Page 12 of Darkness and Deceit
A beat passes, and the silence starts to thicken again. And that’s when Vaughn pounces.
“Well,” he announces, arms flung wide, “we’re all alive. No one got exiled. Kai took a casual dive off a building and walked it off like a lunatic. I’d say that’s a pretty solid day.”
Gods, he’s obnoxious as fuck. But I’m starting to clock his bullshit for what it really is.
A pressure release.
Vaughn doesn’t know how to fix silence, so he fills it with chaos instead.
And somehow... It helps ease the tension.
Kai’s eyes flick toward him. “I was thrown.”
“Oh, sure. Thrown.Gently launched.Call it what you want.” Vaughn grins, crossing one leg over the other. “All I know is you scaled seven damn stories just to check on your mate. Can’t wait for the ballads. The girls are going tolovethat one.”
Kai doesn’t respond, but the look he gives Vaughn could kill a lesser man.
I roll my eyes. “You’re lucky you’re vaguely charming.”
“I’m not lucky,” Vaughn smirks. “I’m just excellent at emotional damage control.”
I want to laugh and I almost do. But before the sound can form, I hear it.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Bennett’s crow.
I lift my head, dread sinking low in my stomach like a stone dropped in water.
It perches on the wrought-iron banister above the common room—feathers like oil, eyes like embers, watching us with a stillness that feels unnatural. It doesn’t blink. Doesn’t move. Just waits.
Of course she didn’t come herself. Not after everything. Not after using the boys to monitor me without ever telling me I was something to watch. Not after sending me to the Keepers like a weapon she wasn’t sure how to aim.
No, she sends the bird.
Kai shifts beside me like he’s considering whether he can reach it before it takes off.
“Kai,” Simon says quietly.
Kai doesn’t move, but the tension in his shoulders hums like a bowstring drawn too tight.
The crow lets out a dry, crackling caw and extends one leg. A scroll is tied to it with crimson twine—neat and impersonal. The kind of order that doesn’t allow for questions.
I push to my feet, cross the room, and grab the scroll before anyone else can.
All four of you. My office. Now.
Do not keep me waiting. —B
I stare at the ink, at her cold, clipped message, then crumple the parchment in my fist.
“So much for having a moment to breathe,” I mutter.
Kai straightens beside me, already calculating. Already ready for a fight.
