Draven:
The scent of parchment, wax, and burning wood filled my nostrils as I stepped into River's study. The heavy mahogany doors closed behind me with a dull thud, sealing Oscar and me inside with our eldest brother.
River was sitting behind his massive oak desk, his fingers lazily flipping through a thick ledger. The room was dimly lit, and the glow from the fireplace was casting long shadows across the bookshelves that lined the walls. He didn't look up when we entered.
What I didn't expect was to find Kieran here. He was lounging in a chair by the fireplace, one leg draped over the armrest. He looked relaxed, but I knew better. Kieran never sat still unless he was deep in thought.
"You are both frowning," River finally said, breaking the silence. "I assume this is about the girl."
Oscar let out a sharp exhale and dropped into the chair opposite River's desk. "Of course, it's about her. Why the hell is she still here?"
River glanced up then, his gaze shifting between us before settling on me. "And you feel the same, Draven?"
I clenched my jaw before replying, "Her presence is… unnecessary."
Unnecessary.
That was the safest way to put it.
The girl, Evaline Greystone, was the daughter of our greatest enemy. She was the constant reminder of everything we had lost, a reminder of the blood spilled at her father's hands.
She should have died with the rest of her wretched pack.
And yet, she was here - Living. Breathing. And disrupting everything.
"It would be easier if she were dead," Oscar muttered, tapping his fingers impatiently against the armrest. "The servants are already whispering. They say we are keeping her here out of spite. That we enjoy seeing her suffer. But if we let her leave, it'll look like we are soft."
Soft.
I nearly scoffed at the word.
We were anything but soft.
We had spent years hunting down every last trace of the Greystones and Shadowfang Pack. Every man, woman, and child who carried that cursed bloodline had been wiped out.
All except her.
River leaned back in his chair. His dark green eyes were filled with amusement as he asked, "So? What do you want me to do?"
"Get rid of her," Oscar said flatly. "Send her away. Kill her. I don't care how you do it, but she doesn't belong here."
River silently watched Oscar, and then his gaze shifted to me. "Would you two be satisfied if I simply killed her?"
His voice was calm, almost too casual. But something about the way he said it made my stomach turn.
My hands clenched into fists at my sides, but I wasn't sure why.
Would I be satisfied?
Yes.
No.
I didn't know.
The thought of her dying should have been easy to accept. She was nothing to me. Just a burden. A stain on our family's history.
And yet…
A strange, unwelcome feeling curled in my chest at the thought of her lifeless body, her mesmerizing amber eyes dull and unseeing.
I glanced at Oscar, noticing how his expression had shifted as well.
He had been the most vocal about getting rid of her, but now that River had suggested killing her outright, there was hesitation in his eyes.
"Something wrong, Oscar?" River asked, his expression not changing at all. "You wanted her gone. I'm giving you a solution. What's stopping you?"
Oscar didn't answer, and neither did I.
It was actually Kieran, who had been silent the entire time, who broke the unsettling silence.
"Do you all hate her that much?" he asked.
We all turned to him.
He was still lounging in his chair, but his gaze was sharper now, focused.
"I don't hate her," Kieran continued with a shrug. "I don't like or dislike her, to be honest. She's just… there."
"Exactly," Oscar said, scowling. "And that's the problem. She shouldn't be here."
"Neither should you, considering your lack of authority on the matter," Kieran returned, earning a glare from Oscar.
"We are talking about a girl who could be a threat to us." My brother was determined to get rid of her.
River raised a brow before reminding, "She's powerless."
"That we know of," I muttered.
River sighed. "And if she's not? What then? Do you think I will truly let her live if she posed a threat?"
Silence.
We all knew the answer to that.
River might be cruel, but he wasn't reckless. If Evaline posed even the slightest danger, he would have killed her already.
And yet, he hadn't.
Which meant, for now, she was harmless. But that didn't explain why I felt this way.
Why the idea of her death left an uncomfortable weight in my chest. And I hated this unrecognizable feeling.
My thoughts returned to her, and I scowled at the memory of our encounter.
I had gone to the library for some privacy, only to end up with a willing woman in my lap, andvher eager lips pressed against mine. I had been seconds away from losing myself in the pleasure of the moment... until I sensed someone nearby.
And there she was.
Evaline Greystone.
The candlelight cast a soft glow over her delicate features, illuminating those amber eyes that widened in horror the moment she realized what she had walked in on. She froze like prey caught in the sights of a predator, and the second our gazes met, something strange pulsed through me.
A spark of irritation, or maybe a flicker of something else.
I had seen women blush before. I had seen them flustered, shy, embarrassed. But Evaline's reaction had been different.
She had been afraid. And that fear irritated me for some reason.
Even before I knew it, I was snarling at her, letting my anger spill out. But instead of reacting, she simply lowered her head, muttered an apology, and scurried away. The sight of her retreating form only annoyed me further.
It was Kieran's deep sigh that pulled me out of my thoughts. "I didn't come here to discuss the maid."
River turned to him as well. "Oh? Then why are you here, dear brother?"
"The Academy," Kieran said. "The entrance exams begin next week. We need to finalize our selections before the Council steps in."
River's expression shifted slightly. "Ah," he murmured. "Yes, the Academy."
A long silence followed.
Oscar tapped his fingers against the chair's armrest, clearly still irritated about Evaline, but he didn't press the issue further.
For now.
River leaned back in his chair, exhaling. "Fine. We'll deal with the Academy matters first. As for the girl…"
His gaze flickered between me and Oscar. "She stays," he said simply.
Oscar tensed, but River cut him off before he could argue.
"Unless you want me to kill her," he added.
I wasn't sure whether I felt relieved or frustrated by that decision.
But one thing was clear.
Evaline Greystone wasn't going anywhere.
And whether I liked it or not, she was starting to become a problem.