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She meets my gaze. “Leo…” Her eyes turn glassy.
“It’s from the Pound of Flesh ceremony.”
She sucks in a breath, and a rush of tears immediately follow. She wraps her arms around me tightly, heaving sobs into the back of the couch. I feel every cry, every sob, like it’s coming from myself. Finally, she says, “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
I clench my jaw. Stupid. I should’ve known she’d blame it on the ceremony. I pull her away. “What this is…this wasn’t your fault. This was put here by a deranged psychopath.”
Tears cling to her eyes, mirroring the despair I feel. “The same psychopath that now wants us to marry.”
My stomach clenches. “He thinks I can be of use to him in that way. But that’s not why—”
“I know.”
Reaching up, I grab her head in my hands. I use the pads of my thumb to whisk her tears away. “I wish I was someone else.” She cocks her head, apparently not understanding where I’m going with this. “Because the minute I commit to you, you know what he’ll do.”
What little color she has left in her face leaves the moment she gets it. “He’ll think I’m his...”
“I wouldn’t do that to anyone, and I’m certainly not going to risk you. I’d kill him.”
“He deserves it.” Her brow furrows. “He did that to your mom, and I’m not a fan of Anne-Marie but that’s fucked up, too. It was sick, Leo.”
“He won’t go near you,” I promise. “It was enough to hear you say husband.” She fights back a smile. “But I’m not sure he’ll let it go. He’s got it in his head I should marry now. I told him I’d think of alternatives.” The look she slices through me cuts to the bone. “I’m not going to risk you.”
“Just think of something else. Preoccupy him with other shit.”
I bring her forward to press a kiss to her forehead. “With Vincent getting married soon, I’m sure it won’t be right away,” I lie. The truth is, I have no idea. When my grandfather gets something in his head, it’s hard to deter him.
She starts to stand, but I don’t let her get too far. I guide her back to the spot next to me on the sofa. “There’s something else he said that struck me as odd.” I blow out a breath. “I don’t know what to think of it, but it’s crazy. I don’t know why he would know.”
She lifts her brows, waiting for me to go on.
“It’s Delilah. Was she a virgin?”
Her eyes round. “What? He said she was a virgin?”
I nod slowly, still trying to work it out in my head. “He’s got an innocent girl fetish but…fuck. I don’t know, did you have to answer that question on Knight paperwork or anything?”
“Knight paperwork? You think they asked us our sexual status to get into the Knights? What the fuck, Leo.”
She stands and starts to pace. I focus on the strained lines of her face. “No, but how else would he know? Maybe it was a test of hers? A truth or something like you and Alaric went through.” She doesn’t answer—just keeps wearing a hole in my carpet. “Was it true, Eden?”
“Yeah. Well, I think so. I’m pretty sure. She wanted Keegan, and she wouldn’t let him touch her until he was committed, so yeah, it was probably true.”
I run my hands through my hair. I don’t even want to face Eden because…shit… “I can think of a lot of fucked-up reasons why that knowledge would be bad for someone like your sister.” Especially in this world.
“You’re shitting me, right? Are we talking about rape? Are we talking about… What are we talking about?” The tension in her voice has hit a fever pitch.
“There are a lot of sick fucks that would like to know that information. They exploit you in the Knights, Eden. You know this. That’s why you were dangling from a fucking rope above a dark river.”
“You think the wrong person found out she was a virgin?”
“I think it’s a possibility.”
She rubs at her chest. The tears begin to fall again. “I hope the whole world knows I’m fucking three guys because let someone try to fucking touch me like that. I will end them.”
We say the last four words at the same time. Neither of us reacts to it, we just stare at each other. “How are we going to find out what happened?” she asks, and it’s the first time I’ve heard real desolation in her voice and seen it in her face.
“We just keep doing what we’re doing.”