eyes blazed stronger and his voice boomed along the walls.
“I don’t like demons so I’d say we are on the same page.” She did her best to hide the deep fear the sight of him instilled. “I wonder what would happen if I stick her dagger into your heart? Though I believe you know since magic is your thing.”
“I’d tell you but I don’t think your narrow minded human mind could handle it. Besides, you’ve caused enough trouble in my life”
Eden’s teeth gnashed. “The only way Lennox’s dagger will be destroyed is when it's lodged in her chest and I promise you will be there to see me do it.”
She turned and went to the table and took out the enchanted knives. From the corner she could see Bastien look at her with confusion. With a nod for him to join her, she refused to say anything else as each was laid back on the metal table.
“You better hope these chains continue to hold me. If I get out, one of you is going to die. To think, she worked so hard to keep your fragile soul safe.” Eden said nothing. “You’re in over your head, Little Cade. Xemos can’t keep you safe from me.”
“Go upstairs and tell Chase to come down, will you Bas? I’m done for now.” She continued to ignore the raging demon’s threats.
“I can’t leave you down here alone.” He frowned back.
“I’ll be fine, please get Baron Donovan. I don’t think there’s much else to do here now. He can sit here until the little miss hero gets here or we find a way to summon her.”
Bastien looked conflicted before going to the stairs and made his way up two at a time. Eden picked up the familiar stained cloth from her bag and wiped off the blood from the blade she had used on Aron. The only sound in the basement now was of the chains as they moved when he shifted. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him struggle to pull his wings into a better position as he was too close to the wall. Neither broke the silence as Armaros glared as if she was the worst person he had ever seen. It was five minutes before something seemed to shift in him as his voice caused her to turn toward him.
“She refused to tell me where you were, who you were. She spent every ounce of energy keeping you safe from me until I took the memories for myself, but now- Your soul is mine.”
“I would never make a deal with a demon, let alone you.” She snarled back before the door at the top of the stairs opened and shut.
Before Eden made her way to her room, Chase had informed her that Armaros had soon faded after she walked away even after he had tried to prompt the demon out himself. Aron had gone mostly silent minus a few choice words for the Baron. She had spent the remainder of her night awake thinking of the possibilities of why he seemed to be so enraged at the names of Silas and Lumina. Roars of frustration echoed through the halls of the house every so often through the night which didn’t help her find sleep any easier. Each time sent a memory forward, every snarky comparison to Lennox. The look on Wyatt’s face when he would eventually realize her lies, the mere thought of it sent up a wave of tears as she lay in bed.
Her phone had lit up beside her a few times but she hadn’t dared to look at the messages she knew were from Wyatt as she pulled the covers closer. Only after the third time did she text him back with some explanation that Eloise had kept her busy all evening and ended it with a black heart before sleep pulled her under for a mere two hours.
Her alarm went off beside her ear which caused her to jump from her dreamless sleep and look around. She knew it was time for her shift soon and quickly pulled off the clothes she had forgotten to change out of and replaced them with tight black pants, a long sleeve black turtleneck and finished it off with her weapons belt. With the daggers into their holsters, she tied her long hair back into a tight ponytail. Chase, Holden, Bastien and she took turns in five hour shifts to make sure the demon didn’t sleep in hopes that the lack of rest would eventually cause him to slip.
Earlier that morning she had walked out her bedroom door and found Holden stood a few feet away with an irritated look on his face. Her own tired eyes mirrored his expression, it seemed no matter how much she pushed him away he kept coming back, unlike Chase who seemed to let her come to him. Neither helped their cases even if Wyatt wasn’t in the picture. For however long that is now. She had gone to ask him what he wanted so bad that he had to wait outside her room but he cut her off.
“You called for Donovan over me? I find that quite insulting, Little Bird.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“I thought Mister top Patriarch would be too busy to guard him, don’t you usually say things like that are above you?”
She took a few steps to move past him and bumped his shoulder as she did. A hand gripped her left wrist tightly which forced her to turn around. “Little Bird, where do you think you’re flying off to this time? I’m not done with our chat.”
“I am, besides I have a prisoner to talk to and that’s a bit higher on my list of priorities right now.”
Eden wrenched herself free and made her way down the stairs, Holden about four feet behind her. She could feel his gaze burn into her back while she walked into the front entrance. She went into the kitchen when Holden cut her off just after the end of the stairs. Damnit, I forgot how fast he can be. Slowly, he leaned closer to her on the step just below hers. He still stood taller, his hand extending much slower and took hers gently.
“I said, my dear, I’m not done with our conversation. I hate being this person, but I need you to trust me and that means you call for me, not Donovan.” There was a glint of something in his eyes she couldn’t read.
“Last I checked you were aware I’m uninterested in either option, meaning I don’t trust you.”
“Come on, Eden. Be realistic. If you were going to leave the family for that demon you wouldn’t have stayed to protect Bastien, your Baron. But how is he going to do anything for your family, since he’s ineligible to take over the Millers? Instead, here we are and for some reason you haven’t sent me away…. Having second thoughts?”
She felt her face turn almost as bright red as his hair as the frustration, guilt, and anger flooded over. Adrenaline built in her arms wanting nothing more than to let her fist meet his face. Instead, she let a smile drift to her lips as her eyes from his gaze, lips, and up once more just as she had done so many years before when they were flirting. His eyes softened as he seemed to connect the dots. Eden placed her left hand on his chest and slid it up his shoulder; she led him backward toward the wall with the generations of Matriarchs.
She made sure his eyes were locked on hers and moved her right hand to her belt. Silently pulled out the Glock on her right hip and kept it low, out of his sight. When his back touched the wall she slid her knee between his thighs since he was at least six inches taller than her it would keep him from moving. Moving the gun up she kept the safety on as she pressed it to his side.
“If I had a choice I would chain you beside Aron.”
“Using names still? Those things are monsters and you need to remember that you are an Heiress and you and I have duties to our families. You would be a part of the strongest families, the other Heiresses would kill for that chance. Instead, you really want to follow in Roy Miller’s footsteps?”
“My duty is to myself… Let them then, because I’m done with this family once these two are dead.”
“We will see about that, my dear. You will come to realize I am the only one who could possibly begin to understand you.”
Suddenly, the sound of the front door opening and closing from behind caused her to look over, her heart leapt into her throat. Immediately she saw the scarred rose tattoo of Wyatt and let her eyes drift to his face which seemed torn between confusion and irritation. His stormy eyes lit a little as he took notice of the gun she had pressed into the man’s side.
“Don’t let me interrupt you two,” He raised his eyebrow at them and folded his arms over his chest. “Unless this is about more stuff you won’t tell me? That’s something I’d like to interrupt…”
Eden released Holden and took a few steps back from him as she put her weapon away. “This is more about how he can’t seem to figure out when to not poke and prod at my emotions.”
“Well, as hot as it was to see you with a gun, it seems to me you two have a deeper history than I thought when you told me about the arrangement… Took months to get you that close to me.” Wyatt rocked on his feet and approached her with slow caution.
Eden slid the gun back into her belt and met him half way knowing she would have to look him in the eye and lie. As if Aron isn’t right below our feet. She let a soft smile find its way to her face and took his hand, even though they weren’t on the best of terms she could still feel the pull she knew they both felt.
“I thought you weren’t supposed to talk about ex’s for the first few months of a relationship?” She tried to curb the tension she felt that radiated from him.
“Usually yes, but it would be nice to know if your ex is one of the people trying to steal away what’s mine. Though admittedly he’s doing a poor job by the looks of things.”
“You think you’ve won, demon but have you forgotten where you’re standing?” Holden’s expression darkened as he stalked forward to stand to Eden’s left. “And it seems like she doesn’t tell you very much, that’s a shame.”
“I don’t need to know more until later, I trust her.”
“That’s cute, Heiress Miller has someone’s trust.”
Eden felt Holden’s voice get closer and it sent her hair on end. She glanced up and saw the defensive look in Wyatt’s eyes as his hand slid from her arm to her waist and pulled her closer. She knew the action was exclusively to get her further from Holden; she felt their bodies meet which caused her to relax slightly.
“Why don’t you and I blow this popsicle stand for a bit? I’m sure whatever they have you doing can wait.” Wyatt offered and peered down to her.
“I can't, I’m sorry… More stuff I can’t talk about just yet.”
Wyatt sighed, obviously disappointed. “Why?”
“She’s protecting her allegiances.” Holden interrupted and looked Wyatt dead in the eyes.
“She’s trying to get away from your cult and a crazy marriage she doesn’t want.” Wyatt snapped back.
“She can talk for herself.” Eden interjected, her voice rose above both of theirs.
Both men glanced at her and momentarily went quiet as each glared daggers at the other. For only those few seconds, Eden could see the representation of two possible futures before her. One with a window that was closing ever so quickly. The other wide open and waiting for her to take the first step. She could feel Wyatt’s hand gently guide her to face him, a serious look written across his face as he pretended Holden wasn’t there.
“Well good, because I need to know if your crazy mother took Aron.”
Eden frowned and looked at him confused. “Aron? I thought him and Lennox were off somewhere together as usual.”
“No, Lennox came to me this morning asking if Aron was in his room.”
“Seems like you’re down a demon, unfortunately for you we usually don’t allow such filth to enter this house.” Holden spoke up.
“Not unless they’re in the basement.” Wyatt glared at him and gently let Eden go before he took a few steps toward the Holloway Heir.
The two were now less than four feet apart, each digging into the other in any way they could. As the bickering became louder, she heard footsteps echoing from various parts of the house. The two men were so distracted by one another they didn’t notice Chase, Stacey, Eloise, and Bastien all stood behind Holden and her.
“The Curse Bringer thinks he deserves someone to love him, and out of probably hundreds of thousands of options you decide to go for not only a powerful hunter, but a descendant from the very line you cursed!” Holden’s face was now flushed with an anger she had only seen a few times.
Eden watched as Wyatt’s face shifted at the name, the anger faded into a calm storm that she knew would come later. The lightning flashed in his pupils before he scanned each new arrival before he turned back to her.
“Fine, I’ll go but I need to know if Aron is here.” He looked at Eden as if she was the only one in the room.
“No, I haven’t seen him around- I’m sorry, Wyatt.” She took a step forward and took his hand in hers, her thumb traced the top of his hand. At that moment she didn’t care if her family was around to judge her. “I’ll see you later tonight? Kappa let’s say about seven?”
“That’s a good idea, with a few glasses I think.” He shook his head and took a step toward her, closing the distance and placed a kiss on her cheek. Before he pulled away he whispered something so quiet she almost didn’t catch it. “I’m trusting you this time, but if I find out you’re lying you know I won’t be able to trust you again. Don’t let your family change you back into their pawn.”
Wyatt turned without another word and went back out the front door, only giving her one last glance before the other family members went about their business. All except for Chase and Holden who were now eyeing each other up. Men and their testosterone. Eden shook her head and went past them to the basement mulling over everything that had just happened. No matter what she did at this point, she had lied and Wyatt was going to find out. Now it was time to decide if it would be tonight and from her own lips, or if he would have to discover her betrayal himself.