7. Kaspian

Chapter 7

Kaspian

THE BOGEYMAN

T hrough a wasteland of black and white noise and nothingness all at once, the voice I would never choose to hear first says, "Don't make this harder than it needs to be, Miss Wraithwood."

Rossi.

Fucking Miguel Rossi.

I haven't heard from that old man since he left campus last year, with Cav smirking at Rossi's back as the former professor walked away from his assassin's life and carved a name for himself through the city in his enemies' blood.

I open my mouth to welcome him back to my turf and then promptly stab him, consequences be damned, until two things hit me at once.

One, my tongue is too big for my mouth, and it's sticking to the roof, brushing along my gums like a dehydrated, mewling street cat. And my throat pulses with swelling irritation. Like I've been screaming.

And two, Rossi said her name.

Elara.

My eyelids swing open.

Rossi's form snaps into focus first, his large, oversized body taking over the doorway—the one exit out of this sitting room.

At Farrow Estate. Elara's mother's house, where I'd headed to after being forced to endure Cav's mutilation and wondering who would be next, who else will fall victim to our failure to secure the whole Heart…

And Cav had looked at me, his face speckled and painted with his own blood. Looked at me in a way that his thoughts lined up with mine. Find her.

Yes, it's all coming back to me now. Rossi had worked on me, using his expertise and sadism to make sure my shoulder was stitched up nicely. And the reason he was here was because Elara called Tempest… because her mother had a gun … yep, and fucking shot me.

Rossi says to Elara, who's gripping my hand like I imagine a python strangles an alligator, his voice almost gentle, "We're not going to hurt you. We just need you to come with us, and it's clear you won't follow willingly."

"Like hell I'm going unwillingly, too," she spits, and my initial confusion morphs into fury.

Tempest— Tempest , that motherfucker—cocks a gun at Elara, the click echoing in the sudden silence. "Don't be stupid, Elara. You're outnumbered and outgunned."

I hear the hurt seeping into Elara's words when she responds, "I called you for help. I thought you were helping me. Why would you do this when none of it has to do with you? Other than tonight, I haven't asked you for anything. And I'm not leaving him." She tightens her grip so my knuckles almost crack. "I'm not leaving my mother. I'm not leaving my home ."

"We only want to keep you safe." Tempest risks darting his attention to me. I catch his intention in time to shut my eyes, pretending drugged stupor while I coil.

"We're taking you away from the Court," Tempest says to Elara. "They will kill you if you stay. Kaspian and his brothers will be at the front of the line?—"

"Say that again."

Tempest cuts himself off at the sound of my haggard voice. His attention lowers to me again, but this time stays there.

Well, at the gun I'm holding, pulled from my ankle holster, though it hurt like a motherfucker to swiftly grab it before Tempest caught on.

Caroline Wraithwood, sweet, half-starved, aimless widow that she is, got me in my good arm.

"You're not taking her anywhere," I growl, having to scrape my vocal cords together to do so. "Elara stays with me."

Tempest's gaze hardens, his grip tightening on his own weapon.

Elara's nails dig into my skin. "I don't think adding another gun to the mix will help."

Rossi intercedes, his hands raised in a placating gesture. "Let's all just calm down. There's no need for violence. We only want what's best for Elara."

"Fuck you," I spit, my gun never wavering from Tempest's face. "You have no idea what's best for her. None of you do."

"You included," Tempest retorts. "To involve her in this, to drag an innocent girl into this vile, corrupt world where nothing but bodies pile up on our shoulders … Be ashamed, Kaspian, not proud, that you've fucked her life over so badly."

I respond with an answering, jackel's smile, though lopsided and weakened behind the barrel of my gun. "It's not my fault you can't separate your own shitty situation from mine. Elara is not your little sister, and I'm fairly certain she can speak for herself and make her own decisions."

Tempest's lips curve in a vicious sneer. "Big words for a guy who can barely hold up his gun long enough to aim it."

"You're right, I can't," I say before my focus swings behind Rossi's shoulder. "But he can."

Tempest spins in time to see Axe with an arm around Rossi's neck and a knife to his cock.

"Rossi probably needs his big swinging dick to keep, you know, being a big swinging dick," I say idly to Tempest, though my vision grows spotty.

I refuse to pass out, though, and leave Elara to these overprotective carrion eaters.

A low, dangerous laugh escapes from Axe, but it sounds too far away, like I'm sinking in deep water. I blink twice, trying to clear the stars dancing in my vision.

"Axe…" Elara's tight whisper resonates throughout the silenced room.

Her tone communicates what I'm thinking, which is abject relief at my silent, lethal comrade who knew enough to follow me through the woods and get to Elara, too. A man who answers to the same beautiful, chilling call of this woman.

My relief is short-lived. Fresh blood seeps through my shirt, staining it a dark red.

"Fuck," I curse under my breath. My grip on the gun wavers as a wave of dizziness hits me. I manage to keep my aim steady and hold on to consciousness by sheer stubbornness alone.

"No one has to get hurt," Tempest says, his tone surprisingly calm, given the circumstances.

But his words trigger something inside me. A savage rage that's been simmering beneath the surface for far too long.

"No one has to get hurt?" I repeat, my voice laced with pure venom. "That's rich, coming from you."

I can feel Elara's hand trembling in mine, her fear tangible. It fuels my anger and ignites it into a raging inferno.

Elara's under my protection because she deserves more than this shit show. And besides that … there are things about her that draw me closer. Things I'm still trying to define.

Gathering every ounce of strength left in me, I push myself off the chair and stagger forward.

"Stay away from what's mine," I declare. "And if you or any of your buddies try, I'll kill every last one of you. And don't doubt me. I've done it before and will do it again."

Tempest's finger twitches on the trigger, and I brace myself to fire a shot before he does. But before he can pull it, a deafening boom shakes the room.

Shielding Elara with my arm, I pivot sharply and discover Caroline Wraithwood standing in the doorway, a shotgun clutched in her bony hands. Smoke curls from the barrel, and a gaping hole mars the doorframe beside Rossi's head.

"I'm not asking," she states, her eyes wild and feverish.

"Mom!" Elara screams.

"Christ," I grit out. "Where does she keep getting this shit?"

Sasha sprints up behind her, Axe and Rossi shifting slightly to face the two new wild-eyed women in this fight.

"I tried to stop her, El!" Sasha rasps, out of breath as she puts her hands to her knees and drinks in oxygen. "But she tricked me by asking me to go into her closet and get her favorite?—"

"Not important," I snap as Elara wriggles from my shield and runs for her mother. I don't have enough strength to hold on to her, aim at Tempest, and communicate via our coded hand signals to Axe. So I go with reason. "Listen to the woman of the house, gents, and get the fuck out."

Elara darts between Tempest, Rossi, and Axe, none of whom attempts to detain her. That would've been the perfect moment to grab Elara, or strip Caroline of her shotgun, or twist out of Axe's delicate hold on Rossi's balls…

I glance at Caroline, who remains in the doorway, though the shotgun now hangs limply at her side.

She senses my study, turning to me, her eyes hollow. "She's all I have left. I won't lose her too."

Rossi is the first to respond. "Look, this is not what we wanted when we came here. Last year, we were part of a search for Sarah Anderton's treasure, and we found it. The Heart wasn't there. It doesn't exist, and you are putting this girl through hell for no reason. All we want is to remove her from the curse of your secret society and give her a decent life."

I guffaw, half leaning sideways as my adrenaline loses steam. "Because you're so wholesome?"

"Listen to me, boy," Rossi snarls. My brows jump at his tone. "The Heart does not exist . Communicate that to your superiors, deal with the fallout, and leave Sarah Anderton's legacy alone."

"But it does exist," Elara pipes up.

Axe growls it before I can. "Elara, no ."

"Enough of this alpha male bullshit," she snaps at both me and Axe. At the entire room, really. "Everyone put down your guns—you, too, Mom, give it to Sasha, please?—"

Sasha looks sick at the idea of handling a gun, but she does what Elara requests and holds the shotgun practically with two fingers.

"The Heart exists," Elara states, "Because we found half of it. Half of the largest ruby in the world. My brother broke it so it could never get in the Sovereigns' hands, the leaders of the Cimmerian Court."

Tempest's and Rossi's faces are so immobile that they must be caught off guard. Caroline moans, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

I groan, slumping into the chair and ideally giving in to sweet unconsciousness. Cav is going to blow a gasket —until I remember what state he's in, too.

"Is that what you needed to know?" she dares Rossi and Tempest.

There's fear in Elara, but also something else that makes my pulse quicken and my palms itch with the need to bring her back to me. I relish in the delicious anticipation and stifle a laugh at the absurdity of the situation—how this delicate creature could be holding two deadly former assassins rapt, as well as her two trained killers of a different sort.

Tempest turns my way. "She's serious?"

A dramatic sigh escapes me. If the plot twists of tonight have taught me anything, it's that me, my boys, and Elara are currently fucked. The Vultures, in all their feather puffing, might have some use.

In for a penny, in for another mic drop… "You're looking at Sarah Anderton's descendant, so yes, she speaks the truth."

Tempest sputters, "I'm sorry, what the fuck?"

Rossi remains ominously still.

Axe shifts, knife still poised at Rossi's groin. "Time for you to fly away home, birdies."

Rossi extricates himself from Axe's grip with exaggerated care, hands raised but expression menacing. "This changes things."

"You think?" Sasha shrieks, still holding the shotgun like it'll randomly shoot her.

"You have your answer," I say on an exhale, my voice strained but steady. "Now leave."

Tempest hesitates, his finger still poised on the trigger. For a tense heartbeat, no one moves. Then slowly, deliberately, he lowers the gun.

"This isn't over," he says.

I bare my teeth in a lopsided, feral grin. "For you, it is."

"We'll schedule another time to … discuss this," Rossi adds. "You may not see it this way, but we're trying to help."

"For patching up my shoulder and getting Elara's mom the help she needs, I'll let you live. If last year taught me anything when you worked with Cav, you guys aren't complete assholes," I grind out. "But don't ever try shit like taking my girl while I'm weak again. Because I will always, always , find the strength to end you."

"Elara—" Tempest says, but Elara cuts him off with a sharp shake of her head.

"Go." The single word cracks like a whip. "Violence may be second nature to all of you, but it's not always the answer. You could've just talked to me."

They retreat, footsteps heavy on the hardwood. The door slams behind them with a resounding finality.

In the sudden stillness, I sag further into the chair, the gun clattering to the floor. Black spots dance across my vision as the adrenaline drains away, leaving only wretchedness and exhaustion in its wake.

Elara rushes to my side, a shuddering breath escaping her.

I inhale her scent, letting it … even though I shouldn't … letting it ground me.

Cool air hits my face as she retreats, possibly fighting the same emotions I am and not letting them win.

Around us, the others mobilize. Axe secures the perimeter. Sasha sets down the shotgun and moves to comfort a weeping Caroline while they wait for a private ambulance to escort her to a secure facility.

But at this moment, in this single suspended heartbeat, there is only Elara and the promise I made her.

The promise I will keep, even if it kills me.

I will scorch this earth before I let anyone take her from me.