Page 3 of Reign

“Yes, but I doubt Sabine wants Ivy discovered in temple. She could’ve used some Virtues to move Ivy in the library when we left. These girls … Jesus Christ, Ems. These girls do anything for her.”

“This is what our father has missed for years. Even with his own daughter. Sabine cultivates us like a predator. She has complete manipulation and control. But…” Emma pauses. “I’ve always thought, maybe Father knows and encourages it. He certainly encouraged me, in no uncertain terms, to return to the Virtues’ fold when I re-enrolled at Briarcliff.”

“I had no idea. No fucking clue you were being used like this. And what you did to yourself? What Piper helped do to you? She beat you with your permission. Emma.” Chase’s tone breaks off at the end, the first, and only, clue of grief he’s allowed to permeate the air. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve done something. Exposed the Virtues to the rest of the Nobles. I can guarantee not every one of us would be so accepting of our sisters used as fucking sex slaves.”

“Some of those very Nobles you speak of stepped up to the side of my bed.”

Chase’s breaths heave in response, a bull readying his horns for a disemboweling.

Emma continues, “Would it have stopped Sabine from using you to seduce Callie for her own means? From Piper falling off a cliff? From the Virtues threatening, blackmailing, then killing Ivy? I don’t know, Chase. This is what I think about every day. But you’ve been following Father’s rules for so long. I couldn’t be sure you’d be on my side.”

“How could you think that? I pulled you from that goddamned fire!”

“And there, right there, is your damned hero complex bursting out of the gates without any reins. You always have to save the girl, don’t you? You ran into those flames without giving a damn about yourself, when really, you should’ve given thought to the fact that I didn’t want to be pulled out.”

Chase sucks in air. “Emma. You don’t mean that.”

But she’s relentless. “You even have the gall to blame yourself for Piper’s death. You didn’t push her off the cliff. You didn’t get her pregnant. It was Piper’s choice to dig into the Virtues. Her decision to become the Virtuous princess instead of me. But because you just can’t stop yourself, now you go after Callie for daring to try and sacrifice herself for you. Maybe she wanted to. Maybe it’s not all about you, Chase. We need to make our own decisions. I needed to save other girls from becoming Sabine’s puppets. Piper needed to save me. Callie needed to save her friend and you. For once in your fucking life, allow us to be the noble ones.”

“I’m not going to apologize for wanting to protect the women I care about.”

“You guys are fighting about who has the right to die first,” I whisper, “when Ivy’s already dead.”

Both go silent.

Emma’s the first to speak. She covers her face with her hands. “I’m sorry. My brain is everywhere. I’m so sorry about Ivy. And I’m terrified for my brother, for you, and I’m taking it out on anything that moves.”

“It’s okay,” I murmur, but the tears well anyway.

Emma lays a hand on my shoulder. “You’ll tell me tomorrow. Try to rest.” She then lays a hand on Chase’s cheek, staring long and hard into his eyes. “You, too.”

“Yeah, sis.” Chase squeezes her wrist.

Emma steps out of the room and the bed dips as Chase settles beside me. His body molds to mine, and he says, close to my ear, “Can I stay?”

I turn into him, my damp lashes cool against my tender skin as I close my eyes. “Don’t leave.”

He brings an arm around me, tugging me close. “I’m so—I should’ve—”

I nuzzle his neck. “Your sister’s right. You take on too much. Let us have our faults. I could’ve saved Ivy, too.”

“I wish you had.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, asking, for just this moment, that my crying stops. “Sabine was aiming for you. I know it in my bones. And I couldn’t stop myself from protecting you if I tried.”

“Callie.” My name sounds so pained on his tongue. He kisses the hair at my temple. “I hear the guilt in your voice. There’s no way you could’ve saved us both. One of us was dying tonight. There was no way out.”

“There’s always a way.”

I’m surprised at the grit in my tone, the instant anger. Yet, the more I stew on the words, the more certain I become.

“Tomorrow will be rough.” Chase fits me against him when he moves to his back. “Rest. Sabine’s not touching a hair on your fucking head.”

I lick my lips, truly wondering if Chase can claim such invincibility when tonight has shown us there’s no such thing.

My best friend is dead. That caring, smiling, bursting-with-joy person is dead. Because she wanted to save her family. Because of Sabine.

Those thoughts grow vulture’s feathers until they form into jagged, black wings, and they silently circle my mind, flying lower and lower, ready to eat into the carrion I’ve become.

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