by Devney Perry
I was on the fence. I knew King, Kohen, Kyrin, Keaton, Killian, and Cartier were my family, but that’s about as far as I got.
We made our way out to the car. When Mom pulled out of our driveway, I turned back in my seat to watch as my father grew smaller and smaller the more we pulled away.
I couldn’t help the ball that sat in my throat.
Something was wrong. Off. Mom never drove us to the beach house, and Father never let us out of his sight with her for too long. I turned to face Dove, who was watching the trees pass, but I could see it on her too—the uncertainty. She faced me just as I thought it and her eyes glassed over.
“Dove,” I whispered, my hand coming to hers. Dove was troubled. Papa had said that she sometimes wouldn’t be “all there” in the head. That she had a different personality sometimes, and that, at times, she could even be dangerous. I had seen those sides to my sister many times, but not once had I ever been afraid. I thought she was more misunderstood than she was insane.
She squeezed my hand as my eyes went to the rearview mirror. Mother was already watching me, her dark eyes turned to slits. My heart thundered in my chest as she continued to drive us. She took a turn that wasn’t in the direction of the beach house and continued to drive just as she reached into her brown handbag that was in the passenger seat of the car.
“Mom?” I asked, because I was always the inquisitive one and Dove the demure. “Where are we going?”
She didn’t answer. Her fingers flexed around the steering wheel of our Aston Martin as she drove.
“No, no, no!” I scream, tossing and turning. “I don’t want to! I don’t want to remember!” My voice is hoarse, ripping out from my dry throat and shredding my voice box.
“I have to keep going, King. She’s almost there. As soon as she remembers that day, everything else should be unlocked. Trust me, son.”
Mom pulled onto a long gravel road, and I swiped my tears away to finally see where we were. It was the beach house, only from a different access. Maybe she was bringing us here and I was wrong. Maybe she had a surprise for us since we were only a couple days away from Halloween.
She didn’t speak when she climbed out.
Not when she opened Dove’s door and pulled her out. Everything slowed as she raised her left arm and pointed a gun at Dove, who was scrambling across the dirt ground.
“Mom?” Dove whimpered.
She flicked off the safety and cocked the gun. My mouth couldn’t move. I couldn’t scream or yell. Everything went into slow motion. Bang! Bang! Bang-Bang! I screamed so loud my chest squeezed as blood splattered all over my mother’s white dress. Tears poured out of me as my heart broke, but I was already reaching for the door handle to run. The door swung open as I sprinted forward toward the house that I once called home. Past the swing that King and I played on. King. I burst into tears as my battered soul craved his presence. I needed him to latch onto for safety. Bang! Bang! Shots fired from behind me as bullets flew past me into the fence in front. I decided to run for the driveway at the front of the house, as it’s not that far until you hit the main road or a neighbor’s house. The fires stopped and my ears started ringing as pain ripped through me. I didn’t know if I had been shot or if the fact I just lost my twin sister had affected me so severely, but I kept running. My mouth wouldn’t move, the words lodged in my throat at what I just saw. My father’s Range Rover skidded to a stop in front of me. He ripped open the passenger door and came to me, his face falling as he dropped to his knees in front of me. “Perse, what happened?”
The passenger door opened and Ashley, Keaton’s mom, came sprinting out. When she saw me, her lips trembled. “What’s happened?” Her eyes flew over my shoulder. She squared her stance and her hand came to mine, pulling me behind her body to shield me.
“What have you done, you crazy fucking bitch!” Ashley screamed. “I’m going to fucking ruin you!”
My father pointed to the SUV. “Ash, put her in the car, please. I need to handle this.”
“No, Klaus. I will not leave you here with this creature! Where is Dove?” Ashley directed down the driveway again. She always could tell my sister and me apart.
I couldn’t turn around to see who she’s talking to.
I couldn’t speak.
My body was convulsing. My lips were trembling.
I wanted King.
I needed King.
“De—” I managed to say, a notch above a whisper, but when I tried to force the rest of the words out, my mouth snapped closed. I never wanted to speak again. It would have only reminded me of my sister. We had the same voice, the same cry, and the same scream— “Mom?” The memory gnawed at my brain, stabbing it with a sharp knife and twisting it until everything turned numb.
Everything silenced, and I broke out into sobs, making my way into the car. I slammed the door closed and locked the doors, curling into a ball.
My sister was dead.
My twin sister was dead.
My mother murdered her and then tried to kill me.
A door opened and closed, just as I heard Ashley’s voice whisper, “It’s going to be okay, Perse. We will fix this and make it better.”
I fly off the sofa, my skin drenched in sweat. “She—she—” My legs tremble as I fall to the ground. My hands cover my face as I feel thick arms wrap around my body.
“I’m so fucking sorry.” I hear King’s voice behind me, his lips on the back of my head. I jump out of his grasp as quickly as he put me there, spinning around and pinning him with a filthy stare.
“Where were you?” I scream so loud everyone silences.
King runs his hand over his mouth, his eyes on me. “We didn’t know, P. Mom and Dad didn’t know you were going there. Jessika, she set it all up.”
I run my hands over my arms. “I’ve been living a lie. I stole her life.”
“Truth,” Kohen says, walking into the sitting room with a bottle of whiskey dangling between his fingers.
“I’m sorry, Kohen,” I whisper, but he ignores me.
“You’re sorry?” Kohen chuckles, shaking his head while he drops down onto the Lazy Boy.
“Kohen,” King warns.
“Nah-uh.” Kohen chuckles, swiping the dark eyeliner from beneath his eyes. “You lost a sister that day, but I lost my sanity.”
I believed him. All of the memories are in vivid detail in my head. Every single Christmas, every single argument King and I had.
“I thought you thought she was alive and I was dead?” I ask softly.
Kohen shuts down, his eyes turning on King. “No. I thought you were both dead. Until tonight.”
“I took you to see Keres after that,” a soft voice says from the entryway, and when I look up to find it, I notice the strawberry-blonde hair naturally around her collarbone. The dark green eyes that glisten with unshed tears. The small face and pixie nose. Ashley. She steps forward, closer, but remaining a safe distance away from me. “He worked his voodoo with you and made me swear to not say anything to anyone. We agreed for your safety that we would say you both died.” The first tear falls as she swipes it away angrily. “I thought we agreed and had a plan.”
“What happened?” I ask. I trust her. I know I can trust her. All those years ago, I still remember the fierce wave of protection she washed over me in that split second she shoved me behind her body.
“Well.” She continues, taking out a cigarette and placing it between her lips. She lights it and exhales the thick cloud of smoke. “Your father lied. He was so blinded by that witch who he thought he could fix her. He took her with you when he ran, and he ran from Kiznitch ever since.”
“Only when we finally caught up to you all,” King growls, but again I don’t look at him. “We found you alive and you being called Dove by your father. You were both called Little Bird, so the nickname didn’t mean shit.” King snatches the bottle off Kohen and takes a long swig. “Figured P was the twin who was killed and you were the survivor. We agreed not to tell Koh
en that you were still alive, because of his fragile sanity and his history of violence. We couldn’t risk him losing his shit again when he found out that Dove was, in fact, alive.” He brought his eyes to mine. “I fucking hated you when I saw you for the first time. When I was given my first task, I just wanted to kill you. Why could Dove live while P died?” He tilts his head, his bleak eyes examining me closely. “I hated you, but I had my task.”
“And what was your task?” I ask, and suddenly it feels as though it’s just him and me in this room together. No one else.
His eyes darken, and his mouth kicks up in a deathly smirk that sends chills down my spine. “You.”
“I don’t understand,” I murmur, looking around at everyone who is here. If I’ve done my math correctly, all of the fathers are here, as well as King’s mother, Ashley, Kohen.
King steps forward, his head tilting and a cigarette hanging between his perfect lips. Lips I’ve felt on my body more than I can count. Oh God. He was always right. Even as a child, he was right. He always said that I’d be his last. Even if I wasn’t his first at everything, I sure as fuck would be his last.
He stops when he’s a breath away from me, and I look down at my feet. Converse versus military boots. It couldn’t be more accurate for us. He leans down into my ear and whispers, “We’ll be back, Dovey. I’ll hear you when you speak, I’ll see you where you dance. I’ll always be watching you.”
The glass I was holding falls to the ground, and I hear the smash from behind the ringing of my ears. “You’re The Shadow.”
“You gave me a pet name?” King steps back, assessing me. “That’s cute.”
My elbow veers back and I swing before I can stop myself. Pain ripples through my hand as it connects with his strong jaw.
He laughs, his face not moving. I go to swing again when he catches my hand and grips it so tightly I flinch. “The first one you get for free. The second one will have your ass laid flat out over my knees.”
“Fuck you,” I seethe, yanking my hand out of his grip.
He chuckles. “There she is.”
“Perse,” Keres interrupts. It doesn’t go unnoticed how effortlessly everyone is using my old nickname. Everyone called me Perse, except for King. I was simply P. It was his name and fuck if anyone else thought they were using it. “The reason you were King’s task wasn’t because we wanted to kill you. In fact, the reason why I killed your father was because of his lack of ability to keep you safe. King was the one who pulled the trigger on your mother, for obvious reasons. She was his first kill.”
“You’re the one who killed her?” I ask softly, my eyes connecting with King’s. There’s no denying the connection now. The bond, the absolute raw emotion that we both share. King is mine and I am his, but that doesn’t mean he gets away with every goddamn thing he ever did to me.
Fuck that. I’ll hate him for as long as I want to, and he can fucking deal with it.
“Yeah, P. Yeah, I fuckin’ did.”
I nod, as if thanking him, because I am. The bitch stole my sister. Now her murder that has acted as a nightmare inside my brain suddenly morphs into a dream. Bitch!
I remember that night like it’s a bad dream. I don’t remember seeing who shot her, but I remember the blood. I remember the taste and the loud screams of my mother. Then I remember running. I remember them not chasing me. I thought I got away, but I was so wrong. Some hunters don’t catch you right away; some love to watch you run before they feast on you.
“Why?” I snap, turning toward Keres. “Why was I so special? Because of our talent with dance and singing?” I ask, already knowing his answer.
“Yes and no,” Keres murmurs. “Midnight Mayhem is what keeps our name alive. It continues to act as a curtain to The Brothers and The Four Fathers of Kiznitch, but that’s not why. It’s because of the blood that runs through your veins.”
“So you steal us all,” I whisper as recognition slowly seeps in. “All of the ones who were on that yacht? They were part of Kiznitch one way or another, weren’t they?” I can feel my anger simmering to the surface.
“Yes,” Keres agrees. “We’re a talented bloodline. One that must remain pure. Not all of them are of direct line like you, but they’re in the line, one way or another.”
My head spins from everything, my eyelids heavy. I want to sleep for days, hours, and I’m thankful that at least this is happening during our break. I can’t imagine dealing with this and then performing the next night.
“You and your sister were special, P. You are Ashley Kournikova’s blood daughters. Kournikovas’ lineage is one of the highest rankings in Kiznitch. She married me, a brother, had Keaton, and then had the affair and had you and your sister. It’s why we always kept you close to the Axton twins. We thought it fate.” I wince, the memories so raw and undiluted. King and Kohen are twins, and all four of us went down in history. Keaton must also be some special hybrid breed if he has both a brother and whatever lineage Ashley is.
“But why did I think I was Dove and not Perse?”
Kaius steps into the conversation. “That is something we will never know. I tried to get it out of your father that night, but he never budged. He vowed he’d go down with that secret, and he did.”
My eyes flutter. “Probably because Dove was always his favorite child. Why not just let me take on her name and it’ll almost be as if she never died?”
Kaius shuffles his feet. My eyes connect with his. “I don’t think that’s it. I have my theories, all of which are far-fetched. We will eventually get to the bottom of it all, but for right now, we’ve hit a wall as to why he called you Dove and not your real name.”
I sigh, my head pounding from all of the information. “So, if I’m so special,” I bring my eyes to Keres, who seems to be answering more questions than Kaius, “why’d one of you almost rape me while I was in that cell?”
Keres freezes, his face falling.
Kaius stills, his hand short of his mouth.
Ashley steps forward dangerously.
There are muffled voices behind me, but the loudest is, of course, King’s. “What the fuck do you mean?” he sneers.
I ignore him. “I just want to leave.”
“I’ll take you,” Keaton murmurs, tucking my hand in his.
“No!” King steps in front of us, his fingers coming to my chin to tilt my face up to his. “What do you mean one of us almost raped you? None of us almost fucking raped you!”
I inhale.
Exhale.
Count to ten. “The man with the neon mask. He did things to me. He didn’t go all of the way, but he made it feel like I was the messenger, and he was the one sending the message.”
King’s hand falls away as his face pales. He takes one step, two steps, three steps back. His face is blank. “Take her home.”
I don’t argue, slipping under Keaton’s arm as he steers me out of the house and into a waiting limo.
King
I drop down onto the sofa, my hand coming to my hair. “I’ll kill him.” My head is spinning.
“Make it clean.” Ashley takes a seat opposite me. I’ve always known that Ashley was P and Dove’s birth mother, so I’ve always seen the resemblance. “She won’t forgive you, King. Remember, she’s the stubborn one.”
“I don’t want her forgiveness.” My eyes connect with hers. “I want her vengeance.” I shake my head, rage burning hot inside of me. “He did this for Patience. It’s what they do to check that their girls are virgins. They use their fingers to check the barrier. I’ll fuckin’ kill him.”
“Son,” Dad commands my attention, and I bring my eyes up to his, just as the rim of the bottle touches my lips. “You don’t need my permission to kill the man, but be careful with how hard you go for her.”
I stand tall, handing the bottle back to Ashley. “I’ll go as hard as I want. I’ll only ask you this once.” I pause, locking my eyes on his. I’ve come to know when Dad is lying. Only just, and even then, I think some shit stil
l passes over me. “Did you know that she was P?”
Dad doesn’t flinch, his eyes staying on mine. “Would I have put anyone else on her if it wasn’t?”
“Motherfuck!” I storm out of the house, slamming the front door. I should have known my father knew all along. He wanted the reveal. He got it. I take a seat on the steps, just as the door opens and closes. I already know it’s Kohen behind me. Call it twin fucking intuition. We always thought we were in sync with the girls, too, but I’m not so sure anymore since I couldn’t pick out that it was P. I didn’t even think of the fucking scar because I was too blinded by lust whenever she threw her clothes off.
“You fucked her,” Kohen states, leaning behind me.
“Yeah.” I swallow, looking out to the dark night. “I did. Should have pegged it when the fuckin’ turned into some other deep shit.”
“Don’t blame you.” Kohen sits behind me, and I shuffle around to face him. Kohen’s story isn’t mine to tell, but when he lost Dove, he lost all parts of himself that could show any emotion. He’s dead inside, and not in a way that is a challenge for a new girl to take. I mean he’s clinically insane. There’s no coming back for Kohen, ever. Some people lose themselves on the path we travel every day, and whether they know the road back or not, they just choose not to take it. That’s Kohen. He doesn’t want a life without Dove. There will be no one else.
“You don’t?” I joke, an eyebrow quirked. “I’d kill you if you fucked Dove while thinking she was P. Fuck brotherhood. I’d straight up cut you.” I pull out my pack of smokes, banging the edge on my palm until a fresh one slips out. “You coming back to Mayhem?” I flick open my Zippo and blaze up the end.
“Nah.” He turns his head sideways, looking out to the empty paddocks that lead to the street. “I don’t know what I want to do yet, but I know I don’t want to be around the people of Kiznitch or Mayhem in general.”