Page 19 of Retaliation
I could pretend all I wanted, but something was happening with Dev. I felt things. Emotions I’d buried deep and thought I could no longer access. Somehow, between his dirty words and rough hands, his soft kisses and sinful tongue, something in me started to shine. I silently slammed the cage around my heart shut, forcing that shining spark to cower once more. That light was more terrifying than anything hiding in the deep dark. That light was happiness. It was hope. Two things I didn’t deserve and could never want, especially from an Obscuritas Prince.
When I arrived at the downtown apartment Tibby and I shared, I immediately knew something was wrong. She was quiet, and the computer monitors were dark. I froze in the doorway.
“What happened?”
I dropped my bag to the floor and took a slow step toward her. There was an accident on the highway so it took me twice as long to get here. I missed something vital, and Tibby’s grim face told me I didn’t want to hear it.
“Tell me,” I demanded, even as my voice shook.
“They have your father, the founders have him, I think. But, it sounded like he went to them willingly.” Tibby whispered the words, and I fell to my knees as she continued. “I didn’t get much before they went into a lower level of the manor and the audio cut out. It must be deep underground, and probably has signal blockers to keep whatever is down there secret.”
“Michaela?” The word scraped out of me, leaving my insides raw and exposed. We’d been searching for my father and sister for years, and suddenly they were here, mere miles away from where I now knelt.
“I couldn’t hear. They didn’t mention her before the audio cut out. I don’t know, Seraphina.”
Tibby’s use of my true name was too much. The computer lights winked too brightly, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I dropped into the darkness waiting inside me. I couldn’t take this. The Obscuritas had my father, which meant they could have my sister too. The people who murdered Lailah and my mother now had the only two people left to me in this world. But he went willingly? Did they already have her? Was she being tortured? Assaulted? My throat burned with rage, and I started to shake.
Shame scorched through my body as I thought about what Dev had just done to me while my sister was out there, lost and alone.
“Seraphina,” Tibby snapped, and my eyes flew open. “We need to do this the right way. If you storm in there now, when they’re all together, you’ll die. And so will your father and sister, if they’re both even there.”
I stood, pacing with pure rage. My blood boiled, and I pulled my knife from the sheath on my thigh, twirling it in my hands. “I can’t just leave them there, Tabitha. I can’t.”
Tibby stood, stepping into my path and grabbing my arms, a dangerous move when I was feeling murderous.
“Look at me. We aren’t leaving them. But we need more information and a plan. We’ve come this far. This is the first true lead, and it sounds like they’re alive, Sara. Let’s work this out and bring them home, alright?” Tibby’s eyes searched mine, the cool blue irises begging me to listen.
I let out a breath and nodded, a plan forming in my mind.
“Friday,” I whispered, my voice coming back from the edge of madness. “Andras said they’re having a party next Friday. Levi will be there. Ty will be at the gym tomorrow. Maybe I can get more details about who else will be attending. They’ll be occupied. We can track any movements at Vespertine Hall so we know exactly where they are, and I can sneak away to get them out.”
Tibby nodded. “Good plan. What about Dev?”
I couldn’t think about Dev and the things he was making me feel. “He’s one of them. He was there tonight, Tibby. If he was any kind of decent, he wouldn’t let some cult leader assholes torture and murder innocent people. The plan hasn’t changed. He will die with the others.”
She looked like she had something to add but wisely kept those thoughts to herself. I was in no fucking mood to hear anything anyway. I stalked to the kitchen and pulled the vodka out of the freezer. I spun off the cap and poured the cold liquor down my throat. I needed to be drunk immediately or I’d run out of this apartment and set the whole fucking city on fire.
My phone buzzed with messages from Dev, but I ignored them.
Tibby’s dinner for us arrived, but I was no longer hungry. I carried the vodka into the living room and continued to swig from the bottle. My thoughts began to fade, and my eyes glazed. I kept drinking, needing the alcohol to soak my insides until I couldn’t feel anything but the cold nothingness of sleep. But when I finally blacked out, the nightmares barreled in, locking my mind in an endless torture.
CHAPTER FIVE
Typhon
Ipulled into the parking lot of my gym, parking next to a sleek Buell. I was more of a Harley guy myself, but the matte black bike was hot. The blacked-out look and A-line framing was beautiful. It looked expensive too, with additional mods for speed and elegance. Had to be a chick’s bike for sure. The thought had me curious to find its owner. Weeknights were usually pretty relaxed around here, so I was certain I could pick out a new member. I swung my gym bag across my back and walked into the gym, heading straight for the back office.
Radnor’s Gym was more than just a fitness center. When I bought the place three years ago, I added a boxing ring, CrossFit equipment, and a few gymnastics pieces like a balance beam and uneven bars. I wanted this to be a place where anyone could come, leave behind thoughts of the outside world, and get their adrenaline pumping. I offered deals to the young kids looking to get off the streets. I wanted Radnor’s to be a place where people felt safe, something I never had when I was younger.
Of course, I also used the basement for Obscuritas meetings, but the general public didn’t know about that. And it technically wasn’t Obscuritas. When our fathers did what they did to us eight years ago, my brothers and I vowed to find a way to fight against them. We started small and only began actively recruiting others in the last three years. We call it Umbra Noctis. We were the Shadows of Night, always watching, waiting for our time to strike. We played our roles for The Obscuritas leaders—our fathers—and followed orders, all while gathering dissenters, readying for the moment we would finally take control.
My brothers and I couldn’t live like this, not for much longer. The daemon inside me writhed, feeding on my anger. I shoved the fucker down, but until I had full control, I was a slave to The Obscuritas and the daemon within.
Inside my office, I dropped my gym bag to the floor, and James jumped out of my seat, smiling broadly.
“Hey boss.” He nodded, taking a seat on the small couch in the corner instead. He propped his feet up on the coffee table and continued typing out a text. “Meeting is all set for later this week. About thirty potential recruits.”
I grunted in approval. James was twenty-seven, roughly two years older than me, and three inches shorter. He was a CrossFit junkie and ripped after years of training. He was also my eyes and ears at the gym and my Number Two within Umbra Noctis. His bright-green tank stood out against his midnight toned skin, and I grunted a hello as he continued to text.
