CHAPTER SIXTY
SAINT
Antiseptic floods my nostrils as my eyes blink against the harsh fluorescent light.
I try to move my body, but every part of me aches, my left arm, most especially my ribs.
Beside me, the heart rate monitor beeps relentlessly.
My head spins, and I shut my eyes and take in a deep breath, air spilling into my lungs as my chest expands.
Then Elio’s voice comes in an inaudible murmur. My head snaps in his direction, vision blurred, head pounding with an ache. His hands settle against my chest, and a soothing chill runs down my spine. Velvet and hypnotic.
He nudges the visitor’s seat closer and whispers under his breath. “Take it easy, baby. You’ve been out for almost two weeks.”
I swallow hard and take in a sharp breath that punctures my lungs, returning life into me. My eyes slide over to him, taking him in. I don’t know how long it has been. But waking up next to him already makes me a happy man. He leans forward and takes my hand, squeezing lightly.
“What happened?” I choke out. I don’t really remember much, probably because I just woke up from a coma.
“You’re safe.” He reassures me with a smile. “That’s all that matters to me. Just rest.”
I give him a tight nod and slip back into the comfort of the hospital bed, quietly slipping back into the arms of rest. When my body comes back to the light again, I hear him speaking with the doctor about my health, but their words are almost inaudible.
I don’t fight the drowsiness clogging my vision. I trust Elio to do what’s best for me.
When I wake up again, I recall everything that happened in the Red Vault.
I remember my father turning his back on me even when I begged him on my knees.
And the intensity of that memory makes my chest squeeze with hurt.
The heart rate monitor spikes up, and Elio invades my space, face contorting with worry.
“I’ll get the doctor.” He tries to get on his feet, but I hold him back. I take a deep breath, my vision finally focusing on how beautiful he is. Wherever I was, I definitely missed looking at him. And I love that I’m here with him because he makes it all better.
He’s here for me.
He’s choosing me.
He’s waiting for me.
Although my heart leaps with excitement, a quiet part of me is terrified by this choice. He was in the Red Vault. He must have seen me battered and broken. Worthless. A weakling. Not the powerful, dangerous man that was ready to burn the world for him.
“Elio…” I mutter.
“I’m here.” His hand lifts to my cheeks, eyes wide with equal parts admiration and patience as he watches me. He pets me carefully. Slow, gentle strokes that stoke the storm brewing in my mind.
I shut my eyes and grunt, an air of relief slipping through my nostrils.
No man has ever looked at me like that. But Elio’s here with me, staring at me like I’m the most important person on the planet. Like I’m the only person who matters.
How long have I been here? How long has he stayed here?
I have so many questions, but I just wanted to focus on getting better.
“I did what it took to save you.” He reveals. It’s like he’s read my mind by just looking at me. I try to speak, but he presses his index finger to my lips. “Get some rest.”
I fall back to sleep, and I’m not sure how long it is when I wake up again. But he’s still there. And this time, the doctor checks my vitals and informs me that I’m ready to return home.
Elio helps me puts some clothes on. When I’m done, we head out of the hospital ward with him at my side and my left arm tucked into an arm sling.
Bernard’s waiting in the parking lot when we arrive outside.
I take a look at the premises, gaze lifting up at the sun at the edge of the horizon.
It’s been a while since I saw the sun. Hell, I thought I was never going to see the sun again, but he made it exactly possible.
“It’s a beautiful day.” I mention.
“It is.” He holds the door open for me.
I get into the car, and he circles the back and joins me. “Where are we heading to?”
“To the King mansion. We have some people waiting on you.”
I clear my throat and give him a forced smile. The car leaves the premises, and we arrive at the King’s mansion shortly after. I slam the door as I exit the car and look up at the gigantic building in front of me.
I’m back in this world again. I’m well aware that my father’s gone. Elio held a gun to my face and made that happen. He made a bargain with an enemy to get me out of the Red Vault.
All the weight of everything that happened behind these walls falls on me. It presses intently on my chest, making it difficult for me to breathe. But the weight lessens when Elio’s hands close around mine.
“Come on. The monsters aren’t here.” He smiles at me. My hand tightens around his as we march toward the double-door entrance.
As we step into the living room, my footsteps slow as my eyes take in the men sitting in the space with Cross. They’re part of the Black Vipers. The Rooks. They are in charge of distributing products in several parts of the city.
Silence falls over at the note of my presence, and they all look up at me with a meek gaze.
“Saint.” One of them rises to their feet.
“What’s happening here?”
“We’ve been worried about you. You know, you’ve been at the hospital, and the seat has been open.”
I scoff and let Elio go. I take a step forward. “I have a question for you.”
The man straightens his spine and takes in a sharp, trembling breath.
“Was my leadership ever in question?”
“We just haven’t heard from your father in a while?”
“He’s been indisposed. Go back to your territories and keep making me money. That’s what this family pays you for.” I grit and look at all of them. I turn on my heel. “You are dismissed.”
They all scramble to their feet, adjusting their suits as they pour out of the building. “Saint, I wasn’t expecting you home until tomorrow.” Cross steps forward, breaking the silence between us.
“I was discharged early.” I tell him. “I need you to meet me in the office in an hour. Update me on everything that has happened in the past month.”
“Alright, sir.” He walks toward me and claps his hand on my back. “Welcome home.”
“Thank you.” I smile at him.
I head straight to my father’s office. The door creaks as I shut it behind me. The silence here is heavy and riveting. He no longer has the throne. It’s mine. He’s gone. And I’ll rule the empire however I see fit.
I have trained for this my whole life. Brutally played these mindless games. Relentlessly tried to prove my worth to my father.
Now’s the time for me to take that power. To take the mantle of kingship. To become the next King.
But even all this is not enough to stop the guilt crushing my lungs.
I lean forward, hands splaying across the polished table, gaze lifting to the King’s throne.
In the generations of men in our family, every king has passed on power to the successor, mostly because they saw them worthy and capable of handling everything and ensuring our family’s networking remains in the shadows.
In the eyes of my father, I’m not worthy.
And no matter how much I try to twist it, he would have never given me this cause he saw me as weak and incapable.
But I have it now anyway because the same man who betrayed my family had gone out of his way to make sure I had it all in the end.
He proved himself to me even though I didn’t need him to.
The door creaks, and I look over my shoulder. Elio slips into the quiet space and pauses behind me, locking his hands in front of me. “Hey, everything okay?”
I straighten up and turn to him, eyes taking in every part of me.
Even though my mind has been insistent on letting him go, on setting him free from all this, I don’t want to. This world has taken so much from him, yet he rose above it. He might be better off without all my darkness, but I’m too selfish to let him walk away.
I cannot imagine a world where we don’t belong to each other.
Where he’s not the other half of me.
I would still be in the Red Vault if it weren’t for him.
When it comes to him, I don’t care how much I have to sacrifice as long as he’s always by my side.
“I’ve just been thinking.”
“About what?” He steps closer.
“Everything.”
He sighs, then gently lays his hand on my shoulder.
“You can’t completely erase what happened to you at the Red Vault, but this,” he points at the throne behind me.
“You deserve this. You’ve worked for this your entire life.
And you don’t need a man who’s months away from going six feet under to determine your worthiness. ”
I give him a stern nod as I take a deep breath.
We haven’t talked about how horrifying all those days were when we were apart.
It felt like I couldn’t breathe. Like the world had completely ended for me. Bleak and colorless. And even though I never admitted it when I saw him in the Red Vault, colors bled back into my life the moment I set my eyes on him.
I love him.
I took a chance, and it worked out. I disregarded everything I was taught. I fought against the norms of the family.
I have wanted to tell him that I loved him for a while now. And I keep putting it off, mostly because I’m waiting for the right time. Not just that, but because a part of me is terrified that he could never love a man like me.
“I also want you to know that I’m not going anywhere at all. I’m here for you, and if you ever need help, I’ll be by your side while you get all the help you need.” He lets me go and turns on his heels, leaving me in the silence of the office.
Shortly after, my brother Cross enters the room, and I step aside and offer him a seat. I circle the desk and settle on the throne. It feels foreign to be on this side of it all. But as Elio said, I deserve this because I did everything for this moment.
“What about Virgil?”
“Virgil has been missing for weeks now. He was with his father when Cyrus’s men attacked. I have been to the Red Island a few times, and I haven’t found him, but I have our men scouting the territory.”
“Hmm. Double the reinforcement. I need him found.”
“Right.”
“And the company?”
“Olivia took on the role of CEO. She’s been leading all operations in the company, and she’s doing a phenomenal job.” He explains. “Our associates got our products about a month ago, and we’ve been getting our returns.”
“And Prince Kane. I know I didn’t hold up the end of our bargain.”
“Virgil went to Genesis in your absence, but Prince hasn’t contacted us at all.”
“I’ll take care of it, don’t worry.”
“We still have Vincent in custody, but Madame has been disposed of and replaced by someone else.”
“Can we trust her?”
“Yes, we can.”
“Good.”
“Is there anything else you’d like to know or like me to do?”
I rise from the throne and watch the fields through the window. “No.”
“Alright.” Cross regains his footing.
“Wait.” my voice stops him. “Elio, does he know everything about us?”
“He’s been by your side after we got out of the Red Vault. I thought he deserved to know, but I didn’t tell him everything. It’s left for you to decide whether he’s going to be a part of our family or not.”
“He is.” I grunt. “I love him.” I finally face him, expecting to see some sort of admonishment in his eyes, but my little brother looks me in the eye with love.
He inhales sharply and moves toward me, pulling me into an embrace with a grunt. I chuckle, taking the impact of his embrace. “Don’t forget we have a family dinner this weekend.” I whisper and tighten my hand around him.
“Hopefully, before then, we must have found Virgil.” Cross steps back and smiles.
“Well, off you go.” I chuckle, and he shakes his head with laughter as he walks away.
Father might have raised his family the way he believed was right, but I’m going to do things differently. This family is so important to me, I’ll make sure we’ve always got each other’s backs.