Vicious Minds (Children of Vice #4)(100)

I looked between them both before shaking my head no and grabbing on to the edge of the well. The stone was smooth and slippery under my fingertips but I wouldn’t let myself fall now. And I didn’t know if I really passed yet. If I took their hands, they could drop me back. I needed to get out myself.

“Good,” my grandmother said when I fell on to the grass beside the well with a thud. She knelt beside me and I could feel her long silver-blonde hair on my face as she poured water on my head, I really wished she’d poured it in my mouth. “You can’t trust anyone, Calliope, not even us. We are going to push you as hard as we can. I will not stop, hate me if you must but you will be strong enough. You have to be, do you know why?”

I nodded reaching up and grabbing the water from her. “I have to protect our family.”

“No.” My grandfather knelt beside me stopping me before I could drink, and his eyes stared directly into my mine. “So you can avenge our family. You will be our weapon, and together, we will destroy the Callahan family for what they have done to us.”

“And then my mom and dad won’t hate me?” I asked him to make sure.

My grandmother kissed the side of my head. “Then you will be loved by millions, Calliope. You will deliver hope and justice. You’ll be our greatest hero. Drink. We have so much work to do to make sure you are strong enough.”

I nodded, drinking the water.

“They will never see you coming,” my grandfather muttered to himself before I fell asleep.





CALLIOPE - NOW





When my eyes snapped open, the first thing I saw were fingers, little tiny fingers. Shifting my head, her hand fell to the side of my face. Gigi slept on the pillows right between…between Ethan and me. His arm was over her and his hand was on my waist. Gigi slept as if she were queen of the whole bed. Her arms outstretched, her legs too. Slowly I peeled myself away towards the edge of the bed. Rising from the bed I went to the bathroom, taking my phone with me.

Shutting the door silently behind me, I walked to the mirror, turning on the water before dialing. She answered on the first ring but didn’t speak.

I glanced at my reflection, my brown hair a mess of waves, noting the coldness in my own grey eyes.

“I’m in,” I whispered softly.

“How long will it take you win over the rest of them?”

“With Ethan at my side…soon.”

“You’re in love with him.”

It wasn’t a question. It wasn’t false either. I didn’t answer.

“Good.” She went on anyway. “It will make them believe you more. But don’t forget who your true family is. Do not disappoint me, Calliope.”

She ended the call just like that and I tossed the phone on the counter, looking back at my reflection. So many people had tried and failed to destroy the Callahans. My grandmother knew that the only way to win was to use the only weapon the Callahans always surrendered to. Love.

Win the heart of the Ethan Callahan.

Then destroy everything. That was their plan. This family had destroyed ours. They killed my uncles. It was one of Melody’s men who assaulted my mother. The reason my life was hell growing up was because of the Callahans. I glanced down to the red diamond on my finger. I was officially one of them. Everything was supposed to be an act within an act, but I loved him.

I remembered Gigi’s cries. She was really excited to be here with her father. I had a child so early because my grandmother thought it would be to my benefit and now it made things…complicated. Rinsing my face, I heard the door open behind me. When I glanced in the mirror I saw his green eyes staring intently. He wore no shirt. His perfectly sculpted abs were on full display, he wore only the black boxer briefs I’d stripped him down to when I returned to his rooms.

“You look ill,” I said him, wiping my face with a towel.

“You made me ill.”

I smirked at that, nodding as I turned to face him. “I did. But I must have gone soft on you and gave you lesser dose.”

“Or I could be much stronger than you expected,” he added as stepped inside further, pinning me against the sink.

“I think I have a full assessment of your strength already.” I smiled. He always made me smile even when I didn’t want to.

“Is that so?” He lifted me up and placed me on the sink.

“It’s so,” I whispered, kissing him. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and tilted my head to the side, kissing where my shoulder met my neck and cupping my breast through my tank top. I could feel myself melting to him.

“Do you trust me, Ethan?” I asked him gently.

His kissed up to my ear before replying softly, “It is a little too late to be asking, isn’t it?”

I didn’t reply, and he broke away, standing tall between my legs. He cupped my face in his hands, his eyes peering down into mine.

“Do you trust me, Calliope?”

I didn’t answer either because I remembered once again how alike we both really were. Why I loved him. I didn’t have to say or ask certain things. Placing my hands on his face, I brought his head down slightly so I could put my foreheads on his.

“It’s going to get very bloody from here on out.” I whispered to him.

His hands settled on my waist and the corner of his lips turned up into a small smile; “Of course it is…that is the only way kingdoms are made.”