this life. Where I was a captive, forced to do their bidding, where I was owned by each of these beasts. But after what had happened at the cabin, it was hard to see them through a haze of hate anymore. They had killed for me again and again. They had put their lives on the line for mine and hadn't hesitated to do it. But why? What was it about me that drove them to those lengths? It had to be more than some old legend.
“So, Liam called again,” Kyan said as he shovelled some of his fried eggs into his mouth. “He’s expecting me home for Christmas tomorrow and you’ve gotta come with me, baby.”
I glanced at Saint, uncomfortable about leaving him. “Are you sure I have to go?”
“I owe them big, there’s no getting out of it,” Kyan said and Saint’s eyes flickered with shadows. “If I thought there was any way to do it without you, baby, I would, but it’s actually safer for you to just give them what they want. I won’t let them lay a finger on you while we’re there though, so you don’t have to worry.”
“It is what it is, I don’t need help anyway,” Saint said and I looked to Blake imploringly. He gave me a small nod which promised he’d look after him and I knew he’d be okay. I didn’t want to even think about Christmas without my dad in it, but it didn’t sound like Kyan’s family were the type to sit around the fire singing Christmas carols anyway.
When everyone had finished eating, Saint cleared his throat to get our attention. "We need to discuss some important matters. The first being the disturbing event that occurred the other night."
"My family have dealt with it," Kyan said calmly. "The bodies won't be linked back to us. Even if any trace of them are ever found."
"That's not what I was referring to." Saint looked to me then over to Monroe and pointed between us. "You two left campus in the middle of the night in secret. It’s clear that you were going to meet with your father, Tatum, but there are two things which are still unsettling to me."
"And what are they?" Monroe drawled while I folded my arms, frowning at Saint.
"The first being that rather than sharing this information with all of us, the two of you upped and left in what can only be described as suspicious circumstances, and the second issue is Tatum's intentions." He looked to me and his gaze could have seared the flesh from my bones. "Were you planning on leaving us?" There was anger in his tone, but something more than that too. Something more fiery than rage.
Blake and Kyan sat up straighter in their chairs, looking to me for an explanation.
I opened my mouth, then closed it again, glancing over at Monroe whose jaw was tight. "I don't know if I would have left. But, maybe...if my dad had asked me to go then I would have considered it." I managed to say the words without my voice cracking, but Blake frowned over at Saint like he wanted to stop this conversation in its tracks.
Saint nodded, absorbing that. "And that's why you didn't tell us? Because you might have left?"
"I..." I sighed, straightening my spine, figuring I might as well be straight with them. "I trust Monroe. I knew he'd bring me there without question. And yes, maybe I would have left. And I knew you wouldn't allow it. Plus..." The next part wasn't so easy, my gut knotting as I prepared to speak about Dad again. "I wasn't exactly going to bring any of you near the man who you all believed had released the Hades Virus. Who you believed was responsible for so many atrocities." I glanced at Blake and a deep V formed between his eyes.
Before anyone could say anything in response, I jogged upstairs and got the pile of folded papers Dad had given me. My hand trembled as I spotted the blood stain on it that must have soaked through my pocket onto this. What if it was his blood?
A wave of nausea followed a crash of grief and suddenly I was falling, losing my grip on everything as despair took hold of me. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to hold it all in but it was too much. Oh Dad. How can you be gone? How will I go on without you?
"Tatum, come downstairs,"