Page 117 of Tethered Souls

“You're leaving already?” Stefaan says when I step into his office with my bag on my shoulder and inform him I am going. If I wasn’t an official rep of the Shadow Domain, I would’ve just left, but rudeness in this life can trigger wars.

“Yeah. I have a long drive ahead of me,” I say, then pivot to leave. I’ve done the necessities. He won’t get anything more from me.

“Lou will hate that she missed you.”

She’s spending the weekend camping with a friend in the mountains, but she’s scheduled to get back in tonight as she has school tomorrow.

“I'll make it up to her later,” I say. As much as I would love to see her and catch up, I need to get back home. I step out into the hall.

“Micha, wait,” Stefaan orders, but I don’t. I never have to listen to him again.

“It's about the ledger,” he says, stopping me in my tracks.

I pivot slowly to face him. If he’s the fucking blackmailer, I’ll kill him slowly. My fingers flicker with flames he cannot see but is about to fucking feel.

Walking back into his office, I shut the door behind me. “Did you take out the bulletin?” I ask softly.

“Of course not. Our Family does not have the prestige to use the information in it. If we tried to take over any of their operations, we’d be laughed at. Use your head, girl.”

I glare at him, but I can't fault his logic. “So what about it?” I ask.

He looks at me, his eyes sharp with the gaze of a man who has survived years of hel. “You must know how it looks that someone has accepted it. No one is capable of pulling that off unless they already have access to the house.”

I keep my face flat, giving nothing away. If he finds out I'm being blackmailed, he'll either try the same but with a different requirement or tell Varius, throwing me under the bus so he can use me as a stepping stone.

“Which means Varius must suspect you too.”

My knees buckle, but I somehow manage to still stay standing. My mind reels. My pulse spikes in fear that Varius is going to kill me as soon as I get back home.

He’s been avoiding me for two weeks. He hasn’t fucked me once during that time…

No, I tell myself sharply, pulling myself together.That was because he scared himself.

I felt his feelings for me in Maddox’s room that day. Saw the look in his eyes when he walked away. He’s falling for me, and that simply terrifies him.Thatis the reason he has been avoiding me, and I’ve been giving him space to work through it. If I rush it, it’ll only force him to take those three steps back he so often likes to take.

But he’s starting to come around to the idea. I heard his need on the phone. He wants me back home. He misses me.

It isn't death that will await me on my arrival. It is love, and I’m so fucking ready to fall into his arms.

But first I need to deal with this blackmailer. Because I'm starting to suspect it’s someone close to him. Someone who knew the house was empty. Maybe even a brother who is planning a coup and wants me as a scapegoat if it all goes to shit.

My heart twists at the thought of it actually being one of them. I like them all, and fucking hel, hasn’t Varius suffered enough? First a cousin and uncle… Now a fucking brother…

I almost wish the traitor was me just so he wouldn’t have to go through all that pain.

Itching to go, I pin Stefaan with a saccharine smile, and say sweetly, “Don't worry, father. Even if I die, the deal we have made will still go through.”

His jaw tics. “I don't give a damn about the deal, Micha. I want to know you’re staying safe.”

I blink, having not expected that at all. As if he can hear my disbelief despite my inability to find any words, he says, “A man like Varius kills first and regrets never.”

My eyes narrow. “He’s not like you.”

“He’s exactly like me.”

“He cares about his family.”

“And you think I don't?”