Page 75 of Dominion

“Can we not talk about it right now?” I looked up at her, pleading with her with my eyes. “I just... I don’t want to think about it right now.”

“Was he?—”

“No.” I shook my head. “He wasn’t there. None of them were.”

It was the disappointment in her eyes that almost stopped my heart, especially after her admission yesterday. I knew she was hurt by his actions, but I was worried that she was giving up on him, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to do the same.

“I’m worried about him,” she admitted. “I’m worried that Judah is going to hurt him. I don’t want him there, Ash. I don’t want him so far away from us. I-I... I don’t want to lose him.”

“Hey, hey.” I stood up and sat on the side of the couch just as she scooted away from the edge. “He’s gonna be okay. We’re gonna find him and show him that he belongs with us. I’m sure of it.”

Redness spread over her eyes, making the blue color of her irises pop. Unable to just sit like this any longer, I lay down next to her, wrapping my arms around her and holding her as tightly as possible, firmly believing in what I had just said.

“We will get him back, Sky. We will.”

“Promise?” She hiccupped, and her pain felt like yet another splinter lodging itself into my heart.

“You told me not to make promises if I am not one hundred percent sure I can fulfill them,” I joked, earning a small jab to my gut.

“He can’t.” Casimir’s voice broke through our little bubble, and as I turned around, I saw him standing at the entrance to the living room. “Get some rest,” he said. “Both of you. You’ll need it.”

Skylar frowned at him, slowly sitting up. “Why?”

I knew why. I could sense it in the way he contemplated his next words. There was only one reason why he would behave like this.

“Cas?” Skylar nudged him again. “What’s going on?”

“We’re going back to Winworth.” He dropped the bomb on us without even blinking. “Tonight.”

Skylar stiffened while the blood rushed through my ears, the urge to argue and to refuse on the tip of my tongue. But I couldn’t. We had to get this over with, and if we’re going to Winworth, there’s only one reason why he would drop it on us like this.

Both Dylan and Judah were there.

26

DYLAN

I was alwaysthe person with a plan. The one who most other people turned to because I could get us out of even the trickiest of situations, no matter what. It was also why my father trusted me to do whatever was necessary for the sake of the Order.

I prided myself on that, being the proud son of Judah Blackwood. The Senator, the Primus, our fucking saint. I flaunted my last name everywhere I went. I thought things would just be given to me because of who I was, and because people were genuinely terrified of ever going against my wishes.

I was the power. I was the God in their eyes. I was the one who had it all.

The family.

The house.

The power.

And I was gonna have the girl as well.

My life was perfect. The kind that many people dreamed of but only a few of them managed to achieve. I was raised to believe that the land belonged to us, to me, just because of who my ancestors were.

Such utter bullshit if you ask me.

It was easier pretending to be all of this, than to really admit that my life was a nightmare I could never wake up from. It was easier to push through life, taking without asking, destroying without a care in the world, because I had blocked all the things that were bothering me. I had decided that listening to Judah Blackwood was easier than going against him.

I almost lost everything I ever loved because I was a coward.