Chapter 21

TWENTY-ONE

ARIANNA

My fingers clutch my husband’s crafted bicep as we walk up the cobblestone path to Von Dovish manor. I haven’t been here since I was a child and only remember it as boring because Livia didn’t have any dolls, but I did like to watch her as a ballerina. She showed me how to twirl and leap. Then I begged Mama for lessons and got them.

Things seemed simple then and I was unafraid. Not like now.

When Asa told me to tell the truth, I reflected on my entire existence. Ever since the age of four, I’ve lived in fear. I lied because I had to in order to survive. Most of my life, I could never be myself. Papa warned me that bad men could come and take me away, so I couldn’t even use my own last name for years. Or someone could find out and take them away from me.

And someone did.

Some days, I blame myself because I told a boy at Saint John’s that I was really rich, and he didn’t believe me. So I told him my real name. He acted like he’d never heard it before, but what if he was lying.

What if I killed my parents?

“Empress, stop. Whatever your thoughts are right now, you look at me.”

Asa’s calm voice snaps me back to the double glass doors we stand in front of, and I ground myself in his clear blue eyes. “Yes?”

His face is solemn, so assured. I’ve always admired his tenacity and confidence. I feign it, but he’s got it. Or maybe I helped give it to him and gave some up myself. I’m not sure. “I’ve got us. You’re fine. I’ll take care of you.”

My heart melts as his words warm my face. How does he know that’s exactly what I really needed to hear? Tugging me closer to his side, he rings the bell, which makes a long chime as I lean my head against his shoulder.

Is it possible to just be in his skin so I can be closer to him?

A stoic butler greets us at the door and attempts to maintain his composure at the sight of the enemy clan standing on the stoop.

“Are Mr. and Mrs. Von Dovish aware of your visit, sir and madam?”

“Ace?” Cal walks down the stairs behind his staff in sweatpants and socks. He tosses a hoodie over his head as he descends, followed by his wife. Who appears to be pregnant.

“Can I come in?” my husband asks with his puppy dog eyes.

Cal reaches us and stops, shifting awkwardly across from Asa as his wife stands by his side with her arms wrapped around him. If I didn’t know better, it seems she’s scanned every inch of both of us like we’re holding bombs. I watched her disarm Asa in a second a few months ago. If there’s a danger here, she’s it.

“What’s this about?” Cal asks with slight hesitation.

Asa swallows, and his lips press into a tight line. I will some strength into his arm as I squeeze him. “I know you did what you had to do for Ashley. And I understand. I can’t say thank you, but…maybe you did the right thing.” Tears form across the bottoms of his eyelids that glisten in the lamplights near the doors. “But now I need to talk to you about something else.”

Cal’s shoulders relax, and his face softens. Some unspoken empathy seems to travel from his body to Asa’s. He nods. “Of course. Come in.”

Turning as a unit, the Von Dovishes lead us into their living room, and we sit across from them on an ancient loveseat while they take the sofa. Asa opens his mouth, but Cal holds up a finger to quiet him just as a staff member brings in a tray of small cakes and tea. When she leaves, Cal interrupts and says, “I guess you’re here about Barrington.”

Asa shakes his head. “You’re such a fucking smartass. You know that?” I worry there’s going to be another fight, but both stare each other down until they grin so hard, both transform into riotous laughs.

His wife smiles at me and the shift on her face makes her seem less like a scary assassin and more like someone I’d be friends with. “I’m Vera, by the way.”

“Oh, yeah,” Asa says, looking at me snuggled next to him and hikes his thumb toward Vera. “In addition to being a smartass, he stole my spy.”

Cal places a hand on her knee and says, “She was never yours.” He raises an eyebrow, the look on his face eerie. “Did you send her to kill me?”

My husband’s hand reaches up to his hair as he scratches his head. “No. I think that was Kline’s way of dealing with the supply issue. But Cal, seriously. I-I never knew about those types of dealings.”

The foxes settle back on the sofa as Cal gives my husband a single nod as they hold each other’s gaze. He believes him.

Asa clears his throat and says, “I want to know what you do. So spill. What’s going on? What do you know?”

Instead of Cal answering, Vera is the one to speak up first. “Wyatt William Barrington was a lone survivor of the oldest family in Gnarled Pine Hollow. The first consorts were of the family Barrington, and they survived many years. That is, until the Strausses arrived and slaughtered them all in 1917. Everyone assumed there was none left. But I suppose Wyatt’s grandparents fled and were hidden away.”

Rubbing a hand on her back, Cal takes over the story. “There are three organizations at war playing our families like pawns in their little game to gain money and power. For centuries, there was only Herodius and Clavius at war with each other over the profits of various industries. Herodius is a group of women that wear owl costumes. They could be anyone. They could be politicians of the state or country, celebrities, religious leaders. Clavius, on the other hand, is a group of men signified by wearing tuxedoes and all going by the name of ‘John,’ as if the owls are their prostitutes. When the two groups met to combine resources and declare peace, the Barrington family had issues with…well, sexual servitude. And they said they wouldn’t condone it in their city.”

“So,” his wife interrupts him with a toss of her red hair over her shoulder. “They weren’t happy about that and brought in the Strausses to eradicate their lineage and replace them with a family who would obey their orders and continue to make them money.”

This is all news to me and both of them seem very invested in what they are saying, but it seems almost like cult followers trying to upsell us on the next book set for enlightenment.

Asa looks like he feels the same as me, and his hand grips my waist as he pulls me closer to him. “I’m lost. Where does Wyatt Barrington come into play? You’re kinda talking nonsense.”

Cal smiles and brushes a hand through his hair. “You want a drink?”

Quickly, my husband shakes his head. “No. Continue.”

“Somehow, the Johns discovered that Wyatt was a Barrington heir and still alive, even though he and his family had been living under a new surname for years. Steele. Once they found where they were, they threatened to kill them all, but Wyatt’s father promised him into the trade if the Johns would let him live. And then he would rule once he came of age. As long as he agreed to become a dutiful consort and look the other way when it came to human trafficking.”

“What?” I hadn’t heard that before… “Wyatt was trafficked?”

Asa swallows and nods slowly as the pain of this realization creeps inside me. His thumb trails over my hand in a soothing motion. Had I been Wyatt’s target all along? Was anything he felt for me real? An odd mixture of emotions surges through me. Part of me feels so sorry for this man I loved. And another still feels incredibly betrayed. Sliding my hand into my husband’s, I also try to ignore the guilt seeping in for introducing him into our marriage.

Shaking my head, I ask, “But why would they want to take Wyatt? A Barrington? Strauss seems to be doing their bidding just fine.”

Cal and his wife exchange a glance. “He’s not. I believe he’s silently resisting or has the backing of a newer faction…Slyvious. Strauss doesn’t communicate what’s going on. And that’s the only knowledge I have, but I do know the Johns have been planning to instill Wyatt Barrington as consort for several years to replace Vladimir Strauss the Third for insubordination. And I think the Day of the Raging Bull has a lot to do with it, but I don’t know the details.”

Asa’s eyes narrow. “Why would Wyatt agree to be consort and condone trafficking if he himself was raped by those people?” My heart aches again for the man I knew, and I think about all the times I could have helped him, if only he’d been honest with me.

Cal blinks rapidly. “You’d have to ask Wyatt that. But I don’t recommend it. Not without protection of some kind.”

Asa looks at me. “He could be secretly trying to overthrow the system, maybe, right?”

In my gut, I hope it to be true. But when my eyes lift to meet Cal’s green ones across the divide, we both seem to silently agree. It doesn’t seem likely.

“What if he’s just trying to live? He could be in a lot of danger and trying to survive?” I ask my husband.

“Yeah, he could be.” He nods as if I’ve given him the answer he was desperate to hear. “We can protect him.”

“You can’t,” Cal says, and we turn to look at him. “Ace, you’re one of my oldest friends. I don’t think he has good intentions.”

Asa’s back muscles twitch as he rears up. “You don’t know that.”

Vera’s eyes dart to my husband’s face, looking like she’s about to shank him, which, in turn, makes me ready to snap at her.

Cal calmly and quietly responds, “You’re right. I don’t. But now I’ve given you everything I do know.”

“Thanks,” Asa mutters, then grabs my hand and stands.

Cal walks us to the door, but Asa’s already opening it for us. Cal snags his arm, though, and pulls on him until they stare at each other for another long moment. And something happens between them until my husband’s eyes grow glassy. Cal’s hand runs through his hair, and with a husky voice, the fox says, “Come back anytime. I’m serious. And…I’m sorry.”

Asa sticks his tongue in his cheek and glances to where Cal has a hold of him and nods, then pats his friend on the shoulder before we leave.

Once we get inside the Escalade, Asa turns to me and grabs both my hands in his. “This is what I know. It’s you, me, and our child against this entire world. I’ll protect you with my life. I never want to be parted from you again. If we need to run, we’ll run. You were brilliant to set that up already, and I love you more for that. But Arianna, I need some answers from Wyatt. I have to know.”

Nodding, I place all my trust in the broad-shouldered, soft-hearted man in front of me. “So, what do we do now?”

He places his lips against my forehead and breathes against my face.

“We catch him.”