Farns waited at the door in the foyer and swung it open before Red had a chance to knock. He barreled inside, his hair mussed, and with dark circles under his eyes.
“What the fuck, Red?” Lucius stepped ahead of me, already itching for confrontation.
“You.” He pointed at me. “I need to talk to you.”
I smirked. “It may shock you to know this, but there are phones for that very purpose.”
“Fucking prick.” Red stepped forward, and Lucius matched his advance until both men stood nose to nose.
“Let him through, Lucius. He can say what he came to say before we come to blows.”
I walked down the hall, feeling Red following at my heels as Lucius trapped him between us. “State your business, Red. I assume this isn’t a friendly visit.”
Turning into my study, I waved Red to a seat as Lucius closed the door behind us.
“Is that bitch here?” He looked around, as if Stella might be hiding in the drapes. My hands itched to crush his voice box, but I remained still and stared him down.
“Cut the shit. What do you want?” Lucius crossed his arms and leaned against the door.
“Evie.” Red turned his bloodshot eyes to me.
“What about her?” I sat on the sofa across from him.
“Promise me you won’t—you won’t—”
“Kill her if I win?” I finished for him. “I can’t promise that and you know it.”
“But I’ll promise I won’t kill your brother if I win.”
“That’s not really an issue for me. You aren’t going to win. I am.”
He shook. I couldn’t tell if it was from fear or rage. I hoped it was the former. “I know what you did at the last trial. I know it was you who caught her and brought her back.”
An icy trickle of unease slid down my spine, but I affected an air of nonchalance. “What of it?”
“I’m sure Cal would like to know of the rules violation.”
“I’m sure he would, too. Then what? I’d be disqualified?” I steepled my fingers and drew out the logical conclusion that he feared most. “You’d have to go up against Eagleton alone. Eagleton would win, obviously. You’re already coming apart, and your Acquisition broke in the first trial. Eagleton won’t cut a deal with you, but he will cut your sister’s head off and hand it to you by the hair.”
Red dry heaved and clapped a hand over his mouth.
“Vomit on this rug and you’re buying a new one, asshole.” Lucius curled his lip in distaste.
Red swallowed hard and tried to compose himself. “P-please. I have information.”
“Why this sudden urge to work together?” Lucius asked. “You’ve always been a royal fucking prick, and now, out of the blue, you want to be a helpful fucking prick instead? What changed?”
“What you said. Brianne is broken. She’s not strong enough. She’s not like your bi—”
“Call her a bitch, cunt, or anything other than Stella or Ms. Rousseau, and I can promise you, you will not like the results.” My words were calm and even, though my need to do violence increased with every syllable of weakness Red uttered.
“N-not like Stella. I can feel it. You are going to win. I know it. But if you do… I can’t close my eyes without seeing Evie dead, and I-I’m the one who…” He ran a shaking hand over his face.
“What’s the information?” Lucius walked over to stand behind Red. “What did you want to tell us?”
“Not until you promise. You have to promise me Evie’s life. Please.” He leaned forward, his hands clasped.
I glanced to Lucius. He shrugged. If Red told me and I won, my promise wouldn’t matter. I could kill Evie and kick Red’s family out of the aristocracy. Then again, I never broke my word.
“If I promise you that, and I win, they would rip me apart. The rules are clear. If I win, Evie has to die. No losing last born has ever lived past the coronation.”
“Fuck the goddamn rules!” He screamed, his voice raw and explosive.
I studied him as he took a deep breath, torment in every movement from the shake of his hands to the sorrowful look in his eyes.
“Please, Sin. Please. I can’t kill her. I can’t let you kill her. I’d rather die. I thought I had a chance to win. I thought I could save her myself. I can’t. I need you. Please.” He slid to his knees. “I’ll do anything you ask, give you whatever you want, just please—spare her.”
“Fucking pathetic.” Lucius slapped the back of the sofa.
Red didn’t move from the floor, only stared up at me with watery eyes. I liked him broken and begging. Even so, I needed whatever scraps of information he’d brought me. If it would help Stella and Teddy, I had to have it. I would sort the consequences later.
I leaned forward. “The deal is this. You win, you spare Teddy. I win, I spare Evie. But the upfront price for this bargain is that you tell me everything you know about the remaining trials.”