Page 15 of Divine Violence
My skin felt too tight, pressing in on my bones, cutting off the oxygen I needed. As I climbed toward the main road from the wharf, I wondered if I could really do this tonight. I promised Kairos I would, but seeing that girl…
“Good evening, sir,” a driver greeted me as I hurried toward the car. The driver opened the door for me seconds before I reached them.
I fucking hated all of this, but I played along.
I had no other choice.
They were watching, expecting us to fail. Expecting us to go back, crawling tothem, to beg them for forgiveness and mercy, but they weren’t going to get either of those from us.
The sleek, black seats smelled of leather, choking me, reminding me of all those nights spent inside—
No. I shook my head, willing those memories to go away. This was one night where the three of us could be who we really were. One night in the entire year where I didn’t have to hide behind the perfectly curated mask of control and calmness.
Tonight I could be wild, free, careless, and seeing that girl who resembled little Echo and had her name wouldn’t knock me off my feet. But the resemblance was eerie. Those eyes, the same midnight black hair, could it really be her?
If it was, did she really forget about me or was she pretending?
“Should we go directly to the Manor, sir?” the driver asked from the front seat as I stewed over what happened tonight. I didn’t want to be surrounded by these people, but both Kairos and Alexander were going to be there. If I didn’t show up, they would send their bloodhounds to look for me. I didn’t have it in me yet to start causing unnecessary mayhem.
“To the Manor, please,” I mumbled, turning my head toward the window as the car started.
It would’ve been better if I didn’t.
Alexander appeared at the side of the road, gripping her hand in his. I should’ve thrown him into the water for what he did tonight. He shouldn’t have touched her.
None of us were allowed to touch her until the witching hour, and he already managed to fuck it all up. If Kairos found out…
But he doesn’t have to find out, my subconscious piped in.He never has to know, and you can play with her too.
My fist connected with the seat in front of me, “Fuck!” The drive didn’t even blink. I guess that working for Kairos Adair meant that nothing ever fazed you.
“Sorry,” I grumbled, clearing my throat.
“It’s okay, sir. Master Adair has everything ready. I’m sure you will be able to relax once we are at the Manor.”
I highly doubted that.
These events were starting to grate on my nerves. As each year passed, I feared that we were getting further away from the final goal. Instead of findingher, we’d spent years fucking through the girls that came through the Manor. But none of them were what we were looking for.
Not one of them would’ve been able to withstand everything that the Infernal Triumvirate meant.
But that girl on the boat, Echo… There was something in her eyes that I hadn't seen before.
The violence, the defiance, as if she knew something I didn’t. Whether or not she was the little Echo from all those years ago, there was so much misery hiding in those blue orbs. But when she looked at me as Alexander hugged her, my cock stirred to life and I fucking hated it.
The fact that I wanted to smash Alexander’s head against the bench didn’t help to settle the feeling in my gut. I wished it was because I was simply jealous, but it was more than that.
He should’ve called me. He shouldn’t have done this.
Ten million should haves and I had no idea how Kairos was going to take this. We had to let him know.
“Five more minutes, sir,” the driver spoke again, pulling me back from the miserable thoughts swirling inside my head.
The wharf wasn’t too far away from the Manor, but I never refused an opportunity to bitch about the fact that we all had to come with that fucking boat that took forever driving us back and forth. All those pompous pricks vying for my attention, and all those girls all but throwing themselves at me and my friends were getting tiring.
Years ago, all of this was exciting, new, something that the three of us had created without the help of our families, but now… Now it all felt shallow, useless. I couldn’t shake the unease in the pit of my stomach.
The forest surrounded the Manor and covered the majority of the island. As we passed through the tall, iron gates, I braced myself for the incessant chattering throughout the night I would have to suffer through, until the main event.
