Page 130 of Hexbound

Epilogue

Five days later...

THEY'D THROWNHIM in an old potato storage shed, chained to the drainpipe by some sort of manacle that stopped him from touching his power.

Sebastian slumped in the corner, wrapped in the blanket that Lady Rathbourne had given him when she came to deliver his meals. Perhaps they thought this was punishment, but then they knew nothing of what his life had been like. He almost felt like laughing. Three meals a day, a blanket, a lantern, and peace.... God, they knew nothing of torture, these people.

As if to prove him wrong, the lock clanked and the door slowly opened, revealing a tall man clad all in black. Sebastian winced, forcing his eyes to adjust to the sudden change in light. He clambered to his feet, the manacle sliding up the drainpipe as a thrill ran over his skin.

It happened every time he came face-to-face with one of his brothers.

The door shut with a soft click and then Adrian Bishop slowly tugged off his gloves as he looked around. His breath misted in the air. Bishop surveyed everything else in the room, before slowly, slowly, letting his gaze settle on Sebastian.

Dark hair. Dark eyes. They were nothing alike, except there was a coldness in this man that Sebastian recognized within himself.

His assassin brother. Morgana had shown him the file on Bishop, and Sebastian knew there was only one reason this man could be here, especially alone.

He reached desperately for his power, but it was like trying to bucket water with a sieve. It slipped through his fingers as if he couldn't get a grasp on it. Sebastian took a step back as Bishop stepped forward, and Bishop froze, thoughts racing behind his expressive eyes.

"I'm not here to kill you," he said.

"You tried," Sebastian pointed out, straightening to his full height. He'd caught enough of the conversation between Lady Rathbourne and her husband as they cast him in here to know that. Apparently, he owed Verity Hawkins his life.

Bishop slapped his gloves against his thigh thoughtfully. "You're right. I was considering the idea quite strongly. You're dangerous and out of control—"

"You should know," Sebastian shot back. "You were out of control the other night yourself." He'd seen it all play out through hazy eyes, as if smoke clouded his vision. Being a passenger in his own body reminded him of being blissed out on opium the one time he'd tried it. No longer in control, heavy, forced to ride along as his body reacted and did things he had no say in. He'd thought it wouldn't be so bad, to get revenge on all those he hated, but it had been.

"I was temporarily overwhelmed by grief. You cost me my father."

Something ached inside him. Guilt? "Drake made his choice."

"You're right. He chose your life over his."

The words flayed him where fists would not have touched him. Sebastian tugged at the manacle again. Uselessly. Bishop's silence only aggravated the feeling.

"What do you want? Are you here to gloat? To hit me? What, damn you?"

More silence. When he met his brother's eyes a part of him wanted to run away screaming. For it was not condemnation that he saw, but a sudden sense of compassion.

"Why?" Sebastian whispered. "Why did he do it?"

Dark lashes shuttered those expressive eyes. "Perhaps he saw something in you that others did not."

Sebastian sank to the floor, pressing the heel of his palm into his forehead. He didn't understand any of this, and he'd spent days trying. There was no possible manipulation his father could have found in this. No game to play, no twist, nothing but loss on Drake's behalf.

He had actually sacrificed everything he owned for a chance for Sebastian to be free.

A lump formed in his throat. Nobody had ever given a damn about him, except for Cleo. He had no defense against this. No way to rid himself of the guilt he felt, or the whiplash of emotions that flayed him.

Looking up, he sought answers from the last person he'd ever have expected to get them from. "What do I do now?"

Bishop knelt, resting his wrists on his knees. Reaching inside his pocket, he pulled out a simple brass key and tossed it toward him.

Sebastian caught it reflexively.

"They've been arguing about what to do with you," Bishop told him. "It was decided that I get the final vote."

His hand curled around the key. "You're setting me free?"