Page 149 of Killaney Fire

Nicolae's voice doesn't change.

"This is how we secure the alliance, Octavian. The Killaneys need to see you as their solution, not their threat. You let them take her, you track her, you get her before anything permanent happens and take care of their problem, and we win. Simple. You've done a hell of a lot worse for us."

I don't respond. Can't. Because he's right, I have done worse.

But never to someone I?—

"Your mother's secret stays buried as long as you do this," Nicolae adds. "One job, Octavian. One job, and you're free. I'll give you whatever you want once this is over."

Free.

I open my eyes. My hands clench behind the chair.

So fucking stupid.

I should've walked away the second he told me the plan. Should've told him to find another to do his dirty work.

But I didn't.

Because I needed that secret buried, and I thought I could control it.

Because I thought I was smart enough, fast enough, ruthless enough to keep her safe and give Nicolae what he wanted.

I was wrong.

I mentally retrace the night, trying to find the exact moment it all went to hell.

What I expected was the Morrígan operatives grabbing Keira at the gala. Subtle and predictable. I'd track the bracelet, follow at a distance, kill the Phantom King, end the threat, and pull her out before anything bad happened.

Clean and simple.

But when the lights went out instantly, no warning, no time to react, and then when I found her, I still thought I could give her family and my uncle what they wanted, and I'd get the only thing I wanted: her.

But she was strapped to an altar, surrounded by fanatics, her forearm carved open and bleeding.

The M.

And her blood pooling on the stone beneath her.

I remember the look she gave me when I cut the ropes, not relief or gratitude.

Fear.

Of me. Because she knew. Somehow they knew.

My breathing quickens, and my chest feels tight.

I was supposed to protect her and let them do that to her.

My plan was supposed to work. I was supposed to be fast enough, smart enough to stop it before they touched her.

But I wasn't.

I lost the moment those lights went out.

I direct my anger at my uncle. Nicolae forced me to entertain this.

For my mother's secret.