Requiem of the Soul (The Society Trilogy #1) - Natasha Knight Page 0,15
the driveway.
We’re here on Society business. I know it.
Abel parks the car behind the matching one and kills the engine.
“We’re here at your fiancé’s request.”
“What?”
“Well, request isn’t quite how I’d put it honestly. De La Rosa doesn’t make requests. Even now, with his fucked-up face.”
That last part he mutters, but I can hear the hate in his words. He’s still jealous of Santiago De La Rosa? Even after what happened to him, to his family? I knew he was jealous before back when Dad couldn’t say enough about the child prodigy. Dad had been mentoring Santiago for years at The Society's request and teaching him what he knew. At one point, he’d mentioned how Santiago had surpassed him in knowledge, and he went on and on about Santiago’s mind, how it was like a computer, how clever he was, and so on and so forth. In a way, I get how Abel felt. I felt it too. But Abel’s jealousy is accompanied by something else. Hate.
“Have you seen him? Since the explosion,” I can’t help but ask. I want to know if it’s true. If the reason he’s become a recluse is his face.
He turns to look at me fully. “Would you, Ivy Moreno,” he starts, taking my jaw in his hand and turning it, pushing the hair that hides my eye away before continuing. “With your own deformity, judge another on his outward appearance? That’s a bit hypocritical, isn’t it?”
“I wasn’t judging...I just—”
“Sometimes, Ivy, I don’t know what kind of person you are. The nuns would be so disappointed in you. I know dad was.” He jerks his hand away roughly.
“That wasn’t what I meant,” I say quietly. His comment about my father cut, just as I’m sure he wanted it to.
“It doesn’t matter.”
He exhales, presses his lips together, and turns to look out at the house. He shakes his head like he wants to be sure I know exactly how disappointed he is, too. I don’t care what he thinks, though. And the only hypocrite here is him.
I keep my thoughts to myself, though.
“I have a question for you.” He turns to me again.
“What?”
“Do you want to see Father?”
The question takes me by surprise. “Of course I do. You said you’d take me.”
“Then I need you to do as you’re told now.”
“Do as I’m told?” I feel my eyebrows creep up into my hairline.
“Exactly. Do as you’re told. It’ll be a good exercise for you.”
The front door opens, drawing our attention to two men stepping outside. They remain standing in front of the open door, and it all feels wrong.
“What is this, Abel?”
“It’s me looking out for our family. I will take you to see Father after we take care of this. If I feel you’ve behaved well enough.”
I shift my gaze to the men again, then back to Abel, the coffee I drank turning bitter in my stomach.
But the hammer hasn’t fallen yet.
“He’s requested a purity test.”
My mouth falls open, and I stare at him in disbelief. “What?”
“And I won’t take a chance De La Rosa will humiliate our family so I’ve agreed.”
I feel the blood drain from my face.
“It’ll take a moment. No big deal.”
“No big deal?”
“It’s all very standard within The Society, especially the higher echelon. Your mother submitted to it, too.”
“I don’t care about The Society. I don’t even care if my mother submitted. I’m not doing it!”
“You’ll do it, or you won’t see Dad.”
“What? You can’t do that.”
“I can do anything I want. I’m going to greet those gentlemen. You have one minute to decide. If you agree to submit for the good of our family, then I’ll see you at the house. If not, then you’ll remain here, and once I’ve taken care of what I need to take care of, I’ll be back to take you home, where you’ll remain locked in your room until the wedding ceremony.”
“I want to see Dad. You promised.”
“I never promised. I simply told you that you were starting to be reasonable. Now I’m not so sure. If Evangeline weren’t so young—”
“Evangeline?”
“She is the more desirable out of the two of you but she is thirteen. If you force my hand, though, well, I’ll do what I need to do.”
Evangeline? He’d make her submit to something like this?
I give a shake of my head. He can’t do that. “They won’t let you do that. The Society won’t allow something like that.” No matter what I think of them, they’re not that evil. I know that.