Veracity (The Seven Cities Book 1) (27 page)

Sadie and I sit on my bed, the air between us chilled and tense. Maggie stokes the fire, somehow knowing that although the temperature doesn't warrant the flame, we all could use its warmth. Sadie peeks up at me through lowered lashes, her vulnerability calling out to my compassion and disarming me of any lingering anger I may have felt.

"When?" I ask softly, breaking the silence.

"After you were taken," she says. He was drunk most of the time then, and more often than not, I would find him in the suite adjoining this one, crying and carrying on like he did after Travis passed."

"So you thought you would cheer him up?"

"Kat . . . "

"Sorry. I didn't mean that. I'm not angry I promise, its just . . . "

"A shock."

"Yeah."

"We would talk you know," she says sweetly. "When I would find him in there. He would start off sobbing uncontrollably, and by the end of the night, he would be sober and consoled. I took pride in being able to help him through his tough time. I found comfort in the fact that I could heal him. Then one night . . ."

"Don't," I say shaking my head. "I don't need to hear the rest."

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't even know you then, and honestly I thought you had died."

"Do you love him?"

"Would you call me a fool if I said yes?"

"No," I chuckle. "I would not. He has a certain lovable quality under all that anger and pain."

"I really am sorry."

"Don't apologize Sadie. Am I disappointed? Yes, but strangely I don't feel that I have a right to be. My heart has been damaged in so many ways; I don't think I could have truly fallen back in love with him. I think deep down I am more okay than I would like to admit."

"He wants to marry me," she says shyly.

"I figured he would. He isn't one to back down from responsibility."

"That's the exact word he used," she sighs. "I just hope that someday he sees me as more than just a responsibility."

We talk until the embers smolder and go out, stopping when all our words have been said. After she returns to her room, I fall asleep and for the first time, I dream about the future. In my dream, I am holding a baby wrapped tightly in a soft, velvety blanket. As I look down into its perfect face, my heart swells with love and pride; a feeling of completeness I have only guessed was possible. An arm wraps around my waist and leaning against him, we stand together, watching our child stare back at us. It is a joyful, calming moment that fills me with hope.

I wake happy, and rested, the opposite of what I would have expected to feel. Part of me is going to miss the opportunity to get to know Grayson, to explore the feelings we have for one another, but in truth, I am happy for Sadie. If this had to happen to her, I am glad it was with someone who can take care of her and give her the life she deserves.

Tomorrow the engagement will be announced, and Sadie will spend the next few weeks planning her wedding, something she had given up hope of ever happening. While she knows that Grayson is committed to her and the baby, she confided in me that his lust for revenge on Lucas is putting distance between them even now. While I agree that Lucas needs to be punished and should be removed from power, I do not want him killed. He may have put into motion the deaths of my parents, but enough blood has been shed.

I spend my time in the bath debating ways to save my brother, and when I emerge, I find Jack waiting for me in the sitting room. He looks so comfortable sitting there surrounded by my things, which is strange considering it wasn't so very long ago that he was sneaking in through windows. I know he is going to want to talk about our future now that Grayson is out of the picture, but my brother's fate is too heavy on my mind to ignore.

"I don't want them to kill Lucas," I say before he has a chance to direct the conversation. "How can we stop them?"

"Oh, uh . . . sorry." he stutters. "I wasn't expecting you to come out swinging. Come sit down and we can talk about it."

"How are they even planning on getting to him?" I ask as I take a seat. "They can't just walk into Axiom and take him down. Does he even know about the General and Marilyn?"

"No," he says thoughtfully. "He doesn't know about it yet, and that might be the only thing in our favor. Grayson has been trying to draft a letter explaining the situation, but he was stuck on whether or not to suggest you two get married, but I guess that has been resolved now."

"I suppose it has," I say awkwardly.

"Sorry," he grimaces. "I didn't mean to sound so nonchalant about it."

"It's fine, really, but let's not talk about that right now. We need a plan to save my brother."

"I understand why Grayson wants to kill him," he says. "Lucas has done some terrible things to both your families. I personally don't want to see anyone else die, but it is going to be hard to change Grayson's mind; he is not nearly as forgiving as you."

"It's not that I forgive him," I say. "I hate him for what he has done, but I don't think killing him is going to do anything but cause more turmoil and pain."

"His original plan was to bring the other Generals in and declare war, but I talked him out of it."

"Why would that be a bad idea? It seems like it would work, although it would be harder to get him out alive."

"It's a bad idea because the other Generals wouldn't agree to it. They would refuse to set a precedent for removing Generals. The best plan would be to do it quietly. Lure him here and take him out, making it look like an accident."

"Jack!"

"I didn't say I wanted it to happen that way, but it would make the most sense."

"What happens to Axiom if he is removed?" I ask.

"You get put in his place."

"But I'm a girl! I can't be General."

"Your husband can," he says grimly. "They will marry you off and your husband will be the new General."

"And Grayson knows this? How can he be okay with that? Jack, we have to do something! I don't want to be married to a stranger!"

"Sweetheart, sometimes we have to do things we don't like for the greater good. Lucas needs to be taken out of the Big House before he hurts someone else. Like it or not, we have to do what is best for the cities."

"Then you be General," I cry. "You would make a great General. You come from a good family and I am sure everyone there knows you. They would let you rule right?"

"It doesn't work that way. It's a bloodline issue. Your family is directly descended from the first General of Axiom. They aren't going to take me in your place."

"So marry me."

"What did you say?" he asks, shocked.

"Oh, don't act like you are so surprised!" I cry. "You have been telling me you love me every five minutes. You have to have though about this. Marry me and be my General."

"Even if I wanted too, it doesn't work that way."

"Sure it does! I can go to Max right now and get marked. Once it’s done, that's it. They can't do anything about it. They would have to accept it."

"Kat, I just . . . can't."

"Why not? Grayson is devising a plan right now to get rid of my brother and as soon as he does, I am going to be married off. I thought you loved me!"

"I do love you, and I would die a happy man if I was lucky enough to marry you, but this isn't the way I wanted it to happen," he says. "I wanted you to love me."

At that moment he is so vulnerable and sweet, his heart open and exposed, waiting for me to claim it for my own. I place my hand against his cheek, his skin familiar under my fingertips. I draw him closer, and his eyes open wide, meeting mine only seconds before our lips touch. He pulls me to him, deepening the kiss, and I burn under his touch, the kindling from my dreams erupting into an intense flame, burning the time and space between us, leaving nothing behind but the ashes of my doubt.

All this time I desired Grayson, the warmth of his attention thawing my chilled heart just enough to make me long for more. That warmth, that heat I thought I craved was nothing; nothing compared to the inferno burning through me now.

Jack kisses me with desperation, a pent-up longing erupting into a floodgate of passion and tears. We are two halves of the same whole, pulled back together with a force that can't be denied or matched. In that moment, I let go of the past. I release the pain and the fear, the indecision and the guilt.

With a groan, Jack pulls away reluctantly, his breathing heavy and skin flushed. With a soft touch he wipes away my tears before leaning his forehead against mine.

"Marry me," I whisper.

"Katherine," he sighs. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"I'm sure that this should be my decision to make. In a perfect world we would move slow and ease into our future, but ours is not that world. I don't want someone else picking the man I share my life with. I want you. My heart needs some time to heal, but I can love you. Part of me does already, and the rest of me will."

"Okay then. Let's go see Max."

KATHERINE

A myriad of thoughts run through my mind as Max rakes his needle against my skin. The pain is piercing and crisp. Each time the sharp metal breaks the skin; the agony is refreshed, never dulling the way other pain does. I do my best to suffer with dignity, refusing to cry out the way I desperately want to. Max seems impressed by my resolve, periodically giving me appreciative looks from under his snowy eyelashes.

Moving about the shop, Max is as frail and ancient as always, but when he begins the methodical process of marking, his hands become miraculously steady and sure. His is meticulous in his work, creating my mark with the precision of a surgeon and the diligence of a soldier.

I watch through a small mirror as he works, the blackness of the ink vying sharply against the paleness of my skin, looking almost three dimensional in its contrast. I mourn my parents as their numbers are placed, but feel more connected to them than ever before. Rigid and permanent against my shoulder, I will carry a small part of them always.

Max dips the point of the needle back into the ink, softly shaking off the excess. As he begins to add my birth order, an unexpected sense of pride runs through me. This is the part of my mark that is all me, the part that makes me different from everyone else. I am now special, unique, and uniform all at the same time. There is something empowering, yet terrifying, about having your past, present, and future so visibly displayed for the world to see.

Pausing for a moment before starting the final set of numbers, Max looks to me, one bushy eyebrow raised in a silent question. I nod, and he smiles, clearly delighted to secure yet another of his grandchildren in the Big House. My tears fall anew as he begins the last sequence; the act of permanently joining my life to another's overwhelming. Jack holds my hand, his face a mix of joy and fear. So much is happening with this transfer of ink, this eternal, public promise of commitment. It is more than just a symbolic marriage; it is an act of defiance. A rebellion.

The process is long and there is a great deal of pain, but it is a good pain, a physical affirmation that I am finally taking my life in my own hands. The moment I have been anticipating, and dreading, since waking up is finally here. I am marked.

GRAYSON

"You did WHAT?"

"I had Max mark me as Jack's wife," she says.

I can feel my blood boil, and my vision goes fuzzy. This girl. This soft, sweet, beautiful girl is going to be the death of me. I knew from the moment I first laid eyes on her that my heart was lost forever; I just didn't think it would be a heart attack . . . or a stroke; I can't remember which one is caused by stress.

"You are out of your mind, Kat. What made you think you had the right to do something like this? I am your General, this was my decision to make, not yours. I thought by now you understood how things worked."

"I do understand; I just don't agree. I know you are planning to take out my brother, and that would make my future husband the new General. I'm not stupid, I know how this would have gone down."

"Oh really?" I growl. "If you are so sure of the future, enlighten me, because at this point I am utterly lost. What did you think would happen? What scared you into making a fool decision like this?"

"You want to kill Lucas," she says softly, "and as soon as you did, I would have become a prize, a bargaining piece for you and a trophy for some old General or his son. What little control over my life I had would be gone; is that really what you want for me?"

"Of course not," I say, chastised, "but you should have talked to me. We could have come up with a solution together. None of this is how I expected our lives to go, but dammit Kat, I am still in charge and there are rules that need to be followed. I barely have a grasp on this city, and if they think for one moment that I can't handle the responsibility of being General . . ."

"So tell them it was your idea," she smirks. "Tell them you trust Jack for exposing your grandmother and Lucas. Tell them that he was the only logical choice for the future General of Axiom. He comes from a high-ranking family and has a good head on his shoulders. The people will love him."

"This isn't a game Kat. You can't just push me around like a chess piece. I'm not . . ."

"Me?" she interrupts. "Because that is exactly what I am, what all women are. I didn't make this decision despite you, Grayson. I understand what has happened between us, and I am not bitter. This isn't some jealous ploy to make you suffer. This is about me, about my life and what I want from it. Jack is a good man, and like it or not, I'm his."

She crosses her arms and just sits, waiting for me to speak, infinitely patient in her resolve. What do I do here? As a General I should punish them both without mercy, make an example of the two of them; show my might and my commitment to the law to my people. As a man who loves her, stubborn insubordination and all, I can't bring myself to hurt her more than I already have. In a small way, I am glad that she has taken this burden off of me. I was not looking forward to condemning her to a life with a stranger. The thought of her being a wife to another man has kept me up at night. At least I know Jack loves her, and will take care of her.

"I am not going to sit here and pretend that this doesn't hurt me," I say, "that I don't see this as a betrayal, but what's done is done. I can't change what has happened any more than I could scrub that mark off of you. So I guess the question is what do I do now?"

"Draft a letter to my brother," she smiles. "Explain to him what has happened. I don't know what you had planned for him, but I do know that the other Generals will never condone war against one of their own. Whatever we do to get Lucas out of power has to be subtle, and on our turf. What better way to get him in Veracity than telling him his baby sister has broken the law?"

"He would be here in a heartbeat," I say thoughtfully. "He would come running to save you, or kill you himself, and I would have the opportunity to dispatch him in private."

"I won't have him killed Grayson."

"Don't push me Kat. You have taken liberties I could crush you for; don't test how far you can go before I have to make a move against you. I still love you, and I don't want to see you mistreated, but I will do what I have to. His fate is in my hands. I will see his life ended."

"What if you could take his life without actually hurting him?" she asks.

"Meaning what?"

"Drug him," she says as she stands up, the scrapping of the chair against the floor sounding harsh and ominous. "Take his memories."

She places a hand on my shoulder before she leaves, and I pretend it is an apology instead of a show of her compassion. When did I become the one to pity? Its hard to believe those tiny hands had the strength to weave such a complicated web of revenge and defiance. With a stroke of ink she went from mild and well mannered to dominating and demanding, and I am not a fan. She has backed me into a corner and I do not enjoy being trapped. First she stripped me of the most basic right to choose her husband, and now she is attempting to steal my revenge. Not that there isn't a romantic irony to wiping his memories, and the thought of him spending his life locked up in a tower, oblivious and useless is also appealing in its own way . . . Damn that girl! My mind wasn't so easily changed once. She has moved from my heart to my head, and I greatly dislike the way it feels. What is happening to me?