Page 25 of Desecrated Saints
“Care to take over, Sadie?” I ask tiredly.
“If you’re going to drug me again, I’d advise against it,” Seven adds.
We both tense as she passes us, taking a seat on the sofa. I inadvertently shift closer to Seven, driven by an unconscious need to protect him. Sadie doesn’t miss a trick as she glances over to Kade for guidance. He’s barely awake, sliding his glasses into place and stumbling towards the coffee pot.
“I’m not going to sedate you.”
“Only because you ran out.” I scoff.
“No.” Sadie shoots me an exasperated look. “Because we can’t dance around this any longer.”
“Dance around what?” Seven utters.
Looking him in the eye, she declares, “I’m your sister.”
Preparing myself for Seven to flip out and lose his shit, I’m even more surprised when he remains silent. He just stares at her like she’s an alien invader, a crease marring his thick eyebrows. Sadie stares right back. I hate the way she seems almost afraid of him.
“Do you remember me?”
“Your hair used to be dark blonde.”
Her mouth drops open. “A long time ago.”
“Why did you dye it?”
Wiping away tears that spring free, she takes a breath. “Every time I looked in the mirror, I saw your eyes staring back at me. I wanted to see my reflection without being reminded of my dead family.”
I’m sitting on the edge of my seat, prepared for things to change at a pin drop. I know just how volatile Seven can be. Despite everything, he seems to trust Sadie on an unconscious level, even if he doesn’t know why.
“Do you remember our parents?”
He draws to his full height, a towering six foot three that dwarfs my small frame. I can still take him down if needed. My lessons in brutality were taught by his violence and bloodthirst. He walks over to the window and stares outside.
“No, I don’t remember them.”
“They both died,” Sadie blurts.
“How?”
Taking a gulp of her coffee, she uses it as an excuse to wipe more tears aside.
“A plane crash when we were young. Grandma took us in, but she died a couple of years before you vanished. The last time I saw you was a week before my seventeenth birthday. We had dinner in the city to celebrate. After that… nothing.”
Seven’s forehead collides with the fogged-up glass. I watch his eyes slide shut, blocking the whole world out. His shoulders slump beneath the heavy weight of realisation, and my dead heart almost breaks for him.
“How long?”
“Six years. I’ve been looking for you ever since. It took me a long time to track your movements. I studied before applying to the first place you worked at. The rest is history.”
“I don’t understand,” Seven murmurs.
Kade interrupts by stepping into the living room, looking much more awake. “Maybe we should take a break. We don’t want to overwhelm him with too much, too soon.”
“Wait, Jude—”
Seven spins, his expression shutting down into familiar, breathtaking anger. I step between him and Sadie on instinct, watching the way she quickly backtracks towards Kade.
“That isn’t my fucking name!” Seven yells. “Eight, tell them.”