Page 76 of The Vixen

In its place is a vase of red roses Father must’ve had delivered from the outside. They’re the same color as a new table runner that holds a line of fat candles—a centerpiece that extends the length of the table. I follow it all the way up to Father’s chair.

His head doesn’t turn. Instead, Sawyer is the first to notice me.

He sits at one end of the table with Liberty on his left, Aubry on his right. My sisters—Raven, Echo, Aurora, and Jo—plus Thorne take up the middle, leaving one seat open. The seat on my Father’s right, symbolic or coincidence.

My fingers curl over the back of the chair, but pause when Father stops himself mid-speech. Silence cuts the room. The fireplace suddenly burns too hot as all eyes move to me with my wild hair and sunken eyes.

Father jumps from his chair. “There she is!” He beams as he wraps his arm around my shoulder. “Aubry, this is the daughter I was bragging about.”

He gives me the warmest of smiles, every tooth gleaming with affection. It reminds me of the day he captured the photo no longer suitable for the mantel.You’re a good girl, Daemonium.

I can’t bring myself to smile back.

“My precious Luna…”

He pecks my cheek, squeezes my shoulder, and pulls my chair out for me.

I perch on the cushioned edge and pull my napkin into my lap. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Nonsense.” Father gives a dismissive wave. “The first course hasn’t even arrived.”

“You have such a beautiful home,” Aubry squeaks, pulling my eyes to her. I have to admit, I’ve given her presence very littleattention. All my time on this project seems to have been spent either playing defense or playing Sawyer.

“Thank you.” I study her nervous, docile energy. Her arms hug her body like she’s sitting on her hands, and her shoulders are raised like she’s bracing for a hit.

Sawyer’s arm moves as he looks at Aubry. I think his hand is resting on her thigh.

“I have to agree,” Sawyer says. “Very tasteful, elegant, aclassicvibe. I like it.”

Liberty doesn’t chime in. She sits quietly next to Sawyer, her face pinched like she’s holding something inside. Insults. Vomit. Tears. Father hasn’t even begun.

Liberty’s eyes flick to Aubry’s lap in a judgmental glimpse that tugs a muscle in my cheek. Her vicious words echo in my mind while Jo starts droning on about something that happened at the Grove. It’s hard not to glare.

But truthfully, I should thank Liberty for her explosive personality. In one reckless conversation, the mystery of her dissolved.

She herself is nothing.

No threat.

No use.

Her husband… Apparently, hecouldbe a threat. Without free use of my computer, it’s hard to know much.

But the Shadow Sanctum isn’t easy to find, let alone likely to be pinned to a woman’s kidnapping in Spain. And Sawyer will never be able to reach him.

I’ve had the VPN checked, resecured, and rechecked a dozen times since their conversation. The Keepers monitoring Sawyer’s computer have been told to shut him down if he so much as clicks onto another social media profile.

His plan is so futile, he lost a piece of my respect today. If he hadn’t involved Liberty,maybehe’d have stood a chance… but he should know better than to think she could ever fool me.

Echo’s ramble finally ends as the salads arrive.

Father laughs. “You girls and your stories… I can’t tell if half of them are true.”

“Do you have all girls?” Aubry innocently asks. Probably making conversation. Sawyer jumps in before anyone can say what happened to my brothers.

“Consider him lucky.” Sawyer smiles easily as he twirls his wine, ignoring his salad as a toddler would. “Boys are a handful.”

Picking at a tomato, Liberty lets out a tiny, bitter laugh. “Yes, thankfully girls are free of opinions, wants, and dreams. They might otherwise make noise.”