Page 85 of Darkness Falls

"We need to be focused on our part. There are too many moving pieces. Be prepared if things need to change on the spot," he tells me, and his head gestures toward the building ahead of us.

I clear my mind and focus back on the main objective. We need to get through this stupid trial. Once Seb gets the go-ahead from Barrett, we can put our distraction to use and get the fuck out of here, blowing them all to pieces in our wake.

Hopefully, we can pull Damien away from them while everyone is distracted. Seb has the same tranquilizer they used on me when they kidnapped me. Unfortunately for Damien, thingswon’t turn out for him the way they did for me. I can't wait to see how he likes being tortured. I'm going to make him beg me to keep him alive and then slit his throat.

As if the scumbag knew I was thinking about him, he steps in front of me. We're just outside of the main building, and he reaches his hand around my waist and pulls me into him. I go stiff in his hold and look over to shake my head ‘no’ to Seb. Rage consumes him, and he clenches his fists at his sides.

"It's so nice to have you home, wife."

I lean into Damien, catching him off guard, and grit out, "Get your hands off of me, you disgusting piece of shit."

He laughs while bending down to whisper in my ear, "You were supposed to come alone."

"You said I had to be here. You never said I had to come alone. Now back the fuck up before I cause a scene." I bring my hand to my waist to meet his, pulling one of his fingers back far enough to make him wince, and he reluctantly releases me.

"You better watch yourself. I could decide to be less generous." He glances at Sebastian. "She shouldn't have brought you. She won't be leaving with you once this is all over."

Seb's jaw tics, and I watch as an evil grin crosses his face. "The only place Callie will be when this is over tonight is in bed with me with my cock buried in her sweet cunt, just like last night."

Damien scoffs. "If you think the idea of my wife whoring herself around is going to intimidate me, you're wrong. I'm glad she had one last night to enjoy with you. It'll give her something to hold onto while I destroy her every day for the rest ofher life."

Seb goes to advance on Damien, but I stop him. This is my fight and my time to stand up for myself. "You always did live in a place of delusion," I scoff. “Where are all the wives and children?”

“Don’t be stupid, Callie. You know women and children aren’t allowed to have any input over a trial.” He laughs like it’s the most insane thing he’s ever heard. “We sent them over to Mary Wayfeather’s farm since your mother decided to run away like the coward she is. They will all stay there like good little bitches until their husbands go and retrieve them.”

“Don’t talk about my mother like that. You’re all pathetic, you know. Every single one of you is afraid of what a woman might do if they have any kind of opinion.”

“Lucky for you, you won’t need an opinion. I am, after all, your loving husband. At least, that’s what every man inside that building thinks.”

"Fuck you,” I grit out, not caring if I piss him off. “Are they all there? What about the ones who decided to stay home?”

“They didn’t stay home. You should know better than anyone else that when your husband tells you to do something, you do it. It’s apparently something I’ll have to be better at teaching you,” he says with a smug face.

I got the confirmation we needed. The women and children are all safe, and we know where they are. I can very easily get to them to make sure they understand what happened after the blast, and we can get them whatever help they need.

“Let's get this over with," I finally say as I push past Damien and walk into the front door of the main building.

Countless sets of eyes land on me, and I have to actively fight to keep the panic inside at bay. It's going to all be fine, I remind myself. I go through the motions of what Barrett taught me, digging my nails into my palms to try and ground myself in the pain and focus my thoughts. I can't let my doubts ruin any second of this.

The room is set up with a large stage on one end near the main door. On the stage, there are three seats and a podium. Below the stage is an empty row of seats, which I assume to be for the council based on the number of chairs. Behind that row is a few feet of space before chairs line the entirety of the room, going back as far as I can see. A mixture of people fill them; some I recognize as the guard and others I don’t recognize at all. I'm confident they expect me on the stage, so without instruction, I saunter up to it as Damien and Sebastian follow closely behind.

"He belongs with the rest of the members," Damien says, and while he may be right, I don't like the idea of Sebastian being so far from me.

"He will stand by the stage where I want him. Rogue is mine, not yours. I am Gabriel's daughter, which makes me the next person in line to rule. You may be in charge for now but don't get used to it. By the time this is over, your brief reign, which was only ever given to you by default, will also be over." I can see a sense of pride fill Sebastian. He's proud of me for standing up for myself.

"You realize mostof the men in this room think you killed your father. Take into consideration that none of them want a woman telling them what to do, and I am fairly confident tonight will play out exactly how I want it to," Damien says smugly.

"I don't give a fuck what you think will happen," I say loud enough to gather attention. I turn toward the crowd and decide to address them myself. "Would you all sit down so we can get on with this ridiculous trial."

Men look to those around them as they try to decide whether or not to listen to me. They aren't used to being told what to do by a woman, and the whispers between them become loud enough for the noise to become distracting. The council chooses this moment to enter, and all heads turn toward them as they make their way up to the row of seats in front of us.

Austin Roberts splits off from the rest of the group and steps up to the stage, barely acknowledging my existence. Instead, he turns to Damien while pointing over to Seb and asks, "Who is he?"

"He’s Maxton’s brother,” I retort, making Damien laugh.

“Seems like my wife has a type.”

Austin rubs the back of his neck. "We will need to address this some other time."

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