Page 36

Lorcan

A iden lounged against the doorframe, arms folded across his chest, his legs crossed, an infuriating smirk playing on his lips.

The light from the windows flickered against his sharp features, casting shadows that stretched unnaturally across the walls.

He looked like he belonged there—like some lurking specter of misfortune.

“What have you done?” he repeated, voice as smooth as honey but laced with venom, spinning a white key card between his fingers. “Right now, there’s someone who you’re concerned about? She wandered away—for no reason?”

My stomach clenched, and a cold dread trickled down my spine like ice water. Aiden’s voice was too casual, too knowing. I balled my fists, forcing my breath to steady, but the unease curled tighter around me.

Cormac stepped in front of me. “Aiden, what are you doing here?”

He inspected his fingernails as though he hadn’t a care in the world before standing to his full height.

He stretched leisurely, his every movement deliberate and controlled—a lion in a room of uneasy prey.

“I just figured I’d stop by. I heard through the grapevine that you had finally found my big brother here, and I thought that after a hundred years, I would meander across the pond to see him. ”

Cormac’s expression remained unreadable. “No, you didn’t. And you know that. So why don’t you tell me the truth?”

A grin crawled across Aiden’s lips. “The truth is, dear Cormac, I have found the Cure. I know exactly where he is and how to get him. I simply thought I would come here and give you a final chance to work with me before I tear the mortal’s heart out.”

Cormac’s knuckles whitened as his grip tightened on the back of a chair. His jaw tensed. I knew he was contemplating what Aiden had said. To find the Cure, we needed blood from all four of us. But that was to locate the Cure using magic. Had Aiden somehow figured out a different way to find him?

Cormac’s voice was measured, a hint of steel beneath it. “What is it you want, brother?”

Aiden dropped his voice lower, the menace unmistakable. “I want the same thing I’ve wanted for the past one hundred and twenty years. I am the head of this family, and it’s time you all understood that. I’m the one with the power to live.”

His words settled in the air like poison, thick and inescapable. I felt the weight of them and the quiet challenge buried beneath.

The slight shake of Cormac’s head was nearly imperceptible. So Aiden didn’t know we all held the same power, and Cormac wouldn’t share that knowledge.

“Well, dear brother, if you believe you know where the Cure is, then why don’t you get him?”

Aiden shrugged. “Maybe I will. Or maybe I’ll find—what’s her name—Briar? Because if I can’t have my brothers with me, at least I’ll have a bit of control over one of them.”

My vision sharpened, narrowing to just him. My body tensed, every instinct screaming to rip his throat out. He had dared to say her name. To claim her as a pawn in his twisted games.

“You won’t touch her,” I said, stepping forward.

Cormac placed his hand on my chest. “Lorcan. He won’t find her.” His voice was low, steady. He turned to our younger brother. “I think it’s time for you to leave, Aiden.”

Aiden smirked. “You’re kicking me out of my own house? How wonderful. How rich, from the brother who wants us all to be together.”

“Aiden?” Declan’s voice came from just beyond the doorway. He stepped into the room, his eyes cast downward. “Sorry, our car fell behind.”

Aiden tilted his head, studying him like a predator eyeing weak prey.

“Declan,” he drawled. “I know how much you’ve wanted to have a reunion since Cormac visited us in South Carolina.

And I’m sure your mate is somewhere around, though you haven’t let on yet.

So I’m going to leave you with them. You can catch up and let me know everything”—his gaze darkened—“and I mean everything, happening.”

Declan stood still, his hands curling at his sides. He didn’t flinch, but there was a flicker of hesitation—one Aiden would surely note.

Declan glanced between Aiden and Cormac before looking back at his sire. “If you say so, Aiden.”

“Wonderful.” Aiden clapped Declan on the arm. “I’m going to see if I can find a woman now.” He barely finished the sentence before disappearing.

I clenched my fists at my side. “Cormac, you can’t just let him go. If he finds her—”

Cormac shook his head. “He won’t find her.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed a number. Only Cormac could maintain the patience he did as the phone rang. A low, tinny voice wrapped in static answered, and quickened the pace of my heart.

Cormac’s words held no politeness or pleasantries. “Conall. I need you in London. Now.”

He didn’t wait for our youngest brother to reply before hanging up and moving to the intercom.

“Dani, I need Patricia in the boardroom immediately.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied over the speaker. “Was that really—”

“I said now.” Cormac let go of the button and turned to me. “Lorcan, let’s go.” He brushed Rory’s cheek with the back of his fingers. “Maybe you should get some rest.”

She shook her head and narrowed her eyes. “Cormac, you know as well as I do that you just want to protect me—again—from whatever you’re doing.”

He smiled as he laced his arms around her waist. “You’re completely correct. And I also want to protect our child. So go rest. Because the chances of me needing the High Priestess soon are increasing by the minute.”

She leaned back in his arms. “All right, Cormac. Just remember—there are no stories for tomorrow.”

“I know, starlight.” Bending down, he kissed her before turning to me with a frown. “Lorcan, let’s go find Briar.”

We made our way to the boardroom, where there was a woman with long, straight brown hair, her attire all business.

“Cormac, what can I do for you?” she asked.

Cormac strode to the table, raising a hand toward the woman.

“Lorcan, this is Patricia, our head of security.” He turned to her.

“We need to find Briar. She’s disappeared.

I want to know when she left, where she stayed last night, and where she’s going.

” Cormac’s voice was measured, but his body was taut with restrained force, his fingers drumming against his arm like a ticking clock.

“But, sir, how—”

“You know exactly how,” Cormac interrupted. “I want a war room set up in the lower conference room, and people working around the clock until you find her. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Call in extra help if you need to. Emergency pay will be in effect, and the guest floor is open. Give them access through the executive floor.”

A small smile crossed the woman’s lips, but her eyes betrayed her fear. “They’ll be pleased to hear that, sir.”

“Double pay and a suite? It should light a fire. Get to work.”

“Yes, sir.” As Patricia exited, the silence in the room grew heavier.

“They’ll find her, Lorcan.” Cormac rested his hand on my shoulder but refused to meet my eyes before walking from the room.

For the past four hours I had wandered the house, unable to sit still, memories haunting me—not only memories of Briar but of my life.

A life that had been going on for so long.

How many people had died around me, and how many at my own hand?

But now Aiden hunted the life I cared about the most. I stalked to the family library and poured myself a whiskey.

I nursed the amber liquid, relishing the small bites of pain with each gentle sip.

My heart clenched, and I closed my eyes, blanking out the old bookshelves and leather chairs.

I inhaled the lingering scent of cigars and old books, chasing away the scent of her.

But it was still there, her smell, her taste, even the firmness of her breasts as I had cupped them in my hands, holding her back to me, her scream echoing around the room as she came.

And now, my every fear had come to fruition: she was gone, and Aiden was after her.

I should have stayed away, told her I did not know who Lorcan O’Cillian was, and that the name was a strange coincidence. Why had I not?

I poured myself another drink and paced, laughing bitterly.

The room around me absorbed the sound, not allowing it to flow into the hall.

I thought I should check in at the war room, but I didn’t even know where it was.

Our homes had always been our refuge, Dún Na Farraige the most, but this one was a close second, yet I no longer knew my way around.

How had our lives come to this? I shook my head, taking another sip.

I needed to find Briar and get away from here.

Declan stopped short as he walked into the library. “Should I…” He pointed at the door, not quite finishing his sentence.

I gestured to the chairs. “Our homes have always been yours. Don’t allow me to chase you away.”

He tiptoed to the decanter and poured himself a glass. His voice was calm. “Cormac will find her. You know that.”

I let out a breath, shaking my head. Maybe. But maybe wasn’t good enough. “I know, but will Aiden find her first? Where did he even go?”

Declan bit his lip. “I don’t know. I wonder if he’s figured out I’ve been working with Cormac. He didn’t tell me much when we came here. He just said we were coming…”

I chewed the inside of my cheek. “Cormac said the two of you have been working together for the past twenty-five years. That is quite a long time to betray your sire.”

“I didn’t have a choice anymore. He’s too far gone. And now he’s out there, and I don’t know what he’s planning.”

But it was what he didn’t say that worried me.

I had heard these things over the years as this modern age grew around us.

Aiden was a shadow in the night, slipping through the cracks of the world like mist. No doors, no locks, no security could truly keep him out; only the old magic, the lack of an invitation.

Declan took a long sip of his drink as he sat, his words confirming my fears. “He doesn’t need any of the modern conveniences.”

I nodded. “That’s what scares me the most. He could be anywhere. And so could Briar.” The thought made my pulse quicken, the ache in my chest pressing down harder. What if I had already lost her?

“She isn’t just anywhere,” said Cormac as he entered the room. He slid his phone into his jacket pocket, crossed the room, and stood in front of a bookcase. “Patricia just called. They located a flight reservation in Briar’s name—booked from Dublin next week to Sydney.”

My breath hitched. Sydney. She was running. From me. From us. “But that means that she has—”

Cormac nodded. “Six days. So she hasn’t gone far. Our security team is working on it. I have them requesting the closed-circuit footage from the city. We have a—good—relationship with them.”

“A good relationship with whom?” The voice bordered on jovial, one I knew all too well. My heart pounded as he stood in the doorway. Conall, my youngest brother, from whom I’d once been inseparable. I sucked in my bottom lip, unsure if I should run and hug him or remain stoic.

He stepped inside, his voice soft. “Brother, it’s been—”

I stiffened. “I know.” The words between us were measured and cautious. How much had changed since I had seen him last?

A smile crossed Cormac’s face, his eyes lighting up. “Well, now that you’re here, we can finally start looking for the Cure.”

I shook my head. “But we’re still missing one brother. The one I might remind you is after Briar.”

Declan shifted in his seat. “From what Rory said, you only need the blood of all four brothers.” He pulled a flask from his back pocket, the O’Cillian crest screaming at me from the front. “Allow me to supply Aiden’s contribution to the cause.”

My eyes narrowed. I didn’t give a damn about the Cure when Briar was out there. Aiden had threatened them both, but only one was important to me. I clamped my teeth together.

“Fabulous.” Cormac clapped his hands. “Let’s get Rory.” He stepped to my side and laid a hand on my shoulder.

“We’ll find her, Lorcan. We have the best people working on it.”

I swallowed, my jaw relaxing as I felt the warmth of my brother’s touch. “Thank you, Cormac.”

But as the night deepened and the search pressed on, the truth gnawed at me—Briar was out there, alone. And I had let her slip away.