Page 62 of Soulless Deeds

Aster’s eyes raised and bled into mine with all-consuming emotion. “Karena… She hunted Lyssa, my sister. Butchered her like an animal. As if she wasn’t a mother, a fucking decent human being.”

Echo’s palm traced over my bouncing thigh. I was so far gone, I hadn’t noticed he was sitting right beside me. I should have shoved him away…but with his touch came a soft subtle warmth, chasing away the chill. I was cold,so damn cold.

Emerson visibly swallowed, shaking out of her stupor. “What happened to Karena after?”

“She’s been dead and gone for many years. Your father took care of that.”

“How?” Micah piped. I knew why she was asking. Nothing regarding Oliver King was ever straightforward.

“Your father put down his own wife like the defective animal she was.”

I scoffed. “How does no one know about this? Multiple murders, four babies. Like, what the fuck?”

“The Sovereign was a force to be reckoned with. But that massacre was the beginning of the end of your house.”

ECHO

Spencer stiffened. “And pray tell,Aunty, what do you know about the end of our house?”

Aster’s lips pinched as if they were sewn together. Until they undulated as she said, “You should request the Treasury for help.”

Micah scoffed. “You know as well as I. One does not contact the Treasury… They contactyou.”Then, her spine straightened, giving Aster that penetrating stare. “We searched for them…many years ago. Fucking desperate for any crumb of information that they could provide about that night—theonenight that irrevocably shifted the trajectory of our lives.”

Emerson shifted, twirling a gold coin between her fingers. “They deal in secrets and espionage, yet we couldn’t even get through the front door. They betrayed our loyalty, and we intend to get retribution.”

“And how’s that working out for you?” Aster snapped.

“It may have taken us this long, but we know who we’re looking for now,” Emerson replied, blue gaze gleaming on that same golden piece that continued its repetitive route.

My brows lifted of their own accord. The Treasury was the fourth and final crime organisation of Junction City, that specifically dealt in the exchange of information, completely exclusive and practically non-existent. Their boss was unknown, their legitimate title unknown, the Treasury name coined by the populus who had used their business in the past.

The Kings being able to identify them at all, like Emerson suggested, is a testament to their skills alone.

Aster must have clocked the severity of their power as well, her face lighting with momentary pride before she could shut it down again.

“The reason you couldn’t get in touch with them is because they went completely underground after the Sovereign Sacking.”

“Why the fuck?—”

“Because the Treasury was there,” Aster finished.

A thick sense of peril alarmed my senses, screaming for me to run. We all shifted as one to Tanner, who had materialised out of nowhere. I didn’t even have time to process his presence next to Aster, cause all I could sense was this ominous aura quivering from his body. He was the devil, a merciless demon ready to collect and destroy her soul.

Why the fuck did I ever think I could take him?

“Oliver and Chase were ambushed and killed that night. Is that who they were meeting? TheTreasury?” he asked, tone all fucking disturbing.

Psycho smirked, Micah looked concerned and Emerson narrowed her eyes on Aster, who didn’t even bat an eyelid. I swear, she had literal balls, that woman.

“You’re not the only ones who lost something that night,” Aster said cryptically.

“Did they lose family?” Emerson asked, her usual musical voice dipped, on the verge of what I could only describe as vicious. “Did they lose their whole world?”

“WE LOST EVERYTHING!” Tanner screamed, his expression unhinged.

With all the debacle I hadn’t noticed Spencer’s silence, usually one of the loudest in the room. Her form began to vibrate, cascading up my arm from my hand on her leg. She was close to losing control, her red hair wavering in front of me from the violent shudders that had her overtaken.

I didn’t know why I cared.Correction.I didn’twantto know why I cared, why I was drawn to her vulnerable state. The blatant need to comfort her outweighed any other necessity within me.

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