Page 50 of When Kings Fall

He leans back in the chair, his eyes glinting with amusement. "It seems you’re surprised."

I force my expression to stay neutral, even as my heart pounds in my chest. "Surprised isn’t the word I’d use." I’m trying to make sense of Isaac sitting here, this is good, I remind myself, but then why is my heart thumping wildly in my chest?

Isaac laughs, a soft, almost mocking sound. "Ah, Diarmuid. You always were hard to surprise."

I take a step closer, my eyes narrowing. "How did this happen? How are you sitting behind that desk?"

He shrugs, his smile never faltering. "I was the logical choice. Victor’s death left a void, and someone had to fill it."

"And that someone is you?" I ask, my voice hardening.

The man who had helped me save a boy, the man who also had whispered into Selene’s ear, about the boy, at the time I had thought it was fear for Selene, trying to get her away from me, but now it all seems so calculated since he is now Victor’s replacement.

Isaac tilts his head, studying me. "You sound skeptical."

"Victor wouldn’t have chosen you," I say flatly. "Not you." This doesn’t make sense.

Isaac’s smile widens, but there’s something predatory about it now. "You underestimate me, Diarmuid. Victor’s death created an opportunity, and I was in the right place at the right time."

The right place.

“I’ve been around for a long time,” Issac says, with no expression on his face. “I remember how they talked about the torture of a young boy, how Victor and Andrew molded him into a monster.”

The blood sinks to my shoes. He’s speaking about me. He’s been aware of me all this time, listening, plotting?

“So when I heard Andrew O’Sullivan died, Victor called me to help find out who did it.” Issac smiles. “You did.”

“You shared that knowledge with Victor?” I ask, it all is clicking into place.

“No,” Issac says.

"And you expect me to believe that?" I ask, my voice low.

He stands, moving around the desk until he’s standing in front of me, his eyes locked on mine. "You don’t have to believeit. But, telling Victor would only get you killed and that was not what I wanted.”

I feel my jaw tighten, the weight of his words sinking in. "What did you want, Isaac?"

He smiles again, that same cold, calculating smile. "I want what’s always been mine. Control."

"Control of what?" I ask, my pulse quickening, but I already know the answer. He wanted Victor out of the picture and knew I would be the one to do it.

"Everything," he says simply. "The Hands, the church, the O’Sullivans... you."

I take a step back, my mind racing. This isn’t just about replacing Victor. Isaac’s playing a much bigger game, and I’m one of the pieces on his board.

"You think you can control me?" I ask, my voice low and dangerous.

Isaac chuckles softly. "I already do, Diarmuid. You just don’t realize it yet."

I clench my fists at my sides, resisting the urge to lash out. He’s baiting me, trying to get a reaction. But I won’t give him the satisfaction. Not yet.

"You’ve been watching me," I say slowly, piecing it together. "Manipulating things."

"Of course," he says with a shrug. "Your refusal to kill Brien Cahill showed me everything I needed to know. You’re not loyal to anyone but yourself."

My breath catches in my throat.The test. It was all a test.Isaac had orchestrated the situation, knowing I would hesitate, knowing I’d fail.

Isaac’s smile sharpens as if he can read the question on my face. "Oh yes, Diarmuid. I know all about your little... moral dilemma. It was a test, you know. One that you failedspectacularly. That knowledge I did share with Victor and of course he was furious."

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