The Beast (Wicked Villains 4)

“I just found you two again. I don’t want to lose you.”

Gaeton takes my hands. “And what the fuck do you think is going to happen if Triton figures out you’re delivering a message to his favorite daughter from the fucking Sea Witch?”

Nothing good. Those two have a long history, and I want no part of their war, either. “I know Zuri. Or at least I’ve met her before. No one will have any reason to suspect me.”

Gaeton shakes his head. “It’s too dangerous.”

I give a choked laugh. “Funny, coming from you.” I glance at Beast. “Either of you. What happens the next time there’s a fight and you’re needed? You’re generals. Danger comes with the territory. I—” I wish I could keep them safe, could guarantee that they’ll always come home to me without injury. I’ve grown up this world. I know it for a lie. “I will not stand in your way or prevent you from doing what you need to do. I need you to give me the same respect.”

Beast’s hands land on my hips and he leans against my back. “I think you can understand why we’re having trouble with this.”

Of course I can. This life isn’t easy under the best of circumstances and this hardly qualifies. I release a shuddering breath and relax back into him. “I know. But you understand why I have to do this.” Anything to protect my family. Anything. I lost my father. I can’t lose anyone else. I won’t.

Gaeton sighs, his shoulders dropping. “Yeah, we get it.” He meets Beast’s gaze over my shoulder. “Who goes with her?”

“You do.” He doesn’t hesitate. “I’ll stay here and help ensure Ursa keeps her word. Isabelle, can you get in contact with Zurielle and set up a meeting or however you want to go about it? Once we have a time frame, we can get the finer details down.”

And, just like that, they shift gears from arguing with me to spending their energy on ensuring this goes off without a hitch. I should be relieved. If Ursa keeps her word, it means we avoid the threatening war. It means I keep the people I care about safe for a little while longer.

It means I throw Zurielle Rosi under the bus to save myself.

No one questions that part. I shouldn’t, either. If there’s a choice between this girl I barely know and my family, I will choose my family every time. I know what my father would say, what he would do. Family first. Always. It’s one of the few rules I’ve always followed. This just doesn’t feel right.

“This is wrong.” I don’t realize I’m going to speak until both my men look at me. “We shouldn’t have agreed to this.”

“Isabelle—”

I shake my head. “I don’t know if Zurielle trusts me, but she’s naïve and sheltered, and she hates it. She’s not going to look for the poison in this offer. She’s going to jump at it with both hands.” I don’t have to know her well to know that. I might not have always loved living under my father’s rules, but Zurielle hates it. I understand her feelings in a way only a youngest daughter can. “She’s going to take Ursa’s deal.”

“That’s her choice.” Beast frowns. “She gets a choice, which is a better offer than I was expecting.”

It’s Gaeton who seems to understand. He crouches down in front of me. “You can’t save everyone, Isabelle. Sometimes you have to choose who’s worth your blood and sacrifice, and let the other pieces fall where they may.”

“She’s so young, Gaeton.” I don’t know why I’m still arguing this. Because it could have been me a few years ago? “She’s like twenty-one. Maybe twenty-two. She doesn’t know enough to be afraid.”

He takes my hands, his dark eyes serious. “If you want to cross Ursa, say the word. We’ll figure out a different way.”

They would. They might question me, but they’ll adjust our course and shift to figuring out how to neutralize the threat Ursa offers. If we go that route, people will die. Maybe Ursa. Maybe one of the men I love. When it’s laid out like that, it seems a simple choice.

Then why do I feel like I’m selling my soul?

“Will she keep her word?”

Gaeton’s gaze doesn’t leave my face. “Likely. No matter what game she’s playing, Olympus will mobilize if the Thirteen think for a second that we’re snatching their people off the street and harming them. Hercules came of his own choice and no one died in the conflict with Zeus. Ursa’s too smart to stir that hornet’s nest. We can’t guarantee anything, but I’d bet on her pulling some manipulative shit that’s designed to fuck with Triton but doesn’t include murder.”

I look up at Beast. “Do you agree?” I’m looking for an excuse, and I know it. They know it, too.