The Knight (Stolen Duet 2)

Never sell silence.

Protect the book.

He snapped his fingers. “Almost forgot the last piece of the puzzle. We killed your grandfather, of course. Alon didn’t leave us must choice when history repeated itself. He confronted us with his suspicions after that fiasco at the ball.” He leaned in close again. “Were you really going to kill that innocent beauty?” I closed my eyes to block the admiration in his voice. What I almost did to Mian would haunt me forever.

“I admire your ability to train your woman better than your father trained your mother. I couldn’t get anything out of her during our little chat in the gardens. She was Plan B. Who better to kill you than the woman you love? After we kill you, I think I’ll keep her around for a while. Without the kid, of course.”

I smiled at that knowing if he did ever manage to get Mian in his bed, she wouldn’t hesitate to carve his heart out while he slept.

“Are you thinking about your last words?” he mused when I didn’t respond to his prodding.

“I’m thinking if I don’t get to kill you, my wife certainly will.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind when I’m deep inside her.” He stood in front of me now. “Maybe I’ll even give her my seed.”

His grin was triumphant when I growled and fought to free myself from my bonds. If my hands weren’t tied to this pillar, I’d carve his heart out myself.

Augustine noticed us first and sauntered over. Reginald called his son away, and I finally relaxed. I closed my eyes and prayed Lucas and Z had followed orders and got Mian and Caylen far away from here.

“What did he say?” Augustine asked me.

“Nothing I haven’t already figured out.” My eyes opened to find Augustine standing close with his arms crossed. He was using his body to block me from view and kept his voice low.

“Reginald and the kid were in it with Staten.”

“They must have offered him anonymity, and Staten must have figured he could control them.”

“Those idiots think they’ll be gods.” His grin was mocking. “Staten would have made them errand boys.”

“They’d be dead long before that could happen.”

He grunted and then fell silent. A second later, he said, “So how do you want to do this?”

I didn’t miss a beat. “You sure about this?”

He shrugged. “I’m not helping to kill the only member of this family I actually respect.”

“Two against sixteen…” I’ve fought those odds before, but I had the advantage of not having my hands tied behind my back.

“Four against sixteen.” We shared a look. “I may have left the door to the tunnel unlocked.”

“Lucas and Z have their orders. If we die down here, Mian and Caylen won’t be safe.”

“Then we better make sure we don’t die down here.”

Over Augustine’s shoulder, I noticed Andrew watching us curiously. If we were going to make a move, it had to be fast. Augustine noticed my distraction and quickly drove his fist into my gut. I struggled for my next breath as my body folded as much as my bonds would allow. Augustine may be lean, but he packed one hell of a punch.

“You should know better than to beg for mercy, cousin.” He spat the words loud enough for Andrew to hear as he approached.

“Pride is forgotten when one is staring death in the eye,” Andrew reflected when he reached us. “Even men who think themselves a god.” Augustine faked a laugh for Andrew’s benefit and then rolled his eyes when he looked away.

“Has your father made a decision on how we’ll end this prick?”

“Actually, it was me who decided to show Angeles the same mercy Adan showed my second great-grandfather.”

Augustine blanked. “You want to behead him?”

“It seems traditional, don’t you think?” To me, he said, “Be sure to thank your grandfather for me when you see him in hell.” With a wink, he walked away again and made his way to the long, brown satchel he had brought in. He then made a show of removing an axe while everyone looked on.

Reginald took the opportunity to approach as his son expertly swung the axe through the air. He’d obviously been practicing. “I didn’t want it to be like this.”

“Really? Because your son says you planned the entire thing.” Reginald cast a worried glance at Augustine and stepped closer.

“My son can get a bit carried away with his exaggerations. I long suspected foul play and did my duty to this family by calling you out.”

“Whatever helps your crown of righteousness fit better.”

“Reginald,” Alistair called. “Can we please move forward?”

“Certainly.” Reginald fixed his attention on Augustine. “I trust you can untie him and get him on his knees.”

Augustine nodded and moved to untie me from the pillar while Reginald and the others circled the altar. Andrew stood alone in the center with an eager gleam in his eye as he twirled the axe.