Page 49 of Thunder's Reckoning

Malik leaned his head back against the couch, his gaze drifting to the ceiling like he was lookin’ beyond it.

“I used to dream about killing him,” he said, the words so soft they barely made it across the room. “And sometimes, in the dream, I’d do it. I’d hear the sound. Feel the silence after, but then I’d wake up, and he’d still be there. Standing in the door. Smiling. Telling me I had learning to do.”

He didn’t look at me when he said it, didn’t need to.

I let the quiet sit for a moment before I answered.

“Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is survive long enough to prove he doesn’t own you anymore.”

Malik didn’t say anything. But he didn’t look away either. And that? That was enough for now.

Behind me, I heard the soft whisper of breath as Sable lifted Zara into her arms. She held her tight, arms curled protectively around her little girl, like she was afraid if she let go, the world might take her, too. At the edge of the hallway, she paused and looked back at me. Our eyes met, and in hers, I saw somethin’ unspoken.

Thank you.

I gave her a nod, one I didn’t expect her to return, but she did, just barely, before disappearin’ into the darkened hall.

I turned my attention back to Malik.

“You ready to learn how to play that game?” I asked, my voice lighter now.

He nodded. “Yeah.”

I grinned. “I don’t like to brag, but I’m pretty good at video games.”

He hesitated. “Is it hard?”

“Nah,” I said, settlin’ deeper into the chair. “You’ll get the hang of it. I’ll show you the ropes, and then you can practice while I pretend not to be jealous of how fast you learn.”

That flicker of curiosity was back again, burnin’ low in his eyes like a spark he hadn’t let show in a long time. Like maybe this world he’d stumbled into could offer somethin’ different. Somethin’ better.

I didn’t say another word.

Sometimes, the quiet said everything.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

THE KIDS WEREasleep, soft breaths rising andfalling like lullabies in the quiet. Zeke had gone downstairs to his work, and the house had fallen into stillness.

I looked around the small space, the chipped paint, the mismatched furniture, the hum of the old fridge in the next room, and smiled, just a little. It was strange, really, how I could feel more at peace in this tiny, imperfect house than I ever had in Gabrial’s mansion. That place had chandeliers, grand staircases, imported floors. It shimmered from the outside like something out of a fairytale. But inside, it was silence and edges sharp enough to bleed on. A cage dressed in gold.

This, though? This felt human. Real. Safe.

I thought about the kiss I’d shared with Zeke. The first that hadn’t been stolen from me by a man I couldn’t stand to touch. Gabrial had kissed me more times than I could count, each one leaving a layer of grime I could never quite wash off. But Zeke… Zeke’s kiss had been different. It stirred something I didn’t even have words for. Something warm. Terrifying. Good.

Maybe that’s why I acted on impulse.

I rose without thinking, quietly opened the basement door, and stepped onto the creaking stairs. The air shifted as I descended—cooler, tinged with the smell of old wood, mildew, smoke, sweat. Voices hummed below, chips clinked, glass hit glass. Sin breathed down here, thick and alive.

I didn’t belong.

But I needed to see him.

I slipped through the shadows of the gambling house, keeping to the edges, past poker tables and the low sprawl of barstools. Music drifted lazy, bass heavy. Men cursed. Dice rattled. It all blurred, background noise to the single thought pounding in my head: find him.

A man caught my eye, tall, graying hair, a patch stitched across his cut that matched Zeke’s.Horse.

He studied me for a beat, head tilting. “You lost, sweetheart?”