Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Onyx: The truth will set you free because the lie has only ever incarcerated you.
The council stopped choking Hennessy, and she instantly went lax, coughing up a storm. Before relief could take over, he lifted a gun, the red dot aimed directly at my forehead.
“You’re going to pay for that!” With his finger on the trigger, he was about to shoot.
For the first time in my life, I shut my eyes, finding some faith somewhere deep inside me, silently praying he wouldn’t kill me.
Not because I was scared of death, but because I wanted to live for her.
When all of a sudden, my father's panicked voice filled the seedy air, declaring, “I’ll sacrifice myself for the sins of my son!”
My eyes shot open as if the council had actually shot me.
“Have mercy on my boy and kill me instead!”
I didn’t just sit up. I abruptly stood, blown away by what just happened. The members let go of me, and I ran straight to Hennessy, holding her up into my arms before she passed the fuck out. I cradled her, leaning her head against my chest, trying to get her to come back to me.
It was only then that her uncle came out of nowhere, rushing into the woods where we were. In one second, he glanced around, then ran to Hennessy.
“Give her to me!” He reached for her.
“Fuck you!” I snapped, holding her closer to me. “You’re the reason we’re in this fucked-up bullshit in the first place! You couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you? Now look.” I gestured to her as she came to.
“Onyx, please stop…” she weakly bellowed, trying to get out of my embrace.
I growled, keeping her in place.
We were all at a standstill. The council was even in shock. It felt as if years flew by us in a matter of seconds.
“Oh my God…” Hennessy spoke out, breaking the deafening silence.
I looked down at her. It was only then that I realized what she figured out on her own.
For some reason, I thought back on my prayer when she finally understood the truth without anyone having to utter another word to her.
We locked eyes. Hers were filled with so much agony it was hard to see and experience it with her, but I was thankful someone did. Pain like that needed to be shared. You couldn’t carry it alone. It was as if she reached into my chest and yanked out my heart.
It was now beating in the palm of her hand.
Then she ripped it apart, the moment she realized, “Deja is my father’s daughter, isn’t she?”
I didn’t have to confirm. You could see it written all over my face.
Hennessy
“Isn’t she?” I insisted, needing to hear him say it.
No one spoke until my uncle's pleading gaze landed on the council, who hadn’t stopped looking at Mr. Devereaux. I think they were in as much shock as we were that he just sacrificed himself for his only son.
It was the last thing I ever expected, proving where his loyalty lay, despite his blood oath to his sacred Brotherhood. I knew how much this meant to Onyx, and with the expression on his face, he was dying inside.
Tío didn’t surrender, adding, “She already knows the truth. Don’t you think this has gone on long enough? How many more lives need to die before—”
“As many as we need!” one of the council members yelled.
My gaze fell upon Onyx again. I pushed against him, needing to stand. To my surprise, he let me. Finding my balance, I faced the council.
I stood tall, proud, and with conviction. Not thinking twice about it, I stated, “What if I pledge my oath to the Brotherhood?”
Onyx didn’t just fall back. He stumbled from the impact of my vow. “Hennessy, don’t you fucking dare!”
I whipped around. “Haven’t you been paying attention? I do whatever the fuck I want.” With that, I turned back, facing them once again.
I was tired of all the death, of all of the secrets… it was obvious what happened to Mrs. Devereaux and my father now. I didn’t have to be told to know that they sacrificed themselves for their children, or maybe they were tortured and murdered for their affair.
Regardless, this curse…
It fucking ended with me.
“If I pledge my alliance to the Brotherhood, can you spare Mr. Devereaux’s life?”
I could feel Onyx’s glare and Mr. Devereaux’s surprised gaze burning holes all over my body.
Finally, a council member replied, “You’re a woman.”
I didn’t hesitate. “I’m a legacy, and if it weren’t for my ancestors, none of you would be standing here today, so if you really want to talk about the order of things, let’s start there.”
Onyx softly chuckled from behind me, and out of nowhere, Caspian groaned in pain, rolling onto his side.
Pleading my case, I added, “The truth is out now. There is no need for more killing unless you’re doing it for your own sick pleasure and not for what’s in the best interest of your blood oath, which, let me remind you, needs to come first, right?
” Grabbing the dagger that they used to cut down Caspian off the grass, I sliced it into the palm of my hand, vowing, “Speak No Evil, Hear No Promises, See No Temptation.” With that, I threw it on the ground between us, lifting my hand to show them my blood oath.
My uncle didn’t hide his pleased expression. He displayed it just as proudly as I was.
To my complete and utter dismay, Onyx stepped out beside me, in front of me actually. Swiftly, my tío did the same, standing beside him. Within seconds, Mr. Devereaux was standing there also.
What they were doing was a ritual in itself, that much I was aware of. As if on cue, Caspian suddenly stood beside Mr. Devereaux, who grabbed him, trying to hold him steady.
Coughing up a lung, Caspian groaned out, “I’m also a legacy family, from the Hawthorne crest, and I think this is a great fucking idea. Can we bury this shit?”
I resisted the urge to chuckle. In true Caspian form, he was a smart-ass even in pain.
“I stand before the Blood Oath Brotherhood,” Mr. Devereaux announced, bringing our attention back to him. It was only then that I noticed he was holding the dagger.
“With the power of the Devereaux crest, my family lineage, for which we would not be gathering here tonight, I vow my oath to you: Speak No Claim, Hear No Promises, See No Temptation.” He slid the knife through the palm of his hand and immediately grabbed mine, lifting it in the air.
“The ritual of silence, I accept Hennessy Belladonna into our secret society. For she is the legacy of the Belladonna family, one of the original thirteen families.”
Passing the blade to my uncle, he proceeded to do the same thing, and then Onyx repeated it. I swear I wasn’t intending on this to happen, but my blood wouldn’t be poison after all…
It’d be liberation.
The council members gathered, whispering something into the night. I couldn’t help it. I stared up at the sky, locking eyes with the full moon as crows gathered above us. As soon as I saw them, I knew everything would be alright, or at least, as alright as it could be, given the circumstances.
I wasn’t mad about my father’s infidelity. I wasn’t going to pretend to know what happened in their relationship to make my father stray. It made sense why my family never wanted to speak to me about him. I wondered if it was from the promises he made to save me and Deja.
Is that why they ordered Onyx to watch me?
He was protecting Deja from the truth she still didn’t know, and I’d never tell her. It wasn’t my place to.
I wonder what would happen if she found out my father was hers too?
It made perfect sense why I felt this immediate connection to her, and the truth was, she felt it too. She was the first and only person to welcome me to the Graves Academy.
It all made sense now. Every last second of the past four months of my life came down to this moment.
Fate always had a way of catching up to you.
No matter what, my destiny was here whether I wanted it to be or not. That was the thing about the universe: the pendulum always came back around.
With luck.
With money.
With power.
With anything…
You couldn’t hide from the truth. Eventually, secrets come out into the light.
Cocking his head to the side, the council member who was holding a knife to my face grabbed the dagger out of Onyx’s grasp and announced, “On this day, Hennessy Belladonna is one of us.” He sliced his hand, grabbing mine and mixing our blood before continuing with…
“Welcome home, Hennessy.”