I stood, suddenly seething. Did he know? “What are you talking about?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, a self-satisfied grin on his face. “Mom told me some of the rules. She said if Stella chose me, I could take your place in the Acquisition.”
Fuck.
I was bone tired after the long day with Stella. I had a short fuse and Lucius was doing his damnedest to light it. “Oh did she? Did she tell you the rest of the rules? Did she tell you what happens if you lose?”
“You don’t get to be Sovereign.” He shrugged. “So what? That’s not a loss. We’d be in the same situation we’re already in.”
I hesitated on the verge of telling him the true penalty, the blood that would be required for us to keep our position. It was an exhausting secret, one that weighed more heavily on me every day. Maybe if I shared the burden, it wouldn’t be so crushing. I opened my mouth to speak the lethal truth when Farns knocked and entered.
“What?” I snapped.
“We’ve had a call from the hospital in town. It seems Ms. Rousseau’s father has taken ill. He is in intensive care. Her stepbrother has requested she come. I wasn’t sure what you would like me to do with this news.”
“I know what I’d like you to do.” Stella entered behind Farns, her quiet steps masked by Lucius’ and my argument. How long had she been listening?
“It’s probably some sort of trick cooked up by your stepbrother,” I said. “I forbid you to go.” Surely, she realized it was nothing more than a desperate ruse? Transparent and dumb, just like her stepbrother.
She strode to me and stared into my eyes, my soul. “You can’t forbid me from seeing my father in intensive care.”
I gave Farns a look. He took the hint and backed into the hallway and closed the door.
“I can and I just did. Go back to your room.” I wasn’t letting her out of this house again, not after what had happened in the cabin earlier. She’d gotten to me, lanced through my rotten core and into the one piece of true heart I had left. I didn’t even know it was there until she’d clawed her way in there, too. Goddamn her.
“I’m not going anywhere until I speak to my father.” She kicked her chin up and put her hands on her hips.
Lucius walked up behind her. “Sin, it’s her dad, maybe you should—”
“Maybe you should shut the fuck up, Lucius.” Seeing them together, standing like a united front against me, finally lit the powder keg. I grabbed Stella’s arm and ripped her away from him, pressing her back into my chest and putting my hand at her throat. She tried to scratch me, but I squeezed harder, cutting off her airway until she complied. I held Lucius’ gaze the entire time.
“She’s mine. All of this.” I slid my hand down her side, around her thigh, and cupped her pussy like the piece of shit caveman I was. “It’s all mine. So, back the fuck off.”
Lucius glowered and tensed. “I’ve had it with your shit.”
I held her fast, taunting him. “What, you want to fight me? Won’t you be embarrassed when I kick the shit out of you in front of your little crush here? Maybe then I’ll fuck her while you’re bleeding on the ground?”
Lucius raised his fists. “Let her go, and I’m going to knock your fucking teeth out.”
A sharp pain in my ribs shocked me out of our stare down. Stella had managed to sneak in an elbow while Lucius had me distracted. She pulled away from me and darted to stand behind Lucius, her hand on his arm. I thought I was a powder keg before. Now I was a fucking black powder factory going up in a blaze of heat and sound. He reached back, put a possessive hand on her hip, and smirked at me.
“I just want to see my father. That’s all. Please, Vinemont.” Her plea, delivered behind my leering brother, pushed me far past my limit.
“You do? Are you sure?” I turned my back and went to my desk, digging for a certain sheaf of papers.
“Yes, I’m sure. Please, I’ll come back. I promise. I just need to see him.”
“I’ll tell you what, Stella.” Venom laced every word. “I want you to do a little light reading. Then tell me if you still want to see him. If you do, you can go and visit him. How about it?”
“Fine.” She sounded relieved.
I laughed, the sound cruel and harsh even on my ears. I found the papers I was looking for and held them in my hand. She’d have to come to me.
“Hand them over,” Lucius said.
“Go fuck yourself. Stella, come here.”
She stepped out from behind him and tentatively approached me. She wasn’t fearful, but she wasn’t trusting, either. I gripped the papers tighter.