Page 39 of Harbinger

And at some point, I fall asleep.

* * *

A soft knock on the door wakes me from my sleep. The sun shines in from the high windows, warming my face.

Realizing I locked the door, I sit up in bed, stretching before climbing out to open it.

The second it’s open, I go back to the bed, not bothering to look at who it is before climbing in, seeking comfort in the soft blankets.

“Are you okay?” Ronan asks, peeking in.

“Are you?”

He nods, opening the door wider and entering. He looks around, his hands tucked into the pockets of his sweatpants as he thinks about what to say.

“Just say it,” I tell him, sighing.

“We have to get married,” he tells me, wincing.

“You said that yesterday.”

“Yeah, well, it’s confirmed. I tried to get out of it one last time. To come up with some kind of a plan that wouldn’t require that, but it’s the easiest way to do this.”

“So that you guys can complete your mission,” I deadpan, repeating their talking points back to him.

“I believe it’s mutually beneficial,” he says as he shrugs sheepishly.

I scoff. “Oh, do you now. How did she manage to convince you?”

His head tilts to the side. “Now that your parents are dead, there are two paths for you. Paths that their successors are weighing. You can go on your merry way, living your life like nothing is happening, but one day, you’ll get married, and they’re going to kill you and your family so that you can’t take over. And that’s the best option. The worse path is that you simply go home, and they kill you in your sleep, making it look like an accident. Either way, they’re going to take you out. They have to.”

I consider this. They’ve said as much before, but I won’t pretend it’s starting to sound like the likely outcome the more I learn about my parents and the way their empire is run.

He moves closer, sitting on the edge of the bed. “We do this, you can live your life in peace after. Finally. You’ll actually be free, and you’ll be free knowing that you did something right. That you did what you could for everyone your parents have hurt. I complete this mission after years of trying, and you get to go on with your life as if none of it happened, go it?”

Everything within me tells me to say no. To tell them to get out of my way and go home. But I know he’s right. I’ve known that they’ve been right. They don’t need to know that, though. I nod, biting my nail.

“Okay. Let’s go downstairs and talk to Jerry, okay?” he says carefully, offering his hand. I look at it, my face twisting in displeasure.

“Just because I’m agreeing to this doesn’t mean that I want to, for one. Two, I’d rather not speak to Jerry.”

“You’re going to have to at some point, and that point is now, Princess,” I bristle at the pet name, “I told her that I yelled at you enough for us both, okay? She doesn’t have to know it’s a lie.”

A wicked feeling builds in my chest. No matter how tough Ronan pretends to be, he’s soft. He’s soft now, and he’s always going to be soft.

And I can use that to my advantage.

I may be agreeing to do this, but that doesn’t mean I have to make it easy on him.

“Fine,” I say finally, whacking his hand away as I climb out of bed once more, pulling a pair of socks on.

“Are those mine?” he asks, his thick, dark eyebrows furrowed as he looks at me pull them on.

“Yeah,” I reply simply with a shrug.

His lips thin as he rolls his eyes, standing up and heading for the door. Opening it, he turns back to me. “You coming?”

* * *

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