Page 35

The lightness in the way he says it chills me to the core. “Although that’s one way to do it, I’m not talking about killing Camille.”

Anex snaps his fingers and the guard bolts forward, picking up the chair and placing it back at the table. He sits, running his hands through his hair, regaining composure. “Explain.”

“Serendee operates quietly. We keep to ourselves, living in our small, walled-in community. We’re self-sustaining. We don’t need outsiders, but that’s one of the things that makes people uncomfortable. It seems like we’re keeping secrets.” I run my hand down my thigh. “We do have secrets, but they’re locked up and hidden under barns. We may need to open the doors a little to ease some suspicion.”

“Impossible. We can’t have the secular world gawking at us. At our women. I’ve always promised they would be safe, and I’m not going back on that because of a threat.”

“How about we open the doors to one person. To one event.”

“What are you talking about, Levi?”

“I think, no, I feel,” I touch my chest, “The Way is speaking to me, telling me that you should invite Camille to the equinox.”

“The equinox.”

“To her daughter's mating ceremony.”

“Toourmating ceremony.” He grins. “As a gift, to Imogene.”

“Yes. No secrets. No hiding. Fully transparent.”

“I like it. I like it a lot.” His eyebrow rises. “And you actually think you can get Camille to come?”

“I do.”

“If you pull this off, I’ll grant you and Elon status back in Serendee.”

“As part of the inner circle,” I include, feeling the sweat spread across my lower back. “Full standing.”

His smile never falters, but the corner of his eye twitches, and I think maybe I’ve pushed it too far. Overplayed my hand. But I’ve spent a lifetime studying under this man. I know his strengths and weaknesses. I know his ego. And right now, I know he’ll do anything to get Camille Montgomery under his thumb. Even reinstating me and Elon back in the fold.

“I’ll accept your proposal,” he says, leaning forward. “I can see now that when I assigned you, Elon, and Silas to train Imogene you weren’t as strong as I’d hoped. You were taken by the allure of that girl’s innocent, tight, pussy.” He laughs, as if he deeply understands where things went sideways. “But, understand, once Camille is behind the walls, once she’s come voluntarily, she and her daughter are mine to deal with.”

14

Elon

Camille looks over her shoulder when I walk into the kitchen, giving me a tight smile. “I hate tea,” she says without any context, then dumps two cups into the sink. “But it seems to put people at ease.” She opens a cabinet door, revealing rows of mugs. “Coffee?”

“Sure.” I don’t miss the way her forehead rises as she pours me a cup and slides it across the island. “What?”

“I thought drinks like coffee were off limits. You know, anything addictive.” She pours herself a large cup and takes a large gulp, as if making a point. “Or did he change those rules?”

“I wasn’t raised like normal people in Serendee—one of the perks of being best friends with Anex’s son.”

She glances down at my scabbed knuckles. One had torn overnight, leaving a spot of blood on the sheets. “Where’d you get that?”

“There’s a bar on the other side of Whittmore’s campus. They have paid fights in the basement.” I sip my coffee, feeling burn on my tongue. “We had to earn money somehow.”

“Right. Limited education. No real job experience. No paperwork.” Hearing it sounds so pathetic. She looks me up and down. “You’re a big guy. What did you do for Timothy?”

I try not to squirm. It’s been a long time since I’ve been around a woman like Camille. A mother. I left my own home at twelve and moved into the Donum like everyone else. At least until Anex brought us to the Main House to be with Rex. “He saw my size and ability. I worked in security. Protected Rex, mostly.”

“He decided,” she says. “You had no choice.”

I open my mouth to reprimand her. To remind her that it isn’t just Anex that makes these decisions, but it’s The Way, the gut feeling he gets about the people in our community. But I stop myself. Those beliefs are lies.

“No,” I confess, probably for the first time, “I didn’t have a choice.”