War and his Queen (Carpe Noctem)

by Amo Jones

The only woman walking this earth who is close enough to flip my detonate switch.

Priest’s finger works his upper lip. “Sometimes. We sometimes set them free. This is a new thing after reaching a compromise. I don’t give a shit about their lives, but War does, so we agreed that we’d eighty-six the parent who sent them in instead. How it unfolds, really just depends on, I don’t know," his eyes darken, “my mood.”

“What organization or orders?” Stella’s head jerks back. “We don’t fuck with anyone else.” “Midnight Mayhem.” I cut her off without addressing her.

and if I know Stella, which I do, I’d say she is way too happy with this. “This is kind of… hot.” Vaden runs his hand through his hair. Stella stresses him right the fuck out. Unlike Priest, he has emotions. He shields them from most, but he has them. Not to be confused with soft, because he’d still take your head off.

“Stella. We don’t bring home strays. They’re for play, not to stay.”

“As you may have noticed, Perdita isn’t exactly as it was when our parents were around. The new Katsia has run the island for a few years now, and other than the odd rogue Lost Boy, there have been no other issues.” I know what he’s doing. Implying that we can step in and tear the crown from her head.

“Vaden’s right. We could kick the bitch if we ever wanted to, but leaving Perdita to draw out its own infections has always been the best way to go. The island has a way of choosing its residents. We have to respect that.”

“We all know Perdita is purgatory for everyone who passes through, and it has nothing to do with the isla...

“But we ain’t changing that right now. Whether you like it or not, this is how it’s going to stay. She will stay.” Priest’s subtlety has never been his strong suit, and the smack he just landed on Halen to remind her to p...

“You can have your toys. That’s not what ...

I know her. Katsia isn’t what ...

“I can share them if you want.” ...

“And you already know everything about what we’ve been doing. Parties, jumping city to city to ...

“—the usual. I’m tired. I’m going to head to bed.” Without hesitation, she stands and makes her way to Priest, kissing him on the top of his head. His jaw tenses but he lets it happen. He always does. In small doses, because she doesn’t do it often.

There’s no point censoring around the girls, so my eyes find Priest. “She’s hiding something.” His finger beats a tune against the table, his metal ring clattering on contact. “Obvious. Knowing her, she’s not going to come clean. Not until she wants to. And as we all know, if you pull, Halen doesn’t pull back.”

“She cuts the fucking line.” He’s right. I just don’t know if he’s reminding himself, or warning me.

“Like I’ve always had it.” “Okay, well, I’d love to chill all night, but I’m fucking tired.”

The bond between the three of them would be terrifying, if we didn’t know that it only meant they were always safe so long as they were together.

A single light flickers on from the Castle, stealing my attention. All it takes is one, when that one means so much.

With one hand on the glass, and the other holding the tumbler to my mouth, I follow the shadow of her silhouette. “Whatever she’s hiding aside, there’s something we didn’t tell them either.” “The Hunt,” Vaden agrees from somewhere behind me. “We keeping it that way?” I ask them both,

“Halen is smart, logical. She’s a lot like Dad, but she also hides a side that she refuses to allow people to see. She’s been my sister all her life, so she has always felt as if she has to make up for what I lack. It’s a guise. One I’ve always let her have.” My body turns rigid. Everything is spot on. I’d felt the thunder of her dark side over the years, but I was yet to taste its rain.

“Is that a yes, or no?” My finger taps against the glass wall. Moments later, her bedroom light is out.

Vaden’s eyes burn the back of my head. “That’s a no. I’m sure they’ll find out sooner or later, so it can be later rather than sooner. And anyway, they’ll be too busy with college.”

“Yes, they will be, especially since I planted the idea in Mom’s head about the old EKC frat house that hasn’t b...

“I’m sure that’ll keep them all nice and busy.” My mouth curves, but I don’t bother turning to face him. I can’t take my eyes off her, even if she’s ...

“Hmmm. And that’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Vaden teases Priest from the same spot on the table. “What happened between the two of you all th...

One of these days, that scale is going to tip inside of him. “Let me handle it.”

The front door swings open before my feet have touched the marble steps. In a haze of beige and black, Halen rushes out in a designer hoodie and yoga pants.

“Where are you going?”