Page 19 of Santiago's Conquest (Four Dark Horsemen 1)

“What’s going on?” I ask, dropping all pretense of small talk, and Ava rolls her eyes. “Come on, Briseis, it’s been ten years. Did you really think we’d be the same spoiled brats?” She elbows me a little, her bony arm digging painfully into my ribs. “We can actually form an alliance.”

I stay silent, and Addison huffs in exasperation. “We were awful in the past. All this”—her voice drops while she motions with her hand toward everyone—“is as much a hardship for us as it is for you.”

My hands tighten on the glass so hard I’m afraid it might crack, and I bite my lower lip, stopping myself from spilling my drink on them both.

Did they really think I’d fall for this shit after all this time?

My eyes snap open when someone touches me on the arm, shaking it so hard I turn on my back to see Ava looming above me, putting her finger to her lips when she sees I want to say something.

She leans closer, whispering, “Addison and I are going to the kitchen to grab some milk and read in the library. Do you want to go with us?”

I blink in confusion before my chest warms while excitement builds inside me from this proposition.

I’ve tried so hard to play with them or initiate any kind of contact with them, only for them to scream whenever I came close; this is like the best gift ever.

Nodding, I sit up, wiping my eyes sleepily, and glance at the bedside clock, gasping when I see it’s midnight.

Worriedly, I glance at Ava, who is already by the door, waving me toward her, and I ask tentatively, hugging my teddy bear to my chest. “Are you sure? Grandma doesn’t allow walking around at night.” It’s one of the rules in her book, and she promised to punish me if I don’t listen to her.

Ava shakes her head. “She won’t know. Grandma is a meanie, and we shouldn’t listen to her. Come on, Briseis.” She cocks her head to the side, and something crosses her face, but she replaces it with a smile. “Unless you don’t want to.”

Even though my heart beats rapidly in my chest with fear at the prospect of running into my grandmother, I don’t want to refuse this offer. Maybe we’ll become friends, and I won’t be so alone in this mansion.

In all the books I’ve read, the friends always come to the rescue, helping out in the most horrible situations, siblings too.

Giving my teddy bear a kiss, I put him to bed and throw a blanket over him before jumping to the floor and following Ava.

She tells me, “Go downstairs now. Addison is there already. I’ll grab a book from my room, and we can read stories.”

I do as she says with a wide smile on my face, my bare feet almost soundless on the marble, and end up in the kitchen where there is no one in sight.

I turn on the light, shivering in the darkness, and sit on a chair, waiting for the girls, wondering where they are.

Only for the staff to find me, because the two girls ran to my grandmother and told her they heard me sneak out of the room.

I got punished with the cane, was not allowed to eat anything besides soup for a week, and had to sleep on the kitchen floor three nights straight without a blanket. I got pneumonia shortly after.

I learned a lot of lessons back then.

One of them being to never, ever trust my half-sisters.

“It’s hilarious,” I say, swallowing the bitter taste in my throat from the memories with champagne.

Addison snatches a strawberry from the passing server, absently asking, “What’s hilarious?”

“Your bullshit.”

She jerks her head to me while Ava narrows her eyes, anger marring her features. “You little bitch,” Ava seethes, stepping toward me, and Addison grabs her elbow, stilling her movements.

“Don’t, Ava, Grandma will be pissed.” Addison sends a warning my way, shifting uncomfortably with fear coating her tone.

Ah, not so brave now, is she?

“I thought she was an old bitch?”

“You—” Whatever she wants to say dies on her lips though when the double doors burst open loudly, the heavy thumping of shoes ricocheting off the walls, while the energy around us changes so rapidly it’s like the air has become supercharged.

A shiver runs down my spine, and something invisible glides down my skin, leaving burning imprints all over it, awakening every hair on my body. With confusion traveling through me, I spin around to face the unexpected guests for whom even the music changed to a different tune, as if greeting them.

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