Page 138 of The Immortal's One
Then, I scream.
36
DES
Thane snarlsfrom behind the desk in his personal study, glaring at the missive spread out before him. “I swear to the Creator, Adir will pay for this. I will do everything in my power to see him suffer.”
One of Adir's servants delivered the note less than an hour ago—a man who’s more likely an indentured servant.
The Council forbids Immortals from enslaving those of weaker power, but I’ve lost count of how many times Adir’s managed to work around our laws. His latest scheme? He’s arranged employment contracts with Immortals who are in dire straits, desperate to crawl their way out of poverty or whatever hairbrained financial risk they participated in.
Like humans, Immortals are susceptible to vices. Especially greed.
Adir hires these poor souls with worse-than-unfavorable terms. Unfortunately, because the Immortals agree to the conditions laid out in the contract, there’s little my brothers and I can do for those trapped in the arrangement. Not without infuriating a member of the Original Nine.
Which, in hindsight, doesn’t matter. Adir has betrayed us. The piece of paper in front of Thane confirms it.
Bella stands at her husband’s side, reaching out a hand as if to console him before thinking better of it. She lowers her arm and looks between those of us in the room with a worried frown.
“What is the plan?” Eshe asks from where she stands by the window overlooking the back lawn. She’s been staring out windows a lot these past two days, as if waiting for Darcie to appear from the hedge maze and reveal that this situation has all been a horrible dream.
My stoic sister-in-law is usually hard to read, but it’s clear Darice’s abduction has rattled her. She’s grown fond of the young woman. I can’t blame her.
Darcie is…endearing.
Thane pounds his fist on the desk. “We will find where Darcie is being held. Then, we will rescue her.”
I cross my arms and level him with a pointed look. “We already know where she is.”
The moment I learned Darcie was missing, I’d searched for Adir. I wish I could say I was surprised to find that he’d disappeared. But I wasn’t. And I’m a fucking idiot for not realizing he’s a traitor sooner.
“You think Adir took Darcie to his stronghold?” Lome asks. He stands near his wife. Like Bella, I get the sense he wants to console his spouse. But centuries of division keep his hands at his sides.
I nod. “It’s the only location Adir would have any chance of holding out against the forces he knows we will send to retrieve her.”
“I don’t understand Adir’s thought process.” Eshe shakes her head, then gestures to the note on Thane’s desk. “He’souted himself as a rebel leader. He’s powerful, but we are more powerful. Why would he confess his crimes? What is he planning?”
“Adir has always been impulsive and violent. It’s in his nature,” Thane grits out, raking a hand through his hair. “His plan, no doubt, is half-cocked and short-sighted. We will take advantage of that and make him pay for daring to act against us.”
Thane’s anger stokes his power. The pictures on the wall rattle. None of us bats an eye.
“I don’t know.” Eshe purses her lips. “Adir may be rash, but he’s no fool. There’s something else going on here. We should take time to consider our options. We shouldn’t return his favor by acting impulsively ourselves.”
Eshe is right, but that’s hard to accept. I want to tear down Adir’s Turkish mansion stone by stone. My power yearns to destroy anyone who dared to touch a single hair on Darcie’s head.
Control yourself.
I inhale through my nostrils.
My emotions are running high—my reactions volatile. I need to get it together. Losing my composure won’t help Darcie.
“The longer we wait to act, the longer the rebellion will believe they’ve won a major battle,” Thane tells Eshe, curling his hands into fists. “I refuse to sit back and let those traitors lure more gullible lesser Immortals to their cause with this victory. We need to squash this. We need to make an example of Adir.”
“What do you propose?” My voice is even—calm. Inside, I’m anything but.
“We assemble our allies, and we get Darcie back.”
Bella clears her throat. “What about Adir? He’s an Original.”
