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Grandpa would be rolling over in his grave if he found out his own sons were ruining his legacy. If he were still here, it would’ve been a different story. After all, he always used to say, “Defy the family, and that’s the day you’ll die.”

Only when the car stopped did I open my eyes. The familiar sight of the white marble pillars carved with our family’s crest greeted me. Home sweet home. Yet nothing about this home was sweet to me.

I flung myself out of the car with my weekend bag and waved to Lucien and Karl, who simply gave me a gesture of good luck before they sped away.

I headed straight to the kitchen, knowing that was exactly where my mother was from the smell of her infamous peach cobbler wafting through the air. Although our relationship was strained, she was the first person I wanted to see—well, her and my bratty siblings. I did somewhat miss their constant chatter.

I paused, leaning against the doorframe as I watched her fix Chiara’s breakfast with a warm smile on her face.

Chi was the first one to notice me. “Kaaane, you’re home.” She rushed to me in glee, and I bent down right in time to catch her as she jumped on me like a tree.

“Hey, little one.” I kissed her cheek. Chi was a happy surprise of the family. A bright ball of sunshine that somehow took birth in this gloomy family.

“Arkane, baby.” Mother’s eyes brightened. “You should’ve told me you were coming home. I would’ve made your favorite breakfast.”

“That’s okay, Mother.” I slid her a small smile.

On Mother’s insistence, I joined the family for breakfast. Thankfully, Father was busy elsewhere. It was oddly comforting to be among my siblings, listening to Jon complain about his fight with Grayson while Marcus and Ame played the perfect son and daughter. Only Chi stuck to me, mumbling adorably about so many stories at the same time. It was good to know that nothing had changed.

It wasn’t long before my father found me. I was out in the gazebo, refereeing Grayson and Jon’s wrestling match on the grass while Marcus reminded them of the repercussions of their actions.

“What are you doing here, Arkane?” he demanded. “I told you to stay back in college.” Father narrowed his eyes at me.

“I’m not going anywhere unless this is over,” I said casually, leaning back as I folded my arms across my chest.

My response had my father’s lips thin. If it were a different time, my father would’ve condemned my tone, but he knew better now.

“Whatever.” He waved a dismissive hand and walked away, and my eyes went back to my brothers, laughing and insulting each other. The joy in their eyes was what put a pit in my stomach. I didn’t want it to be ripped away.

Just as I had predicted, the next few weeks only became more tense. And today was the worst of it. We lost eleven lives, and it wasn’t even midday. The only person to thank was my father, who gave Kenny enough space to earn enough money and power that he now dared to stand against us. And he was hell-bent on destroying us and promised not to stop until we gave him the Lowers and signed a fucking truce.

“This isn’t right, Father,” I said firmly for the hundredth time. His study was thick with tension. We had just returned from a gruesome shootout where Kenny’s men invaded one of our high-security armories. Thankfully, they weren’t successful. But this was getting out of hand. These incidents were getting more frequent, and who knew what the fuck he would do next.

“Don’t you think I know that, Arkane?” Father shouted, pacing the room, while David and William urged him to calm down and think clearly. To which he clearly didn’t listen. What was the point of having advisers if you continue making one dumb decision after another?

“There’s no way Kenny has those codes,” I continued, not at all bothered by his outburst. Someone had to speak out before this got too far. We either relent like fools or take out Kenny once and for all, not giving a fuck about the consequences. And we clearly could with the power and resources we had.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Father hurled his anger toward me. “I saw them with my own fucking eyes, Arkane.”

I sighed internally. I saw them too, and they did seem legit enough. I had no clue how someone like Kenny finally managed to decode the Sanctum Sollus, but he did. But it still wasn’t too late to prove otherwise. “Even if he did, it’s not the end. I say we kill him and retrieve the codes and the Sanctum Sollus while we can.” My voice rose, betraying some of my frustration.

“Arkane, do you even know what you’re talking about? Is this what I taught you?” Father pinned me with a glare. “We’ll fucking lose the Alacteon, and that’s something we can never, ever lose.”

Lucien and Karl exchanged knowing looks with me. They knew my father a little too well. His pride would fall smack to the floor if, for once, he listened to his son.

Father was more worried about losing his precious brother than the Alacteon that he failed to see the big gaping hole in front of him. Why didn’t Kenny go straight to the Alacteon with the codes and instead demand more power, but insisted on a fucking truce with us?

Because the legion terms were clear. Anyone in the family could argue for a place in the Alacteon as long as they proved we weren’t the right fit. Kenny was a Stormhold. And Father losing the Sanctum Sollus and Kenny decoding the confidential knowledge was enough for him to take over the Twins and the Alacteon.

So why wait?

Why this useless game of wanting the Lowers?

It was probably because he was lying about the codes.

“Fine, have it your way,” I muttered, staring at my father. I promised that things would be different when it was my turn.

“Good, you know your place.” He stormed back to his seat. “Come in,” he shouted. The door opened and in walked our head of security, Daniel, a motherfucker I loathed, and a few older men who didn’t know any better. It was soon followed by a serious back-and-forth, where the only sensible people seemed to be David and William.