Page 39 of Dust to Dust

I closed my eyes and sunk my teeth into my lip.There, there. Now isn't the time.Ghost applauded me.

I punched his stab wound, causing Anton to cry, "Start talking." I crouched lower at his eye level, "Let's start at the very beginning."

Anton looked at me. His eyes softened to convey a silent apology I would not accept. The man was as twisted as me. He protected me and destroyed me all because Lucas King ordered it.

"The beginning?" Anton shook his head. "Let's start where it matters, Kukla. I believe Lucas already filled you in on how old The Rites of Passage is, am I correct?" Anton said through graded teeth. "The Rites of Passage are Gods amongst men; in the old days, they were the kings; in the current days, they are gods. Unlike kings who can only be in one place at a time, now they are everywhere. Technology has connected them. They have seeped into every aspect of everyday life. Nothing is hidden from them; nothing is untouchable."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, they are some secret club, blah, blah, blah. How does some organization affect Titan and me?" Seriously did men have a hard-on for underground clubs? First, I stumble upon the brotherhood, and now this? How big did these men's egos need to be inflated? Women didn't have time for this bullshit; if we wanted something, we took it—no need to cloak and dagger our way through life.

"How do they affect you?" Anton beamed and cocked his head, "They affect Titan because they are Titan, and as his wife, you are now a part of them. You might want to pull a chair up, Nova, because what I was sent here to tell you isn't the short version of this tale, my Kukla."

Chapter 30

Ididn't like how Anton looked at Nova and how he continued to look at her even after my threats. His eyes watched Nova's every inhale of breath, from how her eyes moved to the rise and fall of her chest. Anton looked up at her from his chained seat with pride, and if I didn't need him alive, I'd kill him ever so slowly. I'd call up Anders and ask for some pointers when it came to prolonged torture. Maybe I'd even follow in Anders footsteps and grab a battle ax to start with. I could feel the weight of my second gun burning a hole in my back.

Use me, come on, you know you want to.It tempted me. It took all my years of conditioning and control not to grab it and shoot Anton.

My breath became labored with rage. So much so that Dash nudged me with the heel of his shoe. His eyes sent me a warning. I didn't respond to Dash because I wasn't sure what I would do.

My wife was guarded and didn't get into details about her time in prison. But the way her eyes washed over now told me more than I needed to know. It looked like her soul had departed from her body. At that moment, I saw Elsa, a girl that was broken down into dust and then spat on.

I watched Anton's reaction. His anger mirrored mine. I couldn't figure Anton out; maybe I didn't need to before I killed him. He cared for Nova. I could see the regret on his face when she mentioned the guard now. I could see his delight when he confessed he killed the man. But at the same time, Anton was nothing but a pawn for my father. He was hired to break Nova. When did his teachings turn into affection, and just how far did that affection extend?

I turned and grabbed a chair and placed it in front of Anton about ten feet back. Far enough away that if Anton escaped, which he couldn't, but I didn't take chances, he could not lunge for Nova before I killed him. Gently, I touched Nova's lower back. Without looking at me, she came closer to my side. I guided her to the chair and sat her down. Then I stood guard next to my queen. Dash stood guard behind Anton with a gun pressed to his head. I took half a step forward. I was partially blocking her from Anton's view. The bastard was going to lookmein the eye, not my wife.

"We can not choose the families we are born into Kukla. It is interesting both you and Titan have the blood of traitors running through you." Anton stated. Then his eyes shifted to me. He lowered his head, almost making me believe he was bowing before me. "Your father was a king in more ways than one. Lucas was a member of The Rites of Passage." Anton paused for a dramatic effect, "Your family has roots seeded in great power. Your father, Lucas, his father, and so on. Generation after generation, one ruling seat is passed to blood only. Seven ruling seats are passed to the firstborn no matter the sex." Anton stressed with a severe face.

"How progressive of you," Nova snorted, "And what about my father?" Nova's hands were curled into a fist, her knuckles blanching white. Leaning back in my chair, I reached out and took hold of her hand, forcing my fingers into her palm to protect her from breaking her skin.

"You wanted the beginning, so I can't skip ahead to your parents just yet. Patience Kukla." Anton cleared his throat and began, "Jules King." Anton stated with his green eyes trained on me. There was a mix of disdain and rage within him.

"My grandfather," I asked. Anton nodded. I looked behind Anton to Dash, who shrugged as lost as I was.

Dash, Damian, and I knew very little about our grandfather. Besides the fact that I was gifted with his name as my middle name, my father never spoke much of his father, and the few times I asked my dad or my uncles they became enraged. I had never so much seen a picture of the man. Then again, my home never had family pictures on the walls or my father's desk. It was like living in a cold hotel or cage. Father only confessed to me that an enemy killed my grandfather. He had it coming. Dad didn't seem sad about the death, but I had sought to kill my father, so I figured the apple didn't fall far from the thorny tree.

"Let's start with the great United States," Anton began, "You think every four to eight years the ruling power of the presidency is handed over? That a new ruler can control the vast wealth and power America holds?" Anton laughed, "Behind every major country is us, The Rites of Passage. We are the real power that rules. Weneverhand over power. When a new president comes into play, they learn of us. They accept that they are merelyourpuppet and either follow or are replaced." Anton shrugged. I didn't have to ask what a man like Anton meant when he referred to someone being replaced. You either followed, or you were dead. King Corporations lead with the same iron fist.

"Dictators, Queens, Kings, governments, parliaments. Everything is a puppet show to appease the little man who thinks he votes in power and has a voice. We, The Rites of Passage, are everything that makes the world go round and continue to evolve. Jules King and two other members ruled over north and south America." Anton's voice shifted to a less relaxed state as he continued, "One day Jules thought, to hell with the rest of the order, he didn't want to be bound by his European mother, so he tried to kill her. If we learned anything from history, it's the beginning of the end when you break up and separate a superpower. Each new ruler becomes engrossed in believing they can control their faction without help from the mother. A child without a mother can't be nourished. They wilt and die. As you can imagine, the kings and queens of The Rites of Passage could not allow this to happen. So we went to war. Jules controlled the Americans for five years until his son fell in love." Anton sighed, "It's always love that sparks war. Whether it is the love between a woman's legs or the love of power and greed."

"Who did Lucas fall in love with?" Nova asked.

Anton shook his head, "It wasn't Lucas that fell in love. It was Marcus King."

Chapter 31

Marcus.

Was my uncle the tipping point in this crazy story?

I looked to Dash, who was on the verge of pulling the trigger. Gone was his composed demeanor. Dash, Damian, and I hated our fathers, but our aunt Kate, Dash's mother, was the only pure light in our darkness.Until Nova came back into my life, that is.Kate was the one person who could tame us all and make us sit at a table together. My mind raced back to our last family dinner, the dinner where Kate confessed she had weeks to live. They kept her cancer a secret even to Dash. Secrets and lies built our empire. But she didn't have weeks after she stopped her cancer treatment. She wanted to spend her last days with the lot of us—a group of demons. Dash didn't speak for a long time after that. Instead, he found a new angel to try to save him.

Mila.

After Kate's passing, we never had a family dinner again. Now, all our fathers were dead. Dash, Damian, and I were the last of the King family name.Until I have a child, that is.

The idea of having a child with my wife, my determined, hellfire wife. It warmed my cold heart and added to my short list of reasons to live. When all the dust and ash settled, I'd make that my number one goal.

"Kate's family was part of The Rites of Passage but they were on the wrong side," Anton cocked his head, "well Kate's family was technically on the right side, my side, the loyal side, but in Jules's eyes, Kate and her family were the enemies and your grandfather was dead set on killing every single member that opposed his rule. Your uncle Marcus loved Kate and convinced his brothers to turn on your grandfather. A knife in the back," Anton smiled, "Jules never saw it coming. Your heir kills you. The one you gave life takes life. It is the root of The Rites of Passage. The hardest trial to pass. Jules's end was the beginning of his family's freedom."

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