Malum

If you don’t hear from me, there was a dark SUV following so I pulled over. I think it’s the same car that came to Nate’s the first night I was there and told me to come outside to meet him. Sorry I didn’t tell you about it. I kept so much to myself. I guess I like secrets just as much as the guys… Anyway, I was coming to show you something. When I slept in Daemon’s room, I found his sketchbook. I wanted us to go to Perdita because a lot of the sketches are drawn there, but a couple are done of a broken cabin in the woods, and my trailer number—weird, huh? I’m jumping out of my car now to see who these motherfuckers are that have been following me. Love you. Please take care of Nate, Brantley, and Bailey. I forgot to tell you about Bailey, Bishop will fill you in. X

I climb out of the car, slamming the door closed behind me while clutching the strap to my duffle bag. The back door opens, and I see a polished Oxford shoe peek out, landing on the dusty road.

I tuck my hair behind my ear, just as the door closes. My eyes travel up his body, and then land on—Nate’s dad?

Confused, I step forward, licking my lips. He comes directly to me, popping his collar.

“Tillie, nice to formally meet you…”

“I wouldn’t call this formally, but okay. Why are you following me?”

“If I say to come with me, will you listen? I don’t want to hurt you. We won’t hurt you.”

I think over his words, my eyes searching his. “Why?”

He turns his gaze over his shoulder to look back into the Cadillac and then back to me. “Because I have information that you will want. I promise I will bring you back to your car when we’re done. If that is what you want…”

Why would it be something that I wouldn’t want?

If he wanted me dead, he’s had plenty of chances to do so.

I tilt my head. “Why did you want me to come outside when you came to Nate’s?”

He gestures toward the waiting SUV, just as a large truck zooms past, my hair flying up everywhere and the wind almost knocking me to the ground.

“Alright,” I mutter, making my way to the SUV. “I appreciate you not trying to kidnap me.”

“Oh, trust me, I almost went there…”

I roll my eyes, gripping the door handle and slipping inside the warm enclosure. I assess my surroundings. Two suited men are in the front, both wearing dark glasses, shading their eyes. Gabriel climbs in beside me and the truck pulls away, back onto the highway.

I can feel my phone vibrate in my bag, but I ignore it. My point was made. Madison knows.

“So, talk.”

Gabriel stretches his neck, his eyes coming to mine. He looks so much like Nate in this lighting. They have the same square jaw, only Gabriel has a grey shadow of a beard scattered over his. Handsome for an old dude. “To start off, your mother, Katsia.” He places a leather satchel on his lap and pops it open, taking out a piece of paper and handing it to me. “She has left you with this account.”

My eyes fall to the paper. It’s a trust account with enough money to survive for three lifetimes. “What?” I freeze. I’ve never seen that many digits in my entire life.

“It’s true. She wanted you to have this, but only when you were ready, Tillie.”

“Ready for what?” I ask, looking back to him.

He offers me a small smile. “Ready to do what it was written for you to do. The one thing that The Kings have been trying to stop you from obtaining.”

“And what is that?” I question, my tone hanging off a bite.

A slow merciless smile comes onto his mouth. “Take the throne, of course.”

“The what? Speak American, not Elite King.”

Gabriel flexes his fingers. Nervous trait maybe? “You need to take over Perdita, Tillie. Only you. There is no one else that is born for this duty.”

“Nope.” I shake my head. “I don’t want that job. Give it to someone else.”

He chuckles, pulling out a cigar from his jacket and clipping it, pressing the end into his mouth. “You don’t have a choice.”

“I don’t want the money.”

“With or without the money, you still have to do this.”

I think over everything that has happened the past few days. How my world has crumbled, and my insides feel as though they have been poisoned with cyanide.

“Tillie. Right now, The Kings have Khales ru

“And what is that, exactly?” I bite out, my anger reaching a new level. “A place to kill newborn baby girls? A community that keeps people sheltered and away from the real world? Those people don’t even know that this world exists!”

“It’s the way the movie plays in this world, Tillie.”

I exhale, licking my lips. “I know. I just wish I understood it more.”

“You will,” he says, his hand coming to my knee. My eyes go up to his, the blue depths reminding me so much of his son. “You’re smarter than everyone else. More street smart than your mother, resilient from your upbringing. Now that the power is offered to you, are you going to take it?”

I think over his words, the same throbbing pain in my chest from missing Micaela thumping inside of me. Everything reminds me of her. “Take me to Perdita. I’ll make a decision then.”

I already know what my choice is.

His lip kicks up in a smile. “Deal.” Then he hands me a small leather pouch. I pop it open and peer inside. Three credit cards are inside as well as a few other pieces of papers. “The account is yours anyway, Tillie. Whether you choose to take on your rightful duty or not. I wouldn’t hold it over you.”

“And why not?”

He looks outside his window. “Because I am no longer a King.”