Page 125 of Unveil

“I got you into this feud, Luna.” His eyes find mine. “I never wanted the pact to be your curse, but that’s all it’s been for you. That’s allI’vebeen for you. Let me break it.” He swallows hard, and my hand presses to my throat in sympathy. “Let me set you free.”

“No.” A painful shudder racks through me as I shake my head.

Bossie huffs. “Believe me, young Fury, we’re gonna get to you.”

Dad’s measured gaze drags from Orion to glare at Bossie. “My daughter’s not marrying anyone she doesn’t want to. And I have a feeling that boy—” His jaw clenches as he points to Orion who’s straining against his ropes. “—and I will both burn this church to the ground with all of you Wildes in it before letting that happen. Your truce would go up in smoke, and I’d use every resource at my disposal to annihilate the rest of the ‘Bossie Wilde kin.’”

A shiver runs through me at the cold venom in his voice, but his defiance and the agreement in Orion’s eyes steadies me. I believe every word, but Bossie just chuckles.

“You highfalutin folks always think you’ve got the upper hand. But look around you, Mr. Bordeaux.”

She sweeps her arms over the chapel, and my eyes track them automatically. My stomach knots as I finally register how dire our situation actually is. It’s my father, Nox, Orion, and me… against twelve armed men. Bart towers over me, two guard Bossie, and there are two more behind Orion. Seven othersstand watch near Dad and Nox, looming from the shadows among the pushed-aside pews.

The back of my neck burns like a spotlight’s fixed on me alone. It might as well be, since the death of my freedom is the star of this shitshow.

“Your money don’t do you no good when you’re outnumbered,” Bossie says. “And after the Lost Cove massacre, your daughter and Orion owe debts money can’t repay.”

Dad’s eyes narrow before he finally grits out. “Then we’ll side with you.”

My jaw drops so fast it clicks. “What?”

“I pledge our loyalty. My family walks out of here unharmed, ‘debt’ paid. Do what you want with the Fury?—”

“No!” The word tears from my chest, and I surge to my feet, not caring about my ankle. “Dad, what’re youdoing?”

He doesn’t look at me, gaze hard as steel on Bossie as he drives a knife into my back.

“The Furys have only brought my family grief. You don’t need my daughter. Go back to your feud. You’ve got your life for life and the truce you wanted.”

“She’s playing you, Bordeaux,” Orion says evenly. “Luna won’t be safe. She’ll always be a bargaining chip to them.”

“Just like she is to you,” he lashes out.

My chest caves in.

“It’s not like that, Dad, and you know it.” My voice cracks as he blurs in my burning vision. “You can’t throw Orion to the wolves. I’ll never forgive you.”

He shakes his head, finally looking at me, but I see no cracks or weakness in his hard gaze. “You’ll get over it, Luna. You hardly know him.”

“What? Who even are you right now? You always talk about Fate.” My voice shakes, but I refuse to yield. “What I feel is Fate.”

Bossie cuts in, smug. “What you feel isn’tFate. It’s the Furys. They can con even the smartest of women, slick as the snake in Eden. I hate to say it, child, but you fell for their wicked ways. Sure as Eve to the Devil.”

“Youare the Devil,” I spit?—

Crack.

My head whips sideways before the pain even lands, the force making me collapse. I gasp, ears ringing, heat trickling down my cheek. I press the tender flesh lightly, grimacing at the sting. My fingers come away crimson, my mind zeroing in on the sight while everything else around it becomes a hazy nightmare.

When my vision finally realigns, Bossie’s watching me impassively. Her face is calm while her knuckles and gold ring glisten red. A drop of blood plops onto the warped wood, a sound I think I imagine in my muffled head, but it snaps the world back into focus.

Voices clash like swords as the men in my life roar their threats. Their rage is deafening, yet all I hear is Bossie.

“Let that be a learnin’ to you, child. That mouth a’ yours is gonna get you in trouble. That ain’t no way to talk to your elders, least of all your future kin.”

My hand trembles as I wipe my cheek, but I force my shoulders straight, meeting her eyes.

She nods toward Dad and Nox, both restrained by three men each. Their faces flush red as they strain uselessly against the grip. Orion’s not much different, except for the new slash across his brow.