brow, the phone continuing to ring.
It’s weird that he’s not picking up and that it’s not going to voicemail.
Hunter wavers, his gaze dropping to Raven. “I don’t know …” He presses his lips together and inhales through his nose. “Maybe the parts about what we did to her. But maybe we deserve to remember that.”
I open my mouth to … I’m not sure. Maybe tell him he’s wrong. But honestly, I think he might be right. I never get the words out, though, because my father finally answers.
“I was expecting your call a little bit later,” he says in that smug tone that I loathe. “You must have passed the first round much quicker than I thought.”
I grind my teeth. “Why were we even forced to play a round at all? We got out of the game, remember? Back when we made that deal with you.” Back when we screwed Raven over.
“That deal had an expiration date,” he replies. “It expired a few months ago, not that you would’ve remembered at the time.”
“Yeah, well, I remember now.” I rise to my feet. “What the hell did you do to us? Why couldn’t we remember much of anything until now?”
“Well, personally, I wanted you to remember earlier so we could start up the game, but there were hiccups in our plans,” he replies. “It took us a while to figure out those hiccups, but I’m glad to see we fixed them. How does it feel to be back, Jaxon? To have that darkness that’s been living inside you come out to feed?”
Rage pulsates in my body. “Go to hell. I’m done talking to you.”
I’m usually more cautious than this. Usually the most rational. But I don’t feel like myself anymore, like I’ve become unhinged and all those damn emotions I’ve kept hidden are rushing over me, all at the same time.
I move to hang up, saying to hell with the consequences, when he quickly says, “I’m the only one who knows how to save her.”
I pause, my heart thrashing in my chest. “Save who?” I already know the answer. The fucker has been toying with me. He knows exactly what is happening.
“That beautiful little raven that you guys broke all those years ago,” he says in a sickly pleased tone. “Although, she’s not so little now. Neither are you. So, I’m curious to hear your answer to this question now, over a decade later. Will it be the same as last time? Or will you guys pick a different, less selfish and more noble path? Honestly, I’m guessing you won’t, but some bet you will—that you guys, being older, will change the outcome of this.”
“Bet?” I ask. “You mean …” I can’t even get the words out.
“Yes, you’re still in round one,” he tells me. “We’re all watching you right now to see how it ends—to see if the game ends.”
“Jax,” Hunter whispers, “what the hell is going on?”
Zay looks at me for the answer to that question, too.
“I …” I trail off, gritting my teeth, knowing what I have to do.
I remove the phone from my ear and put it on speakerphone so they can all hear, hear what I already know is coming. The question that we were asked all those years ago that ended the game the first time.
“Good, you’ve put us on speakerphone,” my father’s voice fills the room.
Hunter’s eyes widen as he catches on, and then I watch his gaze travel across the room, probably searching for extra cameras hidden somewhere. In reality, they probably just hacked our own system and are using it against us. That’ll be fixed, though, the moment we hang up.
“I was just about to ask Jax a question, but I guess, if we want to do the experiment right, you all need to be part of it since you were all involved with the decision last time,” my father continues. “The game has started again, my sons, and like we did in round five the last time, I’m giving you a choice. I’m doing it much earlier this time, though, for reasons that I won’t disclose at the moment. The question is simple in theory, but if you all can remember enough, you know it’s not as easy as it seems. The question: are you ready to end the game? If you say yes, you are free to leave town, and you will never hear from us again. However, that beautiful little raven you’ve got lying on your sofa right now