CHAPTER 35 FAE
FAE
Felix is fidgeting with his coat again. The repetitive tug at his sleeve, is the only tell he’s ever had. We’ve been sitting in Father’s office for thirty minutes. Thirty deliberate, calculated minutes.
It’s a power play. It always is.
He likes us simmering, likes the reminder that his time is currency and ours is disposable. He’s done it so often the tactic barely touches me anymore. Felix, though, still feels it. I can see it in the tightness around his mouth.
When the message came through summoning me here, I’d just stepped out of the shower with Roman, my skin was still warm, my pulse was slow and my endorphins hummed nicely through me. Now the warmth feels like a lie, like it belonged to another life entirely.
The door opens without warning.
Father doesn’t rush. He enters like the room has been holding its breath just for him. His tailored suit is immaculate, his expression carved from something colder than stone. His presence shifts the air and makes it thinner.
Felix straightens immediately beside me but I don’t move.
My eyes drop to the keys as Father tosses them onto the table. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. The stupid red cross mocks me as I take in the worn metal that is scarred from years of use. I was too young when I first saw it to understand the irony. Now I hate it. The theatrics. The symbolism.
He isn’t a religious man. He doesn’t kneel, or pray, doesn’t answer to anything higher than himself.
If Father is the devil, then why does he insist on playing God?
I scoff before I can stop myself, both Felix and Father snap their attention to me. Father is a bottomless pit of rage. Felix just looks worried.
“Care to share what’s funny, daughter?”
I lean back in the chair, crossing one leg over the other like we’re discussing the weather as I nod to the keys.
“Just admiring the theatrics,” I say lightly. “The red cross. Very on brand.”
Felix shifts beside me, but I don’t look at him.
Father’s jaw tightens and I see his anger simmering there, like it always does around me.
At some point, I stopped caring what he thought, stopped trying to please him.
He always moved the goalposts anyway, so what was the point in aiming if I was always going to miss?
“You’ve always struggled with symbolism, Fae,” he says after a moment of silence.
“No,” I reply, meeting his stare head-on. “I understand it perfectly.”
The silence feels heavy between us as we play this stupid dance. His gaze flicks briefly to Felix before returning to me.
“That key,” he says, resting his palm over it possessively, “represents sacrifice, purity and rebirth.”
A chuckle escapes me again but this time Felix squeezes my knee as he tries to rein me in.
“Of course it does,” I snap. “You don’t believe in any of those things, Father. Well… except sacrifice.” My lip curls. “Maybe your disciples follow you blindly, but I see you.”
His eyes darken as something cold slides into place. I brace for the anger, steeling my spine as I lift my chin, ready for the slap that always follows. But just as Father steps forward, Felix moves first, pushing out of his chair and angling himself in front of me as he clears his throat.
“You asked for us, Father.”
“I did,” Father replies. “Sit down, Felix.”
Felix huffs and drops back into his chair as Father exhales heavily, like he’s burdened by all of this. He moves around the desk slowly like a predator circling its prey, I clench my hand so tightly my nails bite into my palm.
Stopping in front of me, he leans back against the desk.
“There are changes coming,” he says. “And you will both be involved.”
“Involved how?” My spine straightens, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction of a visible reaction. I’m met with silence as Father flicks his eyes to Felix.
“Involved how, sir?” Felix says through gritted teeth; my pulse kicks once, and hard, as I hold Father’s gaze.
“If this is another test,” I say evenly, “you should know I’m getting bored of passing them.”
Felix’s foot brushes mine, a silent warning that he doesn’t feel good about what Father has planned. I don’t know if it’s Roman’s confidence or the fact that, one way or another, Father will no longer control me, but I feel overly confident.
Until Father just… smiles.
It isn’t warm. It isn’t proud. It’s the kind of smile that belongs on a corpse and a shiver racks through my body. I can count on one hand how many times Father has smiled at me and it is never a good sign.
“This is not a test,” he says viciously. “It is an announcement.”
My head begins to pound as I watch the colour drain out of Felix’s face from the corner of my eye. My breathing picks up as Father crouches down in front of me.
“You will marry Fisher.”
His words hang in the air, as though I’m disconnected from reality. Then they land. Hard. My heart starts pounding so violently it feels like it’s trying to break free from my ribcage, anxiety claws its way up my throat so fast I can barely breathe.
“No,” I say automatically.
“No?” Father’s brow lifts.
“I’m promised to Roman.” My voice is steadier than I feel. “I found out you made that agreement years ago.”
He laughs. Actually laughs. The sound is low and wrong, as it scrapes against my skin.
“Roman?” he repeats, amused. “Roman has other obligations. As do you.”
The room tilts slightly and I grip the edge of my chair to steady myself.
“What are you talking about?” I demand.
“You will marry Fisher,” he says again, slower this time, like I’m simple. “The contracts are already being drafted. The alliance benefits us all.”
Benefits us all?
How does my childhood rapist becoming my husband benefit anyone?
Is this what Fisher meant when he cornered me? I thought he’d pulled strings to get me into the Compound, not that Father had sold me to that monster. Tears prick my eyes as I fight to hold them back. The stench of his breath. The feel of his cock sliding in and out of my mouth.
My hands shake as nausea rises hard in my throat.
“Absolutely not.” Felix barks, jumping to his feet before I can move.
“Sit down,” Father demands, his eyes snapping to him.
“No.” Felix’s voice shakes with fury. “You don’t get to trade her like property.”
A sharp crack splits the room as Father’s hand slams against the desk behind him.
“I get to do whatever is necessary, or did you forget the punishments for disobedience? I haven’t got rid of the chest yet, son. If you don’t sit the fuck down, she’s going up there.”
Father moves quickly across the office, his fingers hovering over the button to call in his lackeys so Felix drops back into his chair. Defeat flickers across his eyes as his jaw ticks repeatedly. My pulse roars in my ears now and my skin feels too tight across my bones.
“Roman will never agree to that,” I say, my voice smaller than intended.
Father’s gaze slides back to me, cold and cruel.
“Roman will do what he is told. And if he doesn’t, he will be… disposed of,” he sneers, stepping closer.
The words feel like a blade between my ribs and my heart cracks under the weight of them. I knew, I fucking knew, that me and Roman couldn’t be the end game. Is that why I never told him I loved him? Why I held back this morning?
God… even thinking about this morning hurts.
A sharp reminder that nothing good ever lasts in this godforsaken village.
“You can’t force this,” Felix stutters, looking ashen.
“Felix,” Father says evenly, “you will ensure that she complies. I expect you to keep her away from Roman until the contracts are finalised.”
My stomach drops. Felix stares at him like he’s lost his mind.
“You want me to what?” His face turns red with rage and I press my hand to his knee, trying to calm him down. I can feel his muscles tensing beneath my palm.
“Make sure it happens,” Father says calmly.
“And how…” Felix starts, eerily calm, “do you expect me to do that?”
“You are her twin. You are Roman’s best friend. You are in a unique position. Beg, borrow, lie, steal, kill. I don’t care,” Father growls, “but you are here to make sure it happens, and you,” he spits, pointing at me, “are here to be reminded of the consequences if it doesn’t.”
“I will never help you sell her,” Felix spits.
Father moves so fast I barely register it. His hand swings toward me, not Felix. The slap explodes across my face. My head snaps to the side and the metallic taste of blood blooms instantly in my mouth. Everything around me goes white as my vision blurs and my ears ring.
“Disobedience,” Father says coldly, “has consequences.”
“You son of a bitch,” Felix roars as I try to steady myself.
The first thing I realise is that Felix’s voice doesn’t even sound like him anymore. I turn just as he jumps up… then he swings.
The punch connects with Father’s jaw with a sickening crack. He staggers back against the desk, as shock flashes across his face before it twists into rage. I’m already on my feet, my heart racing so hard I can barely breathe. Fear claws at my throat, not for me. For Felix.
“Run,” Felix growls, grabbing my hand and trying to pull me towards the exit.
Father recovers quickly, blood at the corner of his mouth as he spits onto the floor. His eyes blaze, but he makes no move to stop us. Just as my hand touches the handle, his voice cuts through the room.
“If you walk out that door, Felix,” he warns, his voice low and lethal, “my protection goes with it.”
I hesitate, looking back at Father, knowing he has no limits when it comes to what he’ll do to his own children. Felix doesn’t hesitate. He yanks my hand away, pushes the door open, and pulls me through it.
Just before we lose sight of Father, Felix pauses and turns.
“Don’t forget, Father. Legacy over everything. And I would rather burn our whole empire down than let you sell her to her rapist.”
The flare of anger on Father’s face isn’t missed by either of us as we square our shoulders and walk towards the exit. Every step feels like we’re walking off a cliff.
But I don’t look back. I refuse to give him that.
The car door slams harder than it needs to. Felix peels out of the drive as gravel spits behind us, like the house itself is trying to drag us back home. My cheek throbs in time with my pulse, a dull reminder of Father’s hand.
Neither of us speaks at first. The silence is thick, suffocating, until the radio flickers on and ‘Survivor’s Guilt by Dave’ hums low through the speakers.
Felix’s knuckles are white around the steering wheel.
He’s seething. I can feel it rolling off him in waves of barely contained violence.
But when he looks at me, his voice softens.
“You’re not going back there,” he says.
I’m not sure what he means. Not the house?
Not Fisher? It feels bigger than that. Bigger than us.
It’s something we’ve been fighting for years and we still haven’t won.
In fact, we’ve barely made a dent in the business and the only reason we even have a lead is because of Robyn.
Otherwise, we would still be floundering with nothing to show for it.
“I don’t care what he threatens. I don’t care about protection or contracts or empire. He doesn’t get to touch you again,” Felix spits.
My throat tightens. I stare out of the window at the blur of trees, trying to steady the storm inside me. Tears prick at my eyes as I slam my head back against the headrest.
“I’ll kill him,” Felix adds, his jaw flexing. “I swear to God, Fae, I’ll put him in the ground before I let that happen.”
“No,” I say quietly, turning to face him. My reflection in the window looks harder than I feel. “You don’t get to put yourself in danger.”
“Fuck that,” he barks. “He’s putting you in danger. It’s him or us, Fae. Choose.”
“I will always choose you, Felix. Fuck,” I shout. “Why do you think I can’t let you kill him? If anything happened to you, I wouldn’t survive it. Do you hear me? Without you, what the fuck do I have left? My mum’s gone. My best friend’s gone. Over my dead fucking body will my brother be gone too.”
“Fae,” his voice drops to a harsh whisper.
“No. Felix, my answer is no. If anyone is killing him, it’s me.”
Felix glances at me, a sense of pride flashes across his face. I can see it shining brightly but I can also see the fear too. He nods once before turning back to the road.
“Then I’ll stand beside you while you do it.”
I sigh and close my eyes. Felix has always been my constant, my twin, my shadow, the only person who has seen every version of me and stayed.
But even as the comfort seeps in, another thought claws at the edges.
Roman.
Roman is strong. Smarter than all of them. Dangerous in ways they don’t fully comprehend. But the Founders built this world. They control the money, the loyalty, the bloodlines. They erase people without leaving fingerprints.
No one is more powerful than them.
And for the first time since this started, doubt coils in my stomach. Not about Roman’s love. Not about his promise. But whether love is enough to stand against men who think they are gods.
Felix reaches across the console and squeezes my hand.
“We’ll figure it out,” he says firmly. “You, me… and Roman.”
I nod. But as we turn onto his road, I can’t shake the feeling that we’ve just declared war on something far bigger than us.
I knew it the second Father smiled. Happiness doesn’t survive in our world.
It’s a flare, bright and reckless and beautiful, and then it’s gone.
What Roman and I have… it was always on borrowed time with stolen mornings and stolen breath.
And the Founders don’t let anyone steal from them without collecting interest.
Maybe I should leave him before they make him pay for loving me.
Before Father breaks him the way he’s tried to break me.
Quinn would be safe for him. Exactly what his dad wants.
Polished, obedient, and bred for legacy instead of war.
She wouldn’t drag him into blood feuds and execution lists. She wouldn’t put a target on his back.
I swallow hard.
Maybe the truth is that real love, loving him, means letting him go.