Page 48 of The Immortal’s One (Bound to the Immortals #1)

DES

Thane snarls from behind the desk in his personal study, glaring at the missive spread out before him. “I swear to the Creator, Adir will pay for this. I will do everything in my power to see him suffer.”

One of Adir's servants delivered the note less than an hour ago—a man who’s more likely an indentured servant.

The Council forbids Immortals from enslaving those of weaker power, but I’ve lost count of how many times Adir’s managed to work around our laws.

His latest scheme? He’s arranged employment contracts with Immortals who are in dire straits, desperate to crawl their way out of poverty or whatever hairbrained financial risk they participated in.

Like humans, Immortals are susceptible to vices. Especially greed.

Adir hires these poor souls with worse-than-unfavorable terms. Unfortunately, because the Immortals agree to the conditions laid out in the contract, there’s little my brothers and I can do for those trapped in the arrangement. Not without infuriating a member of the Original Nine .

Which, in hindsight, doesn’t matter. Adir has betrayed us. The piece of paper in front of Thane confirms it.

Bella stands at her husband’s side, reaching out a hand as if to console him before thinking better of it. She lowers her arm and looks between those of us in the room with a worried frown.

“What is the plan?” Eshe asks from where she stands by the window overlooking the back lawn. She’s been staring out windows a lot these past two days, as if waiting for Darcie to appear from the hedge maze and reveal that this situation has all been a horrible dream.

My stoic sister-in-law is usually hard to read, but it’s clear Darice’s abduction has rattled her. She’s grown fond of the young woman. I can’t blame her.

Darcie is… endearing .

Thane pounds his fist on the desk. “We will find where Darcie is being held. Then, we will rescue her.”

I cross my arms and level him with a pointed look. “We already know where she is.”

The moment I learned Darcie was missing, I’d searched for Adir. I wish I could say I was surprised to find that he’d disappeared. But I wasn’t. And I’m a fucking idiot for not realizing he’s a traitor sooner.

“You think Adir took Darcie to his stronghold?” Lome asks. He stands near his wife. Like Bella, I get the sense he wants to console his spouse. But centuries of division keep his hands at his sides.

I nod. “It’s the only location Adir would have any chance of holding out against the forces he knows we will send to retrieve her.”

“I don’t understand Adir’s thought process.” Eshe shakes her head, then gestures to the note on Thane’s desk. “He’s outed himself as a rebel leader. He’s powerful, but we are more powerful. Why would he confess his crimes? What is he planning?”

“Adir has always been impulsive and violent. It’s in his nature,” Thane grits out, raking a hand through his hair. “His plan, no doubt, is half-cocked and short-sighted. We will take advantage of that and make him pay for daring to act against us.”

Thane’s anger stokes his power. The pictures on the wall rattle. None of us bats an eye.

“I don’t know.” Eshe purses her lips. “Adir may be rash, but he’s no fool. There’s something else going on here. We should take time to consider our options. We shouldn’t return his favor by acting impulsively ourselves.”

Eshe is right, but that’s hard to accept. I want to tear down Adir’s Turkish mansion stone by stone. My power yearns to destroy anyone who dared to touch a single hair on Darcie’s head.

Control yourself.

I inhale through my nostrils.

My emotions are running high—my reactions volatile. I need to get it together. Losing my composure won’t help Darcie.

“The longer we wait to act, the longer the rebellion will believe they’ve won a major battle,” Thane tells Eshe, curling his hands into fists.

“I refuse to sit back and let those traitors lure more gullible lesser Immortals to their cause with this victory. We need to squash this. We need to make an example of Adir.”

“What do you propose?” My voice is even—calm. Inside, I’m anything but.

“We assemble our allies, and we get Darcie back. ”

Bella clears her throat. “What about Adir? He’s an Original.”

“He’s a traitor,” Thane spits. The walls tremble once more.

“He’s a member of the Council,” Eshe points out.

“His actions have revealed he’s against the Council and all we stand for. He’s no longer a member.”

Eshe frowns, glancing at each of us. “Who says?”

“ I say.” Thane’s nostrils flare. “I am the leader of the Council. Adir has acted against our laws. He will be arrested and punished for his crimes. Immediately. ”

“You don’t think you should at least discuss this with the Council?” Eshe presses, brave in the face of Thane’s anger. “The last thing we want to do is stoke the rebellion’s flames.”

“No, the last thing I want is to endure this asinine debate when there is nothing to debate! I am our leader, and I am making this decision. End of discussion.”

“Thane—”

“No,” Thane cuts Lome off with an icy glare. “We’re done talking about this. Assemble our forces, Lome. Tell them we move on Adir’s stronghold at midnight tonight. I won’t wait any longer and risk Adir having more time to prepare for us.”

Eshe snorts. “He’s likely already preparing for us. You’re leading our allies into a trap.”

Thane’s shoulders roll back, and his chest puffs out. Bella places a hand on his arm, momentarily stifling his impending outburst.

“We need to stop arguing,” Bella says, looking between her husband and Eshe. “It’s not helping anyone.”

Eshe presses her lips together, her eyes narrowed.

Thane’s nostrils flare again, then he releases a heavy sigh and turns his attention to me. “Are you ready to admit the truth yet?”

“Pardon?” I ask, my expression carved from stone.

He grits his teeth. “Are you ready to admit you’ve been lying? Will you confess the connection you feel for the girl?”

“ Darcie ,” Bella corrects with a frown. “Her name is Darcie.”

Thane dips his head, acknowledging his wife’s words with a silent apology, then returns his glare to me. “Do you still deny Darcie is your One , Des?”

Every muscle in my body tenses, but my voice is even and loud. “I do.”

Lome curses under his breath.

Bella hangs her head.

Eshe rolls her eyes.

Thane growls.

“You’re limiting us, Des,” he hisses. “And for what? To rob yourself of happiness? To rob this family of power that would make us untouchable and secure the safety of humanity for the rest of time?”

“You think too highly of our influence over mortals.”

“Why, Des?” He sneers. “Why are you doing this?”

None of your fucking business.

It’s fortunate we’re interrupted before Thane can attempt to force an answer out of me. My eldest brother looks ready to wrap his fingers around my throat. And we both know that won’t end well for him.

“Lord Thane?”

My brother’s eyes snap to the open door. “What is it, Eric?”

One of Thane’s servants stands in the doorway, rubbing his hands together before clasping them tightly. His eyes dart between us nervously.

“I-I have some information.” His eyes swing to me.

I straighten. “You got in?”

He nods. “I did.”

Yes!

“Got in where?” Lome asks.

“Adir’s stronghold,” I answer. The success alleviates my turbulent emotions. If just for a moment.

After I realized Adir had left the ball, I sent several of my spies to different locations, hoping one of them would find Adir and either confirm he had Darcie or clear his name.

Officially, Eric works for Thane. But when I need an Immortal to search for information while remaining innocuous, Eric is one of my many loyal contacts who never fails to come through.

Two days ago, I sent him to infiltrate Adir’s Turkish home. And he succeeded.

I focus on the male, my heart pounding so hard I fear it will beat out of my chest. “Have you seen the girl?” I can’t say Darcie’s name out loud. My carefully constructed facade of indifference will crack if I speak her name.

“Yes, my lord.” Eric smiles nervously. “Adir moved her from the dungeons this morning.”

Bella sucks in a sharp breath. “A dungeon?”

I’ll kill him.

“How is she?” My hands tremble. I curl them into fists. “Has Adir harmed her?”

“She-uh…” His cheeks redden. “She was well the last I saw her. A little dirty, but, uh—she was in the process of fixing that when I saw her. ”

“What do you mean?” Eshe takes a step away from the window. Lome matches her movement.

Eric swallows. “I needed to confirm a visual sighting. I volunteered to deliver food to her room, but she was in the bathroom. I made enough noise so she’d hear me. I–I didn’t know she’d already stepped into the shower.”

My imagination paints a vivid picture of Darcie’s smooth, pale skin glistening with beads of water. Her long blonde hair hangs over exposed shoulders. The top of her towel just barely revealing her perfect brea?—

Enough!

My blood heats in my veins, and a roar crashes in my ears. I shove the distracting images aside.

Now is not the time to lust after the girl, you fool.

“I’m sure Darcie loved that.” Bella chuckles in a half-hearted attempt to dispel Eric’s obvious unease. “The poor thing was probably mortified.”

Eshe huffs with subtle amusement. “Not as mortified as Eric, I bet.”

The poor bastard’s cheeks darken.

“Enough.” I ignore the jealousy ripping through me knowing Eric saw Darcie in that state. I’m as bad as that bitch, Evetta. “What else did you learn?”

“T–there’s not much more. One of the serving girls, Arla, said Adir ordered her to serve them wine. Then…” he trails off and swallows the lump in his throat once more.

Unease coils in the pit of my stomach

“What?” I demand. “What is it?”

He lowers his head, and a shudder travels through his body. “We all heard her scream.”

Scratch that. I won’t kill Adir. I’m going to destroy him .

I will act slowly, drawing out that bastard's agony to unimaginable heights. I’m going to bring his body to the brink of utter ruin only to allow his Immortal powers to mend him.

Hells, I may even enlist a healer to help.

Then, once he’s on the cusp of reprieve, I’ll start the process again. I will continue to break and mend him, break and mend him, until he learns what happens when you go after my?—

“What the fuck do you mean you heard her scream?” Lome barks, cutting off my violent thoughts. “You just said she was well the last time you saw her.”

“She was!” Eric cries out, fearful of the wrath rolling off me and my siblings. Pulses of power surge through the room.

“What did Adir do to her?” Eshe asks.

“I don’t know.” He trembles like a leaf. “I came here right away to tell you.”

A growl vibrates in my chest. I run a hand through my hair, tugging on the strands, trying to get control of my anger. The promise of violence ripping through my soul is so strong, so potent, it demands release.

“You did well, Eric.” Thane sounds far calmer than I could ever hope to be at this moment. “Thank you for all you’ve done to discover this information, as well as risking your safety to bring it to us.”

Eric lowers his head. “It is my honor, my lord.”

“There’s one more thing we’d like you to do,” Thane says.

My hand falls to my side. My brows turn down.

Eric’s features tighten. “What is it, my lord?”

My brother takes a pen and paper from the top desk drawer. “I need you to draw a map of Adir’s stronghold. Make note of the entrances and any weak points. ”

“Weak points?’

“Yes.” Thane slides the paper toward Eric but locks eyes with me. “The sort of weak points where an army of lesser Immortals could blast right through.”