A Cursed Throne by D.M. Simmons
Chapter 5
Declan
I’m intoxicated by her nearness. Her full red lips and the sweetness of her breath. After so much time apart, being this close to Nev makes every muscle in me ache.
“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” I smirk.
I’ve missed her spark. Her quick wit and luscious laugh. She’s a salve to my dry spirit, and I want to savor this moment for as long as it lasts.
But just when I allow myself to feel everything she is stirring in me, her eyes flash, and the moment changes. “Fuck you, Declan.”
The coldness of her eyes matches that of her voice as she places her other hand on my chest and uses both to push me away.
My back hits the vanity, and a bottle tumbles off the counter and hits the floor, shattering into pieces. I look down at the broken glass around our feet, then drag my eyes back up.
“What the hell, Nev?”
“Don’t think for a second that you can just waltz back into my life and act like nothing happened.”
Her cheeks are flush and she’s breathing heavily; the exposed swell of her breasts, rising and falling with each heated intake of air.
“Princess,” I take a step toward her.
“Don’t call me that!” She shouts, balling her hands into tight fists. “I am not your princess!”
She’s angry. No, scratch that. She’s livid. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her like this before. She’s full of passion and fire and I’ve never wanted anything more than I do her right now.
“Look,” I hold up my hand, trying to calm her. “I don’t want to see you do something you’ll regret because you’re trying to prove a point. Sebastian Crane is not good for you.”
“Oh?” she laughs haughtily. “Now, suddenly you know what’s good for me?”
I look at her, wanting to tell her yes, I do. No one knows her better than Luca, Kai, and I. But I stop myself because no matter what I say, it will be too much.
In fact, I shouldn’t even be here. I should have turned around and walked away the moment I saw her. But the truth was, from the first moment I laid eyes on her tonight, every fiber of my being wanted to be near her.
I want to tell her everything. Cut my chest open and spill my guts so she knows the truth and stops looking at me the way she is now, because I can’t bear it. I want her to look at me the way she used to. The way she did when she asked me to be her first.
But I can’t. I made a promise I would see this through, no matter how long it took, and that’s what I am going to do. Keep her safe, no matter what, and say nothing.
“Well?” Nev presses when I remain silent.
When I don’t respond she takes a deep breath and turns to the mirror, running a finger along her lower lip. Whatever her reflection says, it’s a lie. She’s more gorgeous than even it knows.
“What I do,” she says coolly, “is none of your concern. In fact,” she steps back and turns to look at me, the blue of her eyes, as dark as night. “You may be here for the weekend, but as far as I’m concerned, you don’t exist, Declan. None of you do. You’re not even a memory.”
Her words cut. Deeper than she even knows. But I take them without argument because ever since we made the choice to cut her out of our life three years ago, that’s what we’ve all done–taken the hurt, and let it chip away at us, piece by piece.
I stare at her blankly, hoping to appear unfazed, and when she realizes I’m not going to react, Nev brushes past me and yanks the door open. By the time I turn around, she’s gone, leaving me in a haze of perfume and regret.
My heart is pounding so hard, I can barely breathe. But it’s not out of anger. Surprisingly, it’s something else. Something quite unexpected.
Earlier, the hope she would one day forgive us felt tenuous, at best. But feeling her fury just now, I’m struck by the idea that maybe it’s not.
No matter how hard Nev tried to hide it under her bravado, she still cared. Her anger was proof. And if she still cared, she could forgive.
“Everything okay?”
I turn around and find Nev’s father standing at the other end of the hall. “Maybe,” I reply, and for the first time in years, the ambiguity of the word doesn’t frustrate me. In fact, I’ll take it over a hard no, any day.
He closes the space between us and claps a hand on my shoulder. “Should we head to my study? I know we have some things to discuss.”
I look back down the hall, my mind still reeling with what just happened, then turn back to Dante. “Absolutely.” It’s time for some answers.
***
When we make it to the study, Diablo is already there, standing at the window, staring out into the night. Normally the view is stunning–the property around the estate, filled with English oak and golden ferns, as well as primrose, iris, and bluebells. But without a moon, the grounds are dark, the light from inside seeping through the windows, the only glow in the night.
Diablo turns when she hears us come in and smiles gently at Dante as he crosses the room. When he reaches her, he wraps one arm around her waist, tips her chin up and kisses her.
I’d never seen two more devoted to one another than Nev’s parents. They’d been through hell and back, quite literally, and were proof anything worth a damn was worth fighting for.
“So,” Dante says once they’ve pulled apart, sliding the chair out from behind the desk so that Diablo can take a seat. “Where do you want to start?”
I make my way over to one of the two chairs opposite the desk, and when I sit down I’m hit with a profound sense of reminiscence.
I’m young–three, or four years old–and I’m in my father’s study. He’s meeting with two men that possess an extraordinary combination of strength and confidence, sitting in chairs much like I am now.
My father is crouching down to speak with me at eye-level, and while I’m eager to have his attention, I can’t help my fascination with one of the men. He has blue eyes and a tattoo on his hand and reminds me of one of the warriors in the painting that hangs over the fireplace in our library.
Thinking about it now, I can’t help but marvel at my young mind. The artwork was Gustave Dove’s interpretation of Milton’s Paradise Lost and the two men were Dante and Vinny. Nev’s father reminded me of one of the warriors in the painting because he was. He was one of the angels that divided Heaven–the Fallen.
He looks at me now with those same blue eyes, and they’re filled with the weight I saw that day in my father’s study. The day he asked for my father’s help keeping Diablo and his unborn daughter safe.
I sit up, desperate to know what’s going on. “What’s changed?”
Diablo opens the top drawer of the desk and removes an envelope. “We need to move to the next phase of the plan,” she says, closing the drawer and holding the envelope out to me.
I don’t have to guess. I can tell by the wax seal who sent it. The Augury…The reason for all we had done was to protect Nev from them.
“Same message?” I ask tersely while reaching for it.
The ancient order that worshiped an idol who no longer existed, had been sending an envelope like this for the past fifteen years. Each contained a card with a threat that hinted at one thing–revenge.
“This one is a bit different,” Dante replies crisply. He’s gripping the back of the chair so tightly the whites of his knuckles are showing.
I open the envelope and remove the card inside, staring at the message. It’s a riddle wrapped in foreboding and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
We will come on the eve,
Of the blood moon’s rise.
An order of soldiers,
For whom Hell will again rise.
I take a deep breath and sit back. My jaw clenched so tightly, the muscles in my cheeks hurt. “What the hell does this mean?”
Diablo looks to Dante and a silent conversation passes between them before she turns back to me. “The solar eclipse.”
“What about it?” I ask nervously; a chill working its way up my spine.
“That’s when they plan to make their move.” Her tone is placid, but her eyes are on fire. She looks like a Queen whose enemy has declared war.
I jump up from the chair, dropping the note. “That’s only a few months away.”
“I know,” she looks up at me. “After all these years, they’re coming for her.”
When the first envelope arrived on Nev’s sixth birthday, Dante recognized the wax seal immediately. He knew what the order had been, but believed they’d gone extinct centuries ago. Chalking it up to an empty threat from the soulless that didn’t subscribe to Diablo’s vision for Hell, he ignored the note.
But when another envelope arrived the following year on the same day, he and Diablo took the threat more seriously. With David’s help, Vinny’s attendant and the relic-hunter that uncovered the prophecy of Nev’s birth, they learned not only were The Augury still active but wanted to avenge Luke’s throne by removing the one who was born to rule it. The heir of three kingdoms, with Hellfire in her veins–Nev.
Of course, I didn’t learn any of this until three years ago, when Dante and Diablo turned to Luca, Kai, and I for help when the envelopes began to arrive more frequently, and the threats, more serious.
We said yes without hesitation because we couldn’t imagine a world without her. Our best friend. Our fourth. The girl with the infectious laugh, who didn’t take our shit, and knew our deepest truths. She needed to be protected at all costs.
“Why is she here?” I look from Diablo to Dante. “If they’ve shown their hand, shouldn’t she be somewhere safe?”
Dante comes around to the front of the desk and sits on the corner. “We’ve kept the truth from her long enough. It’s time that she knows everything so she can protect herself.”
“We thought there would be time,” Diablo looks at me with unfiltered love for her daughter. “But there isn’t. We must do whatever it takes to protect our girl.”
I run a hand through my hair and blow out a tense breath. “How much of it do you plan to tell her?”
Dante looks at Diablo, then back at me. “Everything.”
I look at both, shocked by the suddenness. “All of it?”
“All of it,” she confirms.
I can’t believe this is happening. All I’d wanted for the last three years was for this to be over and for Nev to know the truth. Now that it was here, I didn’t know what to think.
When I fall quiet, Diablo pushes up from the chair and comes around the desk, standing next to Dante.
“From the moment I learned I was pregnant with Nev, my job was clear…protect my daughter, no matter the cost. But somewhere along the way my love for her and desire to keep her safe made me forget that she was destined for greatness, the moment she was conceived. She was a gift we were given to protect and guide, not hide.”
“She’s right.” Dante reaches for Diablo’s hand and gives it a squeeze. “I would do anything to protect my daughter but keeping her from the truth…from her destiny, is not the way.”
I wondered when they were going to tell her, including the role Luca, Kai, and I played. “She’s going to have a lot of questions. And she’s going to be angry.”
“Well,” Diablo smiles gently. “We were hoping you could help with that.”
I let out a dry, flat laugh. “Come again?”
“While we’re working to track down The Augury, we want you, Kai, and Luca to help Nev. You are her best friends, and if anyone can, it’s you three.”
“Correction,” I shake my head. “Were.”
“Declan,” she smiles. “I have watched the four of you since you were kids and I know the connection you have. Something that powerful doesn’t just vanish. It would take more than a lie to break something that strong.”
It was more than a lie. We hurt her. I hurt her. Irrevocably.
Diablo bends down and places a hand on my cheek, and when I glance up, I see she is looking at me the way a mother would her child.
“You’ve always been a compass for Nev. Be that for her now. She’s going to need you. And with all you’ve collected from Styx and David’s research, there is a lot of work we need to do in a short amount of time, and I would feel better if I knew you were helping her.”
If there was anything good in all this, it was knowing everything Luca, Kai, and I had done had been worth it.
The Augury was born at Locksley a thousand years ago by six students who craved power. As their family lines prospered, the order grew, along with its influence. It is through those families the order is controlled today. Find the six heads and remove them, you cut The Augury off at the knees.
It had members all over the world, creating social circles that were as old as the order itself, and it is through the six founding families the order is controlled today. Find the six heads, and you find every member.
Luca, Kai, and I may have loathed the social clicks of the prestigious academy, but we were Locksley alumni, and that made us part of them. It’s why Styx was so successful.
We knew what the young elite wanted, and created a place that catered to them, without the need for discretion. On the surface it was a nightclub but behind the scenes it was a world where young society could fulfill their darkest, most depraved desires for a price.
The cost of membership was a secret, and amenities, information. It was the entire reason for the club’s existence. Gathering intel. With all we’d gathered, we planned to help Dante and Diablo put an end to The Augury by helping David track down the six founding families.
It was the last phase of the plan–find the six in charge and eliminate every member. But The Augury and its members were ghosts. Family lines blurred and buried. With all the information we collected, it was going to take years to track them down. Knowing Dante and Diablo now only had months to do this, made everything more nerve-wracking.
I get up from the chair and make my way over to the fireplace, gripping the back of my neck.
“You’ve done that since you were a boy,” Diablo says softly, coming up behind me.
I turn to her, heart racing. “This is a lot to process,”
“I know,” she says with a tenderness reserved for family. “But it must be done. Her existence depends on it, Declan.”
“I know. But she’s still so angry with us. I don’t know how we can help her, if she doesn’t even want to be in the same room with us.”
Diablo places a hand on my arm, and it soothes my anxiety. “She once trusted you three more than anyone. That trust is still there. She just needs to find it again.”
I look from her to Dante, wanting more than anything to believe that. “Do you think you can do it? Find the six in months?”
Dante makes his way over to where Diablo and I stand. “The information you’ve collected through Styx is incredible. David is confident that combined with his research, we are close.”
“Can you put the Crane family at the top of your list?” I bite out.
Dante shoves a hand in his pocket. “They check out.”
“But he’s—”
“Clean,” Dante answers before I can finish.
Sebastian Crane was hardly clean. He was as slippery as they came. “But he’s one of the families of Locksley. Not to mention, he’s connected to the club, just as we are, which means he should stay away from Nev.”
That was Dante’s only condition and it was non-negotiable. Nev could not be a part of Styx in any way. He knew the kind of depravity it would entertain and wanted her away from it.
It was the entire reason we cut her from our life. The only way to keep her from it was to keep her from us. Knowing Crane could be a part of Styx and her life not only felt unfair but like a double standard.
“Are you sure he’s clean?” I press. “Money can buy a spotless past.”
“You don’t think we’d let anyone be around our daughter without looking into them, do you?” Dante smirks. “We vetted the Crane’s when Nev first crossed paths with Sasha in Paris.”
When it came to Diablo and his daughter, there was nothing Dante cared about more. Still…I didn’t like the idea of Nev anywhere near Sebastian. He didn’t stay in the bar or on the dance floor when he came to Styx. He had darker needs.
“He’s clean according to whom?” I press.
“My network. And yours.”
When I turned twenty-one I inherited my father’s estate and network. I accepted the former, but Dante looked after the latter. I wasn’t ready for the enormity of it, or even sure I wanted it.
He reminded me what one built, doesn’t have to be another’s legacy, and Diablo was proof. Luke may have created Hell, but she was now its Queen and reimagined its purpose. I could do the same with my father’s network if I wanted.
Three years later, I still didn’t have an answer, but the money had been helpful. With it, I bought the two houses in Mayfair, creating a compound for Luca, Kai, and I, and helped finance the club.
Dante crosses his arms over his chest and takes a deep breath. “I don’t like the fact he’s a member of the club or the circle he is part of, but I allowed him near my daughter because of his sister’s friendship with my daughter. After everything we’ve done, Nev deserves to have a friend that makes her happy, doesn’t she?”
“Of course she does,” I nod. On that we agreed. That’s all I have ever wanted. Nev’s happiness, and safety. But we deserved to be her friends, too. Not Sebastian fucking Crane.
“Declan,” Diablo says with confidence. “The four of you will be friends again. I promise. Just help us keep her safe.”
“You don’t have to ask,” I rub my chin. “We would do anything, you know that. But getting her to forgive us so that we can is going to be difficult. She doesn’t trust us anymore. And with good reason. We made sure she didn’t want to have anything to do with us.”
“I am not blind,” she says gently. “We know the demand we made to keep Nev out of your life affected you, just as it did her. So this can help fix it.”
I looked from her to Dante and couldn’t help but feel like a storm’s coming. One stronger, more powerful, than anything the world has seen.
“When do you plan to tell her?” I ask finally.
“Tomorrow,” Dante confirms. “Family brunch. Be there. All three of you.”
“We will,” I confirm.
After saying goodnight to both, I make my way out of the study. First, I need a drink. Then, I need to fill Kai and Luca in on all that’s about to happen–Nev’s world is about to fall apart, and it’s up to us, the three who helped break it, to put it back together.