Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Dalia
With a sigh, I turn back to my sisters. “If I thought it would do any good, I’d leave.”
Morrigan scoffs. “As if we’d let you run away from us.”
“If he comes for one of us, he comes for all of us,” Phoebe agrees, her smile dimming. “But maybe we should leave Iero.”
“Absolutely the fuck not,” Jaeden roars.
My eyebrows shoot up as I stare at him. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the man yell before.
“This is your home—your city. We will fight with you.”
I offer him a small smile. “As much as I appreciate—”
Jaeden shakes his head. “Fuck off with that shit. We’re going to fight alongside you, and you won’t be able to stop us.
And I already know you’re going to say no one should have to fight for you, but the three of you have fought for every single person who calls Iero home. They will want to fight for you.”
“As much as I hate to agree with him when he’s being so belligerent,” Morrigan says with a sigh. “He’s right. We can’t keep this from them, and they’re going to want to fight. Not just to protect you, but to protect the peace they’ve found here. We can’t deny them that.”
Phoebe grabs my hand, giving it a squeeze as she beams at me. “Plus, it’s a good practice run for when we save the humans from the overlords, right?”
I can’t help the laughter that spills from me at her upbeat delivery.
“Damn, I love you, Phee.”
“We’ll fight with you, too,” a voice behind me says.
Frowning, I spin around to see all three men nodding. I’m not even sure which one spoke, but it seems they’re all in agreement.
“A person can’t be someone else’s property,” Steel says, his voice hard. “You aren’t his, and we’ll help protect you and this city. A place like this is worth fighting for.”
Blaze nods, and it’s crazy that I know who is who even though they’re no longer on their bikes. “Plus, we’re all for overthrowing overlords.”
That pulls another laugh from me. “You’re sure?”
“We’re sure,” Titan confirms in his deep voice. “The rest of the MC is on their way. We rode ahead because we don’t know when Renwick will strike.”
How is it that these strangers can feel so passionate about saving me and the city my sisters and I built? They have no skin in the game.
But don’t they?
I wrinkle my nose, trying to ignore the voice in the back of my head. Just as I’ve been ignoring the pull I feel toward the three of them.
There’s no reason for me to feel anything for them—they’re strangers.
Yet, they don’t feel like strangers.
They feel like what I’ve been waiting my entire life for, and that terrifies the shit out of me.
“We need to call the council in,” Morrigan says, pulling me from my thoughts. “Though we should get washed up first. Jaeden, why don’t you escort the riders to the town hall? We’ll meet you there when we’re not covered in dirt. You can also put out the call to the other council members.”
“No,” Titan blurts.
My head swivels toward him, another frown marring my lips. “No?”
Steel clears his throat. “What he meant to say was that we’d prefer to escort the three of you wherever we’re going.”
I scoff. “We need no escorts, Steel. Plus, your bikes will spook the horses.”
“Horses? You have horses?” Blaze sounds excited, but it’s hard to tell with his helmet on.
I wish they’d remove their helmets. I want to see what they look like—even though I know I won’t be able to see their heads.
“We do.” Phoebe nods her head. “When we came to the island, we found that many had survived somehow. It’s how we get around the island. We have other livestock as well, but we had to go to the mainland to get them.”
“That’s so cool.” I imagine if I could see Blaze’s face, his eyes and smile would be wide.
Too bad I can’t.
“If you’d prefer, we can go with Jaeden.” Steel nods at the stone coat. “We’ll follow you.”
I bite my lip as the three of them climb back onto their bikes and follow Jaeden down the road that nature is slowly taking back.
I take a step toward the road before pulling myself to a stop and shaking my head.
My chest hurts the further away they drive, as if my body is begging me to follow them.
“What the fuck, Dalia?” Morrigan’s voice has gone up an octave.
“Ummm…what?”
She narrows her eyes. “You’re not nearly as surprised as you should be that Renwick is coming for you.”
“We always knew it was a possibility.” I shrug. “Plus, I freaked out. Obviously, I was surprised.”
She doesn’t believe me, and she shouldn’t, but I still have no intention of telling them about the mirror.
Or the blood bond I have with Renwick.
Crap.
I really need to stop hiding things from my sisters. They’re going to kill me when they find out.
“Leave it be, Mor.” Phoebe nudges our sister toward the cottage. “Come on. We have to make ourselves presentable.”
Morrigan lets Phoebe lead her away from me, but not before telling me, “This isn’t over, sister. I know you’re keeping something from us, and I will find out what that is.”
All I can do is watch them walk away, the pain in my chest only growing as the riders move further away.
I’m so fucked.
There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
I’m drawn to three men I met less than an hour ago, and I’m keeping secrets from my sisters.
Oh, and my evil ex is planning to attack our city.
I follow my sisters into the cottage slowly, knowing that everything is about to change.
Eventually, I won’t be able to keep my secrets. My sisters are going to be pissed, and I already know what Morrigan will say.
If you had told us, we could have been more prepared.
And she won’t even be wrong.
I thought I was protecting them, and it’s going to come back and bite me in the ass.
Yipee.