Page 9 of Dark Night of the Soul

Fuck. All three. Him. Me. Obedience.

“The manor is the safest place—”

“Is it?” she interrupted. Her blue eyes glittering with a hint of concern.

Something snapped within me. “They wouldn’t—”

“They would. They don’t care if this is your home.”

She stepped off the mat to the bench and grabbed a towel, dabbing at the sweat on her neck and face. She knew them and I needed that knowledge. I needed to know what I was up against.

“How did you find this out?” she asked then, as if it mattered.

“Silas,” I said.

Her brows rose. “He came out of hiding to find you?”

That did not inspire confidence. “Yes.”

She took a deep breath, expelled it. “If he knows, then the Brotherhood let it leak.”

That got my attention. “Why would they do that?”

“They want you to know.” She clutched her towel tight in her hands. “They don’t threaten the person they want. They’re showing him who matters. They want him to know that.”

I didn’t like where this was going. My gut clenched into a tight knot. Then, I asked, “Is Silas a threat?”

Because if he was, I’d throw him out on his ear in a second.

“No, I doubt that. He’s another pawn on their chessboard.”

Like me. My jaw clenched so tight my back teeth ground. Her gaze met mine then. In them, I saw the seriousness of the situation.

“Kincade doesn’t belong to them anymore. And they hate that.” She paused, pressed her lips together. “But you do.”

My first instinct was to argue. My second was I couldn’t.

Belonged to him. Not owned. Not claimed.

Chosen.

And that was the problem. I took him from them not once, but twice. First when he broke his oaths to stand beside me. Second when he stayed. Which likely meant they were done with me and ready to make an example.

Not because I was weak.

Because I mattered.

“We’re trapped then,” I said.

“Maybe,” she said. “They don’t need to take him to win. They need to make him choose. You or them.”

And for one terrifying second, I wondered which choice would be the lesser of two evils.

Anger flared, bright and hot. “He won’t go back.”

I knew this as sure as I knew my name.

She nodded agreement. “And that’s what they’re counting on. The only way to beat the Brotherhood is to anticipate. Not react. That’s what they want. Reaction.”