The Temple Page 2

  As soon as I hear the door’s click from below, I stand straight, eyes venomous, hands still on the balcony just outside my bedroom that overlooks the brief hall to the sitting area where my father appears.

  “Good to have my daughter back again,” he addresses me, casual hands behind his back while pacing the lower level.

  At first, I wonder why he doesn’t invade the upstairs as he normally does, but I just cross my arms with a huff. “You could have had the prosthetics removed when I first got here,” I remind him, disgust lathering my words.

  “And miss out on the opportunity to discipline you? Tsk, tsk, tsk…”

  Ignoring him, I jut out my chin. “Where’s my mother?”

  “You ask the same question every day. Care to try something more interesting?”

  He doesn’t sound irritated by my repetitive inquiry. No, he’s far too pleased with himself.

  “Substance over style,” I counter.

  My father drops his arms to his sides for one moment before raising his index finger to the air. “I shouldn’t be surprised at your persistence. You are my daughter after all.”

  “There’s no need to get insulting,” I spit out.

  Still casual, my father wanders toward the staircase and extends a hand. “Let us enjoy our first real meal together. Shall we?”

  As I slide my hand down the banister, I keep my words just as light and airy, playing along. “Eating one of your glass sculptures would be more enjoyable, but if you insist…”

  My father chuckles as I finish descending until I’m close enough for him to touch my hand. There is nothing gentle in the way he tugs me down to his level. Nothing gentle in the way the corners of his mouth spread into a smile like a proud flag unfolding itself. Nothing gentle when he plants that mouth on my forehead, lingering longer than I prefer because he’s breathing in my scent.

  “You will enjoy yourself this morning,” my father assures me while cupping my chin. “You see, I’ve arranged for a couple of visitors to join us. They’ve been quite concerned about your welfare.”

  I shouldn’t be surprised to see the bedroom doors open with no one near them since Force controls everything. Another moment passes before two men step into the doorway, and I jerk myself from Force and sprint for them. Or rather—one of them. The only one with no hidden agendas—even if he is a flirty jackass.

  I hurl myself right into Neil’s arms.

  “Nice to see you too, beautiful,” Neil comments, embracing me. “You’re gonna make me blush.” That’s Neil. What I see is what I get. Not to mention how much I’ve missed his humor.

  I thread my arms around his neck before hugging him again. “He figured it out before I could—”

  “You don’t have to apologize.” He shrugs. “Was my idea. No good looking back at it.”

  “It was a clever one, son,” Force commends him, approaching and offering Neil a backhanded compliment. “Your mistake was assuming I wouldn’t know my own daughter.”

  Neil’s hands linger on my elbows before he tugs my arms down and gestures to Luc, whose spine is like the back of a needle.

  I nod to him. “Luc.”

  “Serenity.”

  My fingers play with each other, unsure of what else to do. Our last interaction wasn’t exactly the greatest to say the least. Luc can’t get under my skin like he used to anymore. After he tried to take the only thing I had left to my name to keep me from going to the Temple, all the ice he’d planted in my heart melted. Now, there’s just Sky’s warmth. Our lightning and thunder united with a drive more earth-shattering than ever before—to take down Force.

  “No telling where your other admirer is,” my father says, referring to Sky while popping open a bottle of champagne sitting on a nearby table and pouring glasses for all of us. “After all, judging by how he seemed that day at Luc’s house, I’m surprised by how remarkably difficult he is to locate. Perhaps he’s plotting your impossible escape.”

  He approaches me with a glass, foam bubbling up to the lip. He offers two more glasses to the men on my right. Neil raises his eyebrows, but accepts and downs his in one flamboyant gesture. Luc thumbs the side of his glass, contemplative. I’m a little more dramatic.

  “Serenity,” my father scolds just after I’ve chucked the glass, spilling the champagne and shattering the glass. The spill reminds me of a tiny silver creek with miniature crystals inside.

  “You’re missing out,” Neil remarks while grabbing the rim of the bottle and pointing to it. “Ten-thousand-dollar bottle.” Tipping it into his mouth, he gulps back a fair amount.

  “Make yourself at home, Neil. It’s what you do best.” The loathing my father feels for his son is not lost on me.

  “Why don’t we all sit, enjoy our meal, and discuss some things?” Force invites us all to the table.

  Luc tightens his other hand into a fist. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t strangle you and drag Serenity out of this cage?”

  My father smirks, clearly unconcerned while pulling out my chair. “Come now, Luc. We are both directors. Surely we can find some suitable arrangement.”

  I follow my father. “How about your head on a platter?” I opt while sliding into the chair.

  Force plays with the ends of my hair, then leans over to murmur in my ear. “Trust me, daughter. My head on a platter is nowhere near in your best interests.”

  “Oh?” I play along. “And why is that?”

  He pats the sides of my arms. “Now, that would be telling.” He kisses my cheek, and I cringe just before he takes the seat opposite me.

  “Please, gentlemen. Let us not stand on ceremony, shall we?”

  Neil is the first one to reciprocate. “Never one to turn down a free meal. Especially not in the Temple.”

  After a few more moments, Luc reluctantly pulls out his chair. He sits right next to me, leg brushing mine. I sigh. Luc’s just as stubborn and persistent as his brother. Does he know about Sky?

  Comprised of every food group imaginable, the breakfast isn’t complete without edible jewels or gold-carat leaves. Even the fruit has been cut and shaped into swan-like images while sugar Skeleton Flowers decorate other plates. Considering how many children go hungry every night, this meal should make my stomach want to drop, but it does just the opposite. Instead, the butterflies in my stomach have transformed into miniature dragons all roaring fire; they want to feast on my father’s flesh.

  Speak of the vampire himself, Force pours himself another glass of champagne from a second bottle crusted in diamonds and real pearls before opening the discussion. “Serenity, now you’ve shed your old face, I see your appetite is even more voracious than before.”

  “In more ways than one,” I say, flashing a smile before sipping some water, preferring to remain sober.

  “It seems both my children are similar.” He sneers before leaning back to survey Neil and adding, “For quite different reasons, however.”

  I must look past Luc to see my half-brother on the other side with his cheeks stuffed full of doughnut—edible glitter and powdered sugar smeared on his lips. “What?” Shrugging, he says, “I’m just here for the food.”

  Rolling my eyes, I ignore him before helping myself to a clump of juicy grapes. I do my best to ignore Luc, who is far too close on my left side. When we both reach for the fruit bowl at the same time, his arm brushes mine. It doesn’t feel like a shock. It feels like an annoyance. Some pest I must swipe at to claim my strawberries.

  “I’d consider it a favor if you didn’t inflict any personal harm on my guest, Serenity,” Force addresses me, gesturing to my hand that’s shoving Luc’s out of the way.

  I sit back, slouch, and cross my arms over my chest. “I’ll try to keep that in mind.” I pop a berry in my mouth.

  “Hmm…” my father muses. “Some interesting developments must have taken place to breed this animosity. Such a shame. I was going to give him a fair chance.”

  Luc bristles beside me, and I snort. “Fair chance for
what?”

  “For your road to womanhood. Naturally.”

  I read right through the shimmery smile on his face. My father is serious. Unfortunately, he has reflexes like mine because he manages to catch the knife I’ve just thrown at his head. I follow up my action by pounding my fist on the table and rising.

  “How. Dare. You?”

  “What? It’s not such an outlandish notion.”

  My father doesn’t bat an eye. In fact, he enjoys the game even more by twisting the handle of the knife around and around with its point digging into the table.

  “After all,” Force points out, indicating Luc, “he did auction off the entire Aviary for your freedom. And from what my sources have unearthed, he also saved your life on multiple occasions. Despite my obvious chagrin at losing, I respect Director Aldaine a great deal.”

  “Former director,” I elucidate.

  “Oh, once a director, always a director. Besides, I think he will come in quite handy for the plans I have in store for you, my little swan.” He dabs at his mouth.

  I glance over at Luc, but as per the norm, he’s unreadable. Unlike my father who dons his emotions like a ring master. All pomp and circumstance.

  “You see, I’ve hired Luc as my master artisan of the Penthouse as it were. Under my supervision, he will bring my vision for the Faces of the Temple to life!”

  I step back too fast, knocking over my chair. It’s been far too long since I growled, and the snarl works its way up my throat and vaults straight for Luc. Even after everything we’ve gone through, he still hasn’t had enough. He still wants to imprison me in the lines and contours of his digital pages, dress me up and pretend I’m his little doll. He still refuses to let me go.

  My nails ache to maul his skin like they once had. Leave permanent scars this time, but Neil stops me. My brother gets his arms around me and drags me away from the table, away from Luc.

  “Can’t you see this is what he wants?” Neil mutters in my ear, referring to our DNA’s common heritage.

  “Neil, if you—”

  “Try to settle down and remember exactly what he said.”

  My brain skitters over my father’s words just as my eyes settle on him. Judging by the bemused expression on his face, he’s enjoying my little display. I reflect on his words, noting a change in one of them. The Faces of the Temple. Not just the Face.

  I march around the table to confront my father. “Where is she?”

  He swirls the liquid around in his glass. “Your mother or sister? It’s so difficult to ascertain your thought processes.”

  “Then, I’ll spell it out for you.” I snatch up his glass, then chuck the champagne right into his face before leaning over and narrowing my eyes. “Both.”

  My father half-sighs, half-groans before sweeping a few droplets off his collar, though he ignores the champagne remnants rolling down his cheeks. Slowly, he scoots out of his chair.

  He waves a hand to the two men. “Would you excuse us for a few moments, gentlemen? I wish to have a word alone with my daughter.”

  Neil is the one who reassures a hesitant Luc. “Come on, lover man. It’s going to happen at some point. Better let them get it done and over with. Let ‘em hash it out alone.”

  Luc’s eyes don’t stray from mine. He doesn’t turn around once. Walks backward all the way to the door, nods to me, and closes it behind him. Sky would never leave. Not unless he was carried out.

  My father sighs, his eyes zeroing in on me. Somehow, he’s sucked out all the playfulness. He’s left with a dark hysteria shimmering in those green orbs. What he does next is anything but slow. Before I can so much as blink, my father has pinned my arm behind my back and forced me against one of the glass windows.

  “Look down, Serenity,” he murmurs in my ear, voice bordering on seductive. “Long way to fall. I remind myself every time I wake up.”

  When I try to struggle, he just twists my arm farther, yanking a cry from my throat.

  “Look,” he commands, pressing my face harder into the glass. “You think I’m here to play games. Perhaps you are right. But a man with all this at his disposal never folds and always holds the right cards. And you—” He brushes the curls out of my face, then rubs his lips on my cheek to finish. “You are my royal flush. Whether you like it or not, you are my seed, my blood, my essence. You are the child I’ve waited seventeen years for. You will bring my Temple to its pinnacle. With you at my side, I will become the most infamous director of all time. I will obliterate the very founder. I know a queen when I see one, and I will do whatever it takes to help you become that queen.”

  He lets go of me so quickly I tumble to the floor. My arm still smarts from his assault, but he’s not quite finished yet. No, Force squats beside me, wiping my hair to one side of my face so he may cup my chin and stare me down.

  “I’m not looking for your love. I don’t need it. But I am the head of the Syndicate, the director of the Temple, and your father first and foremost. You will respect me, daughter.”

  I jerk my chin away. “Respect for what? For every scar on my mother’s back? For every night she spent screaming from her nightmares of this place? For you hunting us nonstop?”

  Force curves one corner of his mouth. “Your mother has always been my Unicorn. Part of what completes me. We all have our roles in this world.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “You and your sister will be my Faces. You will be my dark and light. My night and day. My sun and moon. My life and death. My Yin and Yang.”

  My father takes me by the arm, then jerks me up. “You want to see her? Come on then, little Yang. Let us go meet your Yin.”

  3

  R e u N i o n

  Bliss

  My mother still doesn’t talk about my sister. At first, I believed it was out of grief. Or longing. But every time my father gives us the wee hours of the morning when I’m not tending to clients, her eyes come to life when I enter the Breakable Room. Like she’s an ancient cathedral bell chiming for the first time. I’ve never encountered anything like it. It’s why I want to run every time our eyes connect. She seems to understand too much. Not once has she tried anything more than cupping my cheek like she had that first day. She must know touch is my trigger. She’s trying to nudge her love into me. Not force it.

  I should tell her there’s no use.

  Numbness is better than love. Better than hope. It makes me strong enough for the Temple.

  At times, I catch her body language mimicking mine. I can’t deny our similarity. We are both quiet. Most of the time, we say nothing. She knows I’m giving simple companionship because it’s all I can offer. Even to my mother. She accepts the emotional crumbs.

  We sit with our backs against the glass, our legs curled into our chests, shoulders barely brushing, heads still on the wall behind us. Hands restless. Always anticipating the next client, my fingers aren’t used to a lull. This place has worn her down. Like thin paper, she’s folding in on herself again, remembering the creases and shape of what she used to be years ago.

  “Do you want to ask me anything?”

  It’s the first question she’s asked me. I didn’t expect it to be a question that offers rather than seeks.

  “Why did you leave me?”

  There is no resentment in my voice. Resentment’s chain is far too tiring to drag around for years. Loss is too heavy to cart on one’s shoulders. I banished those emotions years ago, traded them in for my mountain of body parts instead. Now, I am simply curious.

  “I had two choices. I could have you both in my life, but had to accept it would never be real. I would have needed to break Kerrick’s heart. I couldn’t play the Unicorn anymore. It would have destroyed me. And the girls I’d carried wouldn’t truly be mine. Force would never have let me be a mother. Just a Unicorn on call every day…all day. So, I chose half a heart over no heart at all. And ever since, I’ve never stopped fighting to see you again.”

  She didn’t need to add t
he last part. Nothing has come as a surprise. All words I’d suspected but I’d wanted to confirm regardless.

  “Kerrick changed me. He made me stronger and weaker. I think that’s what love means. Willing to be weak. You don’t need to show it to the world—you just need to show weakness to one person.”

  She relates portions of her past but keeps them at a safe distance. They must be a special kind of private for her. Just like the mountain inside of me.

  “I spent months resisting him. He showed me his weaknesses first. Sometimes, that’s how it works. My moment didn’t come until I was pregnant with you and your sister. Those were the only months your father left me alone for the most part. I couldn’t keep anything down. And Kerrick was always there. Following me into the bathroom every time to hold my hair back. I didn’t trust any man who touched me. I believed there was a hidden motive.”

  I nod in understanding. Even if it comes from good intentions, there is always an ulterior motive.

  “Would you like to know the first moment I let him in?” my mother asks, turning her head toward mine.

  I don’t really want to, but I’ve swallowed enough in my time. Nothing much affects me anymore. I can take this just like I take everything.

  “Would you believe I missed your father? He spent much of his time away on business during my pregnancy. His way of passing the time because he didn’t want to jeopardize the twins. But he was my world. He was my purpose and my identity. I didn’t know how to play a mother. It was never expected of me. Sickness didn’t help either. I felt like it was my fault. That I must have committed some heinous crime to be feeling so miserable. Not performed the way he wanted. Then, I felt you kick.”

  My mother pauses, looks at her hands, and smiles. “It felt like some little war was going on inside me. It hurt. But it was the first time the pain made me feel different. Suddenly, this pain was from something amazing my body was creating. It made me feel empowered because I enjoyed the pain for myself instead of enjoying my pain for Force. It was the first time I recognized my body was capable of something other than being the Unicorn. Serafina came back to life. And I wanted someone to see me.”