Page 14 of Viper

Rune leans back, looking into my eyes. “You’re going to make this up to me.”

My heart drops to my feet.

“When I ask something of you, you will do it. Right?”

I nod, my jaw clenched to stop the tears. “Yes, Papa,” I whisper. “Anything.”

“Good,” he says, patting my head, and relief floods me. It wouldn’t have been the first time Rune took me after hurting me to the point of bruises. He’s just never done it in the kitchen where anyone would catch him.

Behind us, the kettle screams, and I jolt so hard my knees hit his. With another dark look my way, Rune eases from the chair, then pours steaming water into the mug. He sets it down in front of me with a loudclinkthat crashes through the kitchen.

“He refused the amount I offered,” Rune says, watching me. “Another fucking game.”

“What?” I ask sharply, sitting upright. “They asked for money?”

He cocks his head to the side, looking at me strangely. “He sent me a letter. An actual letter. Handwritten, refusing the amount I offered.”

Money? I wrap my hands around the mug, letting the warmth center me, absorbing this.

“I didn’t hear from him for weeks,” he says. “It took Zane demanding your return to get him to respond. I offered money for her from the beginning, but he refused, saying it wasn’t enough.”

Because he doesn’t want a ransom.

“Now he’s gone dark again, refusing to communicate,” Rune says. “I even offered a larger amount. But no response means he’s refusing to negotiate.”

Bile rises in my throat, the one word rattling in my head, in my ribcage, against my heart, watching numbly as Rune pulls eggs from the fridge.

Negotiate.

I swallow the rising wave of fury, picturing their father’s face. The cold man with icy eyes and gray hair. The one who’s controlling this entire game.

The one who ordered them to send me back.

Lifting the mug to my mouth, I glance at Rune. “Did they say they wanted money for us? Those men?”

He makes a sound in his throat. “Who fucking knows what they want? I don’t know why he took you to begin with.”

Because they wanted me.

“And now that they don’t have you, they are playing games. Negotiating a price for her release, then going silent. The greedy bastard took you, probably thinking he could rob me blind, but he didn’t know about the arrangement with Zane. Not until we made it clear it was set in stone before he took you.” He pats my head. “I knew I’d get you back. There was never negotiating for you.”

“He?” I ask. “You mean the man who brought me back? He didn’t know about the marriage?”

Rune shakes his head. “The big one.”

Reaper.

“Did he say they wanted money for Delly?” I ask, meeting his eyes. “Is that why they took her?”

A smile cuts across his face, stained with cruelty. “He just wants to scare me,” he says. “But he doesn’t realize I know he’d never hurt my girl. He didn’t have it in him the first time.”

Chapter 6

Viper

26 Years Ago, January, Age 6

SisterBlairhasyellowteeth and a crooked smile. I have only ever seen her face, but I know she’s scrawny. Her bony elbows stick out under her habit, and skinny ankles flash when she walks. She reminds me of the serpent she talks about on Sundays. The one who slithered through the garden and told Eve to eat the apple.