Page 9 of Boys Who Taint

Felix turns around and looks at his sister Lana. “Becausetheycame here to camp, and you didn’t fucking know.”

“I told Levi not to bring the camping trip here. We agreed on Lake Verity.” She glares at Levi, who keeps backing up until he walks into his father’s chest.

Kai places a hand on his shoulder, his one icy eye with the scar in stark contrast to the other green one. A testament to the rivalry he and my dad fought out with knives. “Levi. Tell me what happened.”

“Mavis died,” Levi mutters, as though he can’t even believe it himself. “We were at the cliff together. She fell.”

“What were you even doing here?” Lana berates him.

“We were cliff diving,” Talon explains. “We were calculating our jumps. We’ve been doing it all day with no issue.”

“Cliff diving?!” Lana raises her brow. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“So you were all here to show off?” Ares states, his face contorting as he glares at his son Apollo.

“Well, it wasn’t my idea.” Apollo shrugs.

“Who fucking cares!” my mother shouts, alerting us all. “Mavis is dead.” She shows everyone the bloodied wound on the back of Mavis’s head, and the gasps that follow make me want to die inside.

Lana taps her finger against Levi’s chest, pushing him further into his dad. “I told you not to come here for a reason! You knew how dangerous this place is. Look at what happened because you didn’t listen to me. Because of you, someone died.”

Levi seems distraught. Completely out of it, in fact.

“Mavis would never do this. Who made her jump?” Mom asks.

No one wants to say a word.

“I heard … Levi saysorry,” Cecelia mutters.

There’s a shift in the air as though the current has changed.

The silence is deafening.

“Cecelia, go back to the car,” Ares says all of a sudden.

Guess I’m not the only one who felt it.

“Talon, Océane, you too,” Ares adds. “I’ll drop you two off. Please don’t speak with anyone about tonight.”

They both nod and follow Cecelia.

Lana turns around and roars out loud in anger before heading over to my mom, who immediately holds up a hand. “Don’t.”

“Pen …” Lana mutters. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t. Don’t come closer. Don’t even say anything at all.” My mother’s eyes lift with a scornful gaze that could burn down the entire forest behind us if she’d let it take over. “Take him and go.”

“Let me help,” Lana says. “Please.”

“There is nothing you or your family can do,” my mother grits. “Except kill.”

Oh God.

My hand flies to my mouth before I realize it.

Felix turns to glare at Lana, his own sister, like she’s the enemy. “Leave. Now.”

Lana takes a few more glances at both of them before Kai drags her along with Levi away from the scene.

---