Page 53 of Thrown to the Wolves

“I can—I will, I promise, I’ll?—”

“You’ve tried,” she said flatly. “And failed. Several times. I shall send Ariadne instead. No. I want you to do something else for me. Something easier, since you’ve been unable to prove yourself so far.”

And then she told me what she wanted: Aurora Verderosa.

“You want me to kill Hades’ fiancée?” I burst out. It seemed even more impossible than killing Lyssa. For one thing, I’d never get near the girl.

“No,” Grandmother said coldly. “I want you to bring her here, to me. The killing of her is a pleasure that you don’t deserve, Scarlett.”

I felt sick, then. “But?—”

“I’m not asking.” Grandmother’s tone left no room for argument. “You’ll do as you’re told, or your parents’ lives are forfeit. And you wouldn’t want that on your conscience, now would you?”

I found myself agreeing, just like the obedient soldier Grandmother wished me to be. Because in the end, she had given me no choice—not if I wanted to keep what little family I had left alive.

“I will kill Aurora Verderosa myself,” she said, “and with her death, I’ll destroy this wretched Styx Syndicate from the top down. This Hades, as they call her, will only be able to blame her Wolf, as soon as she realizes it was you who took her fiancée. And then she and Lyssa will destroy each other—and the whole Syndicate in the process.”

I wasn’t so sure. But Grandmother only smiled at the fleeting doubt that crossed my face.

“You don’t think so?” she asked. “Wait and see. Love is a terrifying thing, Scarlett. And losing it? Cities have been destroyed over less. I think it will be very interesting to see, one way or another. And it is what I desire. Understand me?”

“I understand.”

“And you will obey?”

“I will obey.”

For Mom and Dad…for my family, I would do what needed to be done. I would follow orders, just like Lyssa.

Even if it meant forsaking every last shred of my own humanity along the way.

I’m close to my quarry now, watching the pulsing dot as much as I watch the street. She’s right around this corner…

I’ll have to deal with the bodyguards, of course. Find a way to incapacitate them, or at least distract them. Then once that’s done?—

But as the signal’s source comes into view, my belly flips over with dread. It’s not Aurora Verderosa, walking down the street, stopping here and there to look into windows.

It’s Mrs. Graves. Mrs. Graves, holding that old-fashioned, too-big handbag as she window shops, the bag I slipped the tracker into.

No...

Oh God, no. I’ve failed. Failed again—killed my parents as surely as if I held the knife myself?—

Realization drenches me in an icy sweat. Aurora must have offered to carry Mrs. Graves’ handbag for convenience, since they were both so weighed down already with bags.

I turn, dazed, and go back around the corner, my first instinct to get back to Grandmother’s house as fast as I can, to battle my way through all those guards—through Ariadne, too, since she’ll be there of course—and save my parents…

No.

I choke out a sob as I realize it’s futile. I might be able to get through a handful of them on my own, but not all of them. Maybe if Lyssa were with me?—

Lyssa.

I’m near hyperventilating as my mind races. I could go back to the motel right now and wake Lyssa, slap her awake, tell her everything. Beg for her help.

She wouldn’t help me. Why would she? She means to kill me, I know that. Despite the intimacy we’ve shared, I know it doesn’t make any difference. Her orders are to kill me, and she follows orders to protect her family.

Family…

---