Ice glanced over at me, his facial expression clearly asking, What the fuck? Luce, on the other hand, didn’t so much as blink.

  “You’ve thought about doing that a few times. What’s your point?”

  “She was never on my bed with me when I considered it.”

  I wasn’t going to openly admit I’d thought about fucking Star until I knew if this was one of his twisted means of getting me to talk myself into a trap.

  I trusted Luce with my life. I wasn’t worried about anything like that. I didn’t want to piss him off or hurt him.

  And it could have been the sun, but I think that time he reacted.

  “Did you fuck my girl, Cam?” he asked dryly.

  “No. I didn’t touch her. Much.”

  “Your idea of ‘much’ is either a kiss on the cheek, holding hands, or hugging. If she wasn’t mine, your idea of ‘much’ would have been getting your dick sucked.”

  He was spot-on. I was almost envious of how well he knew each of us. It worried me too, fucking frankly. For Lilith, Samael was nearly as perceptive.

  “She made sure I understood her love is platonic.” I added the love part to mess with him, but I didn’t think it was too far off, if I were being real.

  “Of course, it’s fuckin platonic. I’m not concerned whatsoever. I told you already, I know who she isn’t.”

  “Seriously? You’re not at all bothered?”

  The acolytes began dropping the fire starters, going from one end of the pit to the other to ensure everyone burned.

  “No. I’ve considered fucking your mom a few times.”

  “Yo, what?” Ice started to laugh.

  “Bro.” I curled my lip in disgust.

  Luce shrugged us off. “Blue’s hot. She’s got this whole innocent doe—”

  “I get it. I don’t need details.”

  The sick fucker grinned, laughing to himself. Kevin’s pained screams filled the air as the flames finally consumed him. Luce waited until the man resembled an easy-over egg that had popped its yolk before turning to me.

  “Do you want her?” I detected a note of concern in his tone. He wouldn’t give her up, he’d already laid his claim. But if I told him yes, it would bother him every day thereafter.

  Luce was made of grit and iron. There wasn’t any other choice for him. He was going to take the throne over from his father. He was something ripped straight out of nightmares, but when it came to his family, his heart bled red and was encased in gold.

  I chose to be honest with him, like I always had been.

  “Nah. Star is beautiful and has hella heart, but I wouldn’t want her for the right reasons. Besides, she’s all caught up in you. I want a girl not hung up on one of my brothers and that hasn’t already had his dick inside her. Trust me, being Star’s new bestie is more than good enough for me.”

  “Bestie?” he reiterated.

  “You can’t have everything,” I joked, adding in a serious tone. “I liked the idea of saving her, but that girl is fully capable of saving herself.”

  That was all I needed to say for him to know what I’d meant. Somehow the idea of healing Star had me thinking it’d make up for not finding Lilith. She looked so small and vulnerable at first. How was I supposed to know her balls were probably bigger than mine?

  That was wrong of me, anyway.

  Star was not my baby sister. The only way to make me feel better about Lilith was to find her. I had to know for myself that she was okay.

  The three of us watched the fire burn in silence. We needed to sit down and have a real conversation.

  Doing it by a pit of flaming corpses in the hot ass sun wasn’t where I wanted to get any deeper or more meaningful.

  “You know what I do want?”

  “What?” they asked at the same time.

  “I think I need pussy.”

  “About time. I was thinking you’d gone nomad,” Ice laughed.

  “Those blue balls you’re about to have are going to be fierce,” Luce mused.

  We joked around for the next fifteen minutes, still by the pit when the acolytes began putting the fire out and another approached with a box, the kind my mother would keep her jewelry in.

  Luce immediately switched back to his ultra-serious mode and waited for the man to reach us.

  “This was left at the end of the lane, my liege.”

  We all looked from the thin black box to the bold red envelope addressed to Astraea.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  It didn’t take me much time to figure things out.

  I knew A.R.C was so invested in Star and her brother because of who their mother was. If my findings were correct, which they were, she had been a renegade her damn self. How their dad ended up at the place I imagined she would’ve warned him about was anyone’s guess.

  The man handed his kids over on a fucking platter. He was supposedly dead because of it. I had to give it to him, he did an excellent job disposing of his secrets, but I did an even better one recovering them.

  That’s how I knew the A.R.C wouldn’t give her up without at least trying to get me to give her back. I thought my messenger would’ve made it clear that wasn’t an option. Holding a jewelry box and an envelope addressed to Star, I guess not.

  They weren’t the only interested faction. The Stags were in on this too, which I found mildly amusing considering their leader didn’t give a shit about anyone. Creed wouldn’t need the A.R.C to secure a bride, he’d force some unlucky bitch to be his and call it a day.

  So, you see, things weren’t quite adding up.

  I was waiting on something to confirm what I was ninety-nine percent sure of. Pretty sure I was holding that proof in my hands. This had been fun at first, now it was just fucked all around.

  “Hold this.” I passed Cam the envelope and opened the box. There was a glittery cloth flattened inside but nothing else. I lifted it out and something fell onto my shoe.

  “What the hell is that?” Ice questioned.

  I swiped it off and dangled what I now could see was a piece of skin between my thumb and forefinger.

  “It’s a barcode. A.R.C uses them to mark their girls as property.”

  “Like the one Star has on her hip,” Cam stated.

  I leveled a stare at him.

  “I saw it when she was in the nightgown,” he clarified.

  “This isn’t freshly cut, and based on what we know thus far, I’m pretty fucking sure this was cut off of Star’s friend.”

  Taking a breath, I dropped the piece of skin back into the box and snapped its lid shut.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “The first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club.” She laughed and propped a hand on her dainty hip. “I’m seriously just kidding; I’ve always wanted to say that.”

  I withheld a groan and propped my elbow on the table, resting my chin in my hand. We’d been at this for what felt like forever. Bella was a ball of energy. The girl did not hold still. But she was a great teacher, for the most part.

  I didn’t want to say she may have also been a smidge out of her mind, but the girl may have been a smidge out of her mind.

  She pulled out the chair across from me and sat down. “Hey, no jokes and being honest, you’re going to do fine. There’s really nothing to it. Sir Lucifer just wants you to be busy until your… big day.”

  That was easy for her to say. She was born and raised as Savage royalty. I’d abruptly stepped into it. Luce conveniently left this out of his ultimatum.

  “What big day?”

  “Nothing major.” She smiled sweetly.

  The door that led to the back patio slid open and she looked over my shoulder.

  I twisted around as the three guys came in from outside, their skin damp and toasted from the sun. Luce’s eyes came instantly to mine.

  There was a box in one of his hands and a red envelope in the other. He used his foot to pull out the seat beside me, then sat down. Cam took the chair on Bella’s left, and Ice sat one over from her right.

  I had a feeling I’d just been thrust into the spotlight.

  “This came for you.” Luce slid the envelope across the table so that it was in front of me. It said my full name, but there wasn’t any sign of who sent it.

  “From whom?”

  “It’s not A.R.C?” Bella asked.

  I shook my head slowly. “Those envelopes are all white, and the Cardinal stamps them with an angel emblem.”

  I pricked the flap and pulled along the seam, tearing the red paper in the process. A small notecard was the only thing inside. Luce read it before I did, sharing a look with Ice and Cam.

  “I don’t get it,” I said after reading the same thing three times, finding it hard to believe.

  Here’s a gift. See u tomorrow.

  Quaker Arena at five.

  ASMODEUS

  “Let me see.” Bella reached for the notecard. I passed it to her as my mind reeled, looking at Luce when he placed his hand on my knee.

  “Asmodeus?” Bella read out loud. “Do you know him?” she asked, her voice dipping an octave.

  Everyone watched the two of us. Her face looked as if had gone paler than it already was, alerting me to the fact that I was blatantly missing something.

  “Asmodeus is my Amo.”

  “Your Amo is Creed.”

  My mind raced to figure out who she was talking about but ultimately came up blank as I was still processing that my brother was alive and not at A.R.C.

  “My brother has never called himself Creed.”

  “Your brother? Are you serious?” she gaped at me.

  “He’s the man you were supposed to marry,” Luce finally chimed in.

  “What?” I whipped my head around and looked at him.

  “Are you serious?” Bella repeated with obvious disgust. “Her own brother?”

  “You’re thinking about it with your mind in the gutter,” Ice interjected.

  I lifted the box Luce had left sitting on the table and flipped up the lid.

  As soon as I saw what was inside, a lump formed in my throat.

  With shaking hands, I promptly slammed it back shut, dropping the damned thing as if it were coated in poison. I only needed to see the first three numbers to know who the piece of skin had come from.

  I felt them watching me, but for once in my life I minded being stared at like sideshow.

  “Let’s go get some air,” Luce suggested.

  He didn’t give me the option to protest, and for that I was grateful. I wasn’t sure what he said to the others. We wound up going through the door that led straight into the backyard.

  We sat down on one of the outdoor wicker sofas that was partially beneath an umbrella of sorts. I plopped my head on his shoulder, watching him thread our fingers together.

  Philip came walking over and brushed against my leg. I reached down with my free hand to stroke his head.

  “What do we now?” I asked after I’d taken a few more minutes to process, feeling another piece of my heart chip away. When Luce didn’t respond, I lifted my head so I could see his face.

  “I didn’t know if I should speak now or wait until you vented. If I stay quiet you can’t get pissed at me.”

  Despite the situation, I smiled. “I can get mad at you for not saying anything.”

  “That’s fair, but if I have to be your confidant, you have to let me hold you.”

  I instantly tucked myself into his side, pulling my legs up onto the sofa and placing my head back on his chest.

  “Expected more crying than this, to be honest.”

  “I’m not real big on tears. Every minute I sit here and fall apart is another I’ll have to spend piecing myself back together.”

  “Are you purposely leaving out that I’m fucking right here with you?”

  I sniffled, using the back of my hand to wipe my face. “I know we’re together, but I don’t expect you to help me solve all my problems.”

  “It’s more likely I’ll fucking solve them for you. A king and queen are meant to be a united front. The Badlands is full of bloodshed, betrayals, and carnage. I’ll do my best to keep the ugly from touching you any more than it already has, but you have to do your part in return.”

  That was deep. Not only because he’d just expressed more emotion than he had since we’d gotten tangled up in each other, but because it was true.

  I wasn’t sure what the role he’d given me entailed, but I would do my best for him. For Cam and the rest of the Savages too.

  I owed him a lot. He didn’t have to take me in, and he surely had no set-in-stone reason to make me his even if we were hopelessly drawn to one another.

  “I’ll try and be what you need, okay?”

  “No. Not okay. You don’t have to try to be anything. Just be yourself.”

  Be myself? I liked that. There were other things to worry about aside from my personal dilemmas, though.

  “What are you going to do about Amo? Or Creed?”

  “What makes you think they’re the same person all of a sudden?”

  I sat up and cleared my throat. “The look on Bella’s face and you already knowing it’s true helped solidify that.”

  “I never said that it was true.”

  I twisted my lips and gave him a look. “You not saying it’s true tells me it is. I am curious as to how long you knew, though.”

  “Not long. I didn’t put the pieces together until you let his name slip to Addy. She had a lead that basically proved they were the same person. Today confirmed what I suspected.”

  “And now? Are you going to kill him?” I asked quietly.

  He let out a small sigh. “I don’t have personal beef with the Stags. I know Am—Creed, whoever the fuck—is your brother. I know he didn’t set up a proposal for the sole purpose that he wanted to marry his own sister—”

  “Gross! Of course not. He would have been trying to save me. Amo wasn’t like that,” I implored. “I know people change, but that’s a damn big leap. He’s just become a terrible person.”

  Luce smirked. “Can I really sit here and call someone a terrible person?”

  “You’ve become my terrible person now, so I’m biased.”

  He laughed, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

  “That explains why I never met the person who chose me. I would’ve known who it was the moment he came to visit.”

  “Also explains why he waited.”

  I shrugged. That was one of the only things I didn’t understand.

  “Do you know how big the Stags are, dove?”

  “Not entirely, no. Everything I know came from gossip or was taught in a daily lesson that was twisted for the Cardinal’s benefit.”

  “Put it this way, if there were a hierarchy list, they would be third on it. Just beneath the Venom. That took a shit ton of time, brains, and brawn, to pull off. It’s actually fucking impressive he did so on his own at such a young age.”

  When he put it in those terms, things made perfect sense, but it also highlighted an obvious factor. “He wouldn’t have done it alone.”

  “You sound rather sure about that.”

  I sat up again, this time because the shade was doing very little to keep us cool. “I have a good memory of my brother. Can we go back inside now?”

  He lifted one perfect dark brow. “You’re not going to cry?”

  “Luce, what kind of question is that?”

  “A legitimate one. Chicks always say they’re fine and then get pissed when men believe it. Cry and give us the silent treatment. I have two sisters, and this isn’t my first—”

  “Hey!” I stood up and moved to stand directly in front of him. “Don’t compare me to your other flings or put words in my mouth.”

  He tilted his head and smirked, like I was amusing him suddenly. “You’re even cuter all red and pissed off.”

  “You are infuriating. Stay out here and burn. I’m going inside.”

  I turned on my heel, making it two steps before he was pulling me down onto his lap.

  “I didn’t say you could walk away.”

  “Didn’t know I needed permission.”

  His laugh was low, the darkness laced within it sending a different kind of heat to between my legs. This was not the time for this.

  “There’s that disinhibition.” He pressed his lips to my shoulder, then brought them to my ear. “Remember what I told you about lowering your guard?”

  I pressed my ass against the hardening bulge beneath it, bringing my back to his heated chest. “Stop threatening me unless you plan to follow through.”

  “Are you calling my bluff, dove?”

  “Luce, if you’re going to kill me after making me all these promises, you’d better make sure I enjoy it.”

  “Damn, Star.” He laughed and stood up, making sure I was steady before letting me go. “I don’t know what kind of fantasies you’ve got in your head, but we should probably find out.”

  “So you can actually kill me?” I shook my head at him, beginning to walk towards the house.

  He caught up to me in two easy strides and forced me to face him again.

  “Luce—”

  His hands came up and cupped either side of my face. “I need to know you’re okay.”

  The depth with which his eyes blazed down into mine had a breath catching in my throat. I was so comfortable with him I got caught up in everything else, but it was impossible to miss how intense this thing was between us.

  One look in his eyes reminded me of that. I didn’t know what the hell I did to deserve him, but I was grateful for whatever it was.

  “I’m a little surprised. Maybe it hasn’t sunken in yet, but I’m not going to break down. My brother and Claire are alive, that’s all I wanted and could ask for.”

  He searched my face and dropped his hands, keeping any further remarks to himself as he walked us back into the air conditioning.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  I sat at the table, counting down the hours until I was to meet my brother.

  Luce had made me get something to eat before wandering off with Cam and Ice to do whatever it was the leader of a faction did in times like these.