Page 214 of Heartless Legacy

Finn walks over to me and refills my glass as he says, “Oh, but it is. Onlywe’rethe chess pieces on the board.”

Fifth. Number five. I let that number percolate in my head. Rolling it over in my brain. “Fifth.” I say, testing it out on mytongue. If it’s true, then I’d never have to worry about my father again. Any claims to power would be null and void, because we don’t actually fall into the top four of the legacy hierarchy. If the missing bloodline came back to town today, I’d happily step aside and let them claim their place.

“Do we have any idea who this missing entry is?”

Holden responds, “No clue. The name isn’t anywhere in the league archives, and they’re not on the roster of legacy families in town. I’ll expand my search to the state and go from there.”

Thea

“What are you doing here?” Deacon asks, as Pax jogs up to us.

He’s looking at me when he answers, “We need to talk.”

I nod to Wolfe, letting him know it’s okay for Pax to come in. We ride the elevator in silence, followed by more silence as Deacon goes to the kitchen and comes back with a bottle of water for me. “You said you wanted to talk. Get to it.” I say, before bringing the bottle to my lips.

I’m unprepared for his comment. “You think Hailee stole something from my dad that was going to help him win the bloodline challenge, and that’s why he hates you?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what she took?”

“Yes, and since you’re trying to interrogate me about it, that means you do, too.”

He swallows thickly before continuing. “Was it was some kind of clue about the original configuration of the top twelve families?”

“Yes.” Settling back on the couch, I say, “You might wanna call your friends over here. I’m only gonna say this once.”

The Coxsuckers are on the couch, while I pace back and forth like a general.

“I can’t prove any of what I’m about to say, and I’m not sure I’ll ever find the proof. It’s probably burned to a crisp, along with everything else that was in Garnet.”

I hand them the binder Wolfe and I are working on. “These are the names of the top twelve donors to the school.” Pointing to the fourth place names, I explain, “These two families, Monaghan and Miller, merged and moved away, which is why nobody mentions that the fourth highest donation to the school was a tie between two families.”

Holden glances over at Pax before saying, “I came across something like this in my research, too.”

I continue, “On the next page, you’ll see the names of the men who started The League of the Daggered Raven, and the page after that are several versions of what the charter may have said.The families who were willing to talk about it all had different recollections, but they agreed it referenced three entities.”

I give them a chance to read for themselves. Holden says, “The Guardians, Historians and the League body.”

“That’s right.”

He drags his finger down the page and taps the names at the end, and says “Established by one of these three men?”

“The three of them together came up with The League of the Daggered Raven, but they all chose a different pillar of it to run. Eventually, they added a fourth member, because their dorm rooms were double occupancy, and keeping things a secret from their roommate wasn’t as easy as it sounded.”

Finn looks up from the binder and asks, “Coleman, are you sure about that name?”

There is no Coleman. I’ve substituted that name to protect Scott and Alexz, but since The Tomb has an empty slot on the wall, nobody will ever know the difference. I tell them, “They’re the family line that died off, and when Monaghan and Miller moved away, the Cox line assumed a top spot.”

Finn asks, “What happened to Fichtner? Shouldn’t he have moved up too, to complete the quad?”

Holden pulls out his laptop and starts typing. Probably looking for information to verify what I’m saying. He finds the answer, “Fichtner. Had all girls.”

“What happens to girls?” I prompt.

Finn says, “They get married off, and don’t inherit a spot in The League.”

“And if eventually a male is born?” I ask.

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