Chapter 21 #4
“More like…poor…naive bastard…fuck, look at him!” Crowing, Cameron was nearly to tears as he bantered with her.
“Goddamn is apt for this shitstorm he gives fuck-all about, Céline.” Achilleus' glare cut off the rest of Cameron’s jest as Kellan gripped a shoulder in an iron-like vice.
Warning, wishing. Pleading with him to stay silent as Achilleus bid his farewell and hopes for good hunting…
that somehow seemed more stung to his evening plans than ours.
Leonas' sigh was heard in the silence after the Greek king’s departure. The long, drawn-out weariness ached as the meaning of what was about to happen weighed on my already-overloaded shoulders.
“Aleks, do what you must. But if the chance presents itself, we ask that you leave our dear father to us. A reckoning is coming for the Trois Rois Bandits Mafia families, and neither my brother nor I can think of a better warning to show the underlings than by stringing dear Papa up by his entrails in La Canebière for all the thieves and liars to see.”
“Oui, ma ruine9 will accompany you, Céline. I need this revenge to be flown across the sea to us…bloody, broken, and screaming for mercy. I am sorry, though, Aleksandr, for what his return will mean for you and The Guilda in Alabastor Cove. May deathless nights await you my friend.”
Leonas and Céline's images disappeared as they cut their feed, leaving Kellan, Cameron, and myself surrounded by the static crackling as darkness encompassed the room once more.
Cillian DuPont would pose a problem in the coming weeks or months, a truth I knew deep down in my soul.
One that not even Kellan had predicted, a ghost that The Guilda must have gone through great lengths to keep buried and in hiding, since not even members of the Triple Nine Affiliate or the Nex Furia, both dangerous organisations that would ally with us when the time came, had seen hints of his aforementioned return.
Leonas' reaction startled me, he had always been so calm and composed each time I travelled back home, that seeing him like this had damn near left me at a loss for words. The unanswered questions would have to wait, though, since we now faced more dire concerns.
“The plan we need to finalise here today is how the last living Ellsworth heir will live to see the light of day through the end of The Ludi. I fear this may not be the final surprise The Guilda has up their sleeve…”
“The Ravens…” Cameron interjected, his pale eyes like frozen blades of grass in snow, reflecting the light from the screens.
“You believe The Guilda is going to reinstate the Ravens and possibly even the Crows, the messengers of balance, who held lies and death in their hands. The family who used to judge and condemn.”
A slight nod of Kellan’s head had me locking up.
“The Vesper line has gone extinct, or so The Guilda liked us to believe. There will be no Ravens inducted…unless the girl the Kenton brothers were accused of killing has been found. Since we know those boys would have never been able to outwit her.” Kellan’s lips formed into a grim line, confirming the worst.
“Little Calliope Rose. The girl was hidden among the elite underworld of Japan. I had already been planning a way to return when I learned that The Guilda had located her and was forcing her to return to where her family was assassinated.” A possessive glint flared in his gaze, so quickly I almost didn’t catch it.
“She had been closely guarded, hidden from the depravity she faced in The Cove all those years ago. It led me to believe she had wanted to return, maybe even that she gave up her location for an excuse to wreak havoc on those who she believes wronged her…”
“Her presence and adopted family will be an issue, one that The Guilda will overlook due to centuries of ignorance that other powers are at play besides them.” Kellan’s voice was flat and emotionless as he finished, but that alone gave more than enough away.
Interesting. It seemed like, during his years away, a new little bird was caught within his venomous web.
Pinching my nose, I let his revelations sink in, placing each new piece of information into slots as I tried to rearrange them in a way I could use.
Constantly having to figure out how we would be on the winning side at the end of the summer, after Lenochka’s formal induction, was tiresome and I had already been nearing the end of my rope when I found her in the woods weeks ago.
“Kellan, I know you didn’t come here just to tell us how we’re fighting a lost cause.
Get to your point,” I growled, my patience threatening to fray at the seams as I debated if I could smuggle Lenochka out of the harm his news had brought to my home.
I knew my attempts would be futile since that woman never backed down from a fight or would willingly bend the knee to me.
“You always were an impatient, broody bastard, Aleks. I never knew what my sister saw in you.” Shaking his head, Kellan slid a folded paper my way as Cameron so kindly replied, “Ten inches of Russian cock, Kel. Ten hard as steel inches that he pou—” A loud smack was heard as Kellan hit Cameron on the back of his head.
“I. Do. Not. Want. To. Hear. What his cock—or any part of him, really—does to my sister.” Shooting daggers at me, Kellan ground his teeth, jaw flexed as he continued, “control your puppy, Aleks.”
“He does what he wants, yes? He’s house-trained, that’s all I hoped to see, honestly.”
Shaking my head, I brought us back on track. “So, what’s your plan? How will we keep the Lenochka in play? You know she’ll figure out each move you make.”
“The plan is to allow her to believe she’s the master behind the pieces I’ll push into play—to have her finally in the spotlight in such a way that even The Guilda Sanguis Venenati would fear the consequences of harm falling onto her.”
A sinister smile slashed across his lips.
“And it’s perfect since she just lit the fuse with the media storm she caused by airing all your dirty secrets like she did.
Mine will just add fuel to the fire, giving her a little time to prepare.
Her desire to distract The Guilda with the snippets of secrets she managed to harbour allowed me to dig deeper and pull out some truths that even the new head will hesitate to go against.”
Standing, I ran a hand down my face, hiding my grin.
His plans, unbeknownst to him, would force Lenochka to admit she was mine once and for all.
And in a way no one would be able to dispute.
His next statement confirmed what I had been able to piece together, and I dropped my hand as a malicious grin lit my face.
“It is time for my little sister to publicly accept her birthright. I’ve spent time making sure the Ellsworths and Antonovs will welcome her with open arms. But she’ll need to stay sharp regardless.”
Past memories slammed into my head as his plan took form in my brain.
Flashes of a little dark-haired girl with a blond twin.
Images of a child with ice-violet eyes following a golden-eyed boy with a younger version of me trailing behind.
The moment in time that I first realised that a girl with eyes like dawn would be my undoing haunted me, swirling in my mind as Kellan continued, oblivious to the growing satisfaction within me.
“It’s time for the Ellsworth line to rise again, for the world to see what happens when you fuck with a daughter of not only the British aristocracy…but Russian Bratva royalty.”
1 Bonjour, bonjour les connards. Oui (French): Good morning, good mornig you fuckers. Yes!
2 Chère soeur (French): Dear sister
3 Mon ami (French): My friend
4 Plaisir (French): Pleasure
5 Trois Rois Bandits (French): Three Kings Bandits
6 Cher frère, les connards (French): Dear brother, the fuckers
7 Yia sas (Greek): Greetings/Hello
8 Kalispera (Greek): Good evening
9 Ma ruine (French): My ruin