Page 31

“Good morning,” Graves says as I walk up. Curiosity nags at me, wondering if he knows where I’ve been. I release the worry quickly. It was only a few nights ago that the King not only watched but encouraged me to carve a mark in a girl’s chest. “I know you’re just getting off a shift at the station, but the King has requested to see you and Damon before the day starts.” He steps aside, allowing me to enter the house. “He’s in the library. Shall I take Ares back to your room until you’re finished?”

“Thanks,” I say, giving the dog a pat and sending him on his way. The House of Night is larger than it looks, the word ‘chapel’ deceiving. It was formerly a large campus, including a separate dormitory used to house monks. Currently the members of BRN live there. The Barons and Baroness live in the main building, now organized into a large home. From what I’ve seen there is a kitchen, living areas, and multiple other bedrooms, including the one DK and I share. The King’s living quarters are in the former rectory, attached to the back of the building. I follow the long hallway to the library and see DK standing outside. “Any idea what this is about?”

“No fucking clue.” He tugs at the ring in his eyebrow. “Could be just about anything.”

DK lifts his hand and knocks on the heavy door. A low voice calls for us to enter and we step inside the King’s private office for the first time. The room has a rich warmth to it, thick carpets on the floor and heavy floor-to-ceiling drapery. Smooth leather chairs are arranged in front of the massive stone fireplace, and his dark mahogany desk, covered in neatly stacked piles of books and papers, takes up the east-facing wall. Behind it, the wall is covered with a black curtain.

Otherwise there are books everywhere. Shelves lining all available wall space. I glance at the spines as we walk toward the King, who is sitting at a small round table under one of the windows, the early morning light streaming through the colored glass. The titles reach out to me, tugging on my curiosity. Mythology, religion, paganism, atheism–all the -isms, actually. There are rows about history, others stacked end-to-end with biographies. Then the sciences.

It would take a lifetime to read all of these, I consider, approaching the table, where the King has a plate of food in front of him, his knife and fork already in hand. He’s masked, still bronze with the horns curved upward, but overall this one is lessformal. He’s covered from his forehead to just under his nose, leaving his mouth unobscured.

“Sit,” he directs, pointing to the empty chairs across from him. We’ve barely settled into our seats when two plates appear, delivered by one of the servants in the house. It’s similar to the food in front of him. A bowl of oatmeal, eggs and bacon. A dish of berries sits on the side. “We all have busy days, so I figured we do this over breakfast.”

“Do what?” DK pulls the black cloth napkin into his lap, adding quickly, “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“BRN business,” he replies, “along with some other details about your positions I’d like to discuss.”

I take a tentative bite of oatmeal. It’s lightly sweetened, maybe with honey?

“Typically this is a meeting held with all three of my new Barons. Obviously, we’re down one.”

DK takes a deep breath and then starts, “Armand–”

“There’s no need to discuss. I’m not here to ask for details. That truth will reside in the forest, but murder in our house is unacceptable. We clean up death, we don’t cause it. We tend to take care of the destruction caused in other territories, but this is just another sign of how things have shifted.” His lips purse with thought. “The difficulty with Armand is that he comes from a powerful family. His mother is well-connected and a vocal member of the community. She will be devastated at the loss of a son she believed had no flaws.”

“So she won’t believe he tried to rape the Baroness?” I ask.

“No. She will believe he was entitled to take what he wants, even if it belongs to me.”

“Fucker,” DK mutters.

“Indeed.” He laughs. “For now keep quiet about it and if anyone asks, the official answer will be that he declined to takethe oath and we haven’t seen him since. It wouldn’t be the first time someone didn’t live up to expectations. I’ll handle Trudie.”

“Are you going to replace him?” I think back to Everly’s questions at the station. “Initiate another Baron?”

He shakes his head. “No. We’ll move forward as is.”

He finishes his breakfast and reaches into his pocket, removing a small silver container. He opens it up and dumps a dozen or more pills into his hand. They’re capsules, various colors of compounded powder. DK’s eyebrow raises. “I don’t believe in pharmaceuticals,” the King says. “Everything we need, body and mind, can be found in nature.”

The man sitting in front of us is strong and healthy, his shirtsleeves tight against his biceps. Whatever this man consumes, it seems to be working.

“Now, the other matter at hand, the Baroness.”

Shit. Did he find out about what we did to her in those woods? The lies DK told to cover for her? I force myself to breathe normally.

“Normally, the Barons and House Girl have their own relationship. She’s there to support you within BRN and among the other houses. I’ve never interfered in this dynamic. She belongs to her Barons body, mind, and soul.“ The muscle at the back of his jaw tenses. “Unfortunately, as with everything in Forsyth right now, things are not normal.”

I’m tempted to ask what is ‘normal’ for a man who oversaw a blood oath and ritual this weekend, but I hold back.

“As you know,” he continues, “the Baroness and I will have a Black Wedding on the thirty-first of October.”

“That’s only a couple of weeks away,” DK notes.

“Yes, and during that time it will be your responsibility to make sure Arianette is protected from outside threats, attending to her classes and obligations, and trained for her role moving forward.” The words are spoken without a hint of flexibility. IfI’ve been wondering why I was chosen as one of the Barons, something tells me this is part of it. “Whoever kidnapped the girl is still out there. I’ve kept her under tight security since she was released from the hospital, but the Baroness, just like all of the House Girls, must have a public-facing persona. Starting today, she’ll return to campus as a full-time student and perform the duties of Baroness, like all the girls before her, under your supervision.”

DK and I exchange a look, the same thought running through our heads. He’s the one that actually says it. “Do you think she’s actually capable of these things? She seems a little…”

“Erratic,” I blurt, recalling the way she looked moments after killing Armand.