“A lot’s changed. I’ve changed.”
“What specifically?” He shifts his weight from foot to foot, sneaks a peek at his flashy gold watch. Signaling that I am mere seconds from losing his attention for good.
“Specifically—this.” I push my dark shades high onto my forehead, revealing a set of red, glowing eyes. “Turns out, I couldn’t control my destiny in the way that I thought. There’s no stopping it. No way to fight it. So, I figure if this is what I’m meant to be, then it’s time I embrace it.”
Leandro moves closer, his expression as unguarded as I’ve ever seen. He lifts a hand to my cheek, whispers a string of words that at first I don’t understand. It’s only a few moments later after replaying them in my head that I realize he’s saying, son—my son, as he gazes upon me with the sort of reverence normally reserved for saints.
Though, I guess to Leandro, my blackened heart and tarnished soul hold a similar appeal.
“I knew it.” He’s transfixed by my gaze. “I knew it when I saw you last New Year’s Eve. Despite your bravado, I could sense the beast growing within. I knew it wouldn’t be long before it made itself known—and now this.”
He places a hand on either side of my face, thumbs pressing into my temples. That simple, singular touch enough to infuse me with a cache of esoteric secrets and arcane knowledge, until the entire history of the dark arts is coursing through my blood. Much of which comes as no surprise considering the countless times I eavesdropped on the elders’ private conversations as a kid. Still, seeing it unfold firsthand and discovering the whispers were true is something else entirely.
In order to be fully initiated into the dark arts—whether it be skinwalking or, in my case, making the full transition into the malevolent beast I’m destined to be—killing a relative is the price of admission.
Turns out, it’s the most useful thing Leandro has shared.
It may well prove to be the last conscious choice I’m able to make before the beast fully dominates.
It’s an act no Richter has ever achieved. As Leftfoot once said, Leandro is unwilling to spare even the dimmest Richter. Which explains why Cade’s transitions are always temporary. Not a single one of them has ever been willing to go all the way—until now.
I have every intention of being the first.
And I know just where to start.
“Father.” I clasp his hand in mine. The two of us joined in unspoken solidarity, when Cade calls to him from across the room.
At first Leandro ignores him, but it only causes Cade to shout louder. “What do you want?” Leandro barks, making no effort to disguise his annoyance.
“What do you mean, what do I want? What the hell are you doing with him?” Cade crosses the room in a handful of steps, his voice steeped in outrage, as he says, “You’re not seriously considering giving him his job back, are you?”
“Of course not.” Leandro spares his son a cursory glance, just long enough to see him visibly relax, before he shifts his focus to me. “I’m giving him your job.”
“What the—?” Cade stammers. So enraged by the situation, he can barely get to the words. “Are you freaking crazy? Dace hates us! He’s out to destroy us! He’s working with the Seeker. They’ve planned this all along, and you’re playing right into their hands!”
Leandro meets my gaze straight on. “Is that true?”
“It was.” I take a moment to acknowledge Cade, reveling in the look of defeat plastered across his face. “But not anymore.” My glowing red eyes confirm what words can’t.
Leandro turns to Cade, voice filled with loathing as he says, “Clear out your office and make room for your brother. Once that’s done, check in with the kitchen staff and offer your assistance.”
“No. No way.” Cade is red-faced and furious. “I’ve worked way too hard to let you mess it all up!”
“No?” Leandro mocks. “No? And just what are you going to do about it? Go ahead, show me why I shouldn’t choose your brother over you. It’s been so long since I, or anyone else for that matter, last saw the real you.”
Driven by his hatred for me and a true determination to prove himself to Leandro, Cade’s face darkens, his body trembles and shakes. Straining with all that he’s got to make the shift, but the transformation that once happened so easily he could barely contain it will no longer come.
“Just as I thought.” Regarding his son with a look of blatant contempt, Leandro shakes his head and shoves him aside. “I had high hopes for you, but clearly I overestimated your abilities.”
“This is bullshit!” Cade shouts. “It’s the worst kind of trick, and you’re falling for it! Dace is—”
“Dace is the reason you stand here today. Don’t you ever for
get that.” Leandro glowers. His anger so palpable I can actually feel it streaming off him. “First, you do me considerable financial damage when you flooded the tourmaline market. Then you lied about killing the Seeker, and your brother too, for that matter. Then you put this entire family at risk last New Year’s Eve when you couldn’t manage to stop the girl and her crazy father from blowing up the place, after assuring me I didn’t need to get involved because you had it all under control—”
“But I killed Paloma! Did you seriously forget that? Or maybe you’re determined to ignore it because you’re embarrassed by how easily I succeeded where you failed!”
Though he does have a point, it only serves to feed Leandro’s rage. His voice lowers to a whisper that’s far more threatening than any scream could ever be. “You’ve made the tragic mistake of thinking you’re one step ahead of me, when the fact is, you have brought shame upon this family by failing it in every conceivable way.” He thumps his son hard in the chest, humiliating Cade to no end. “You are no longer useful to me. No longer a revered member of El Coyote. So pull yourself together, deal with your failings, and show your brother a little respect. So far as I can see, Dace is the only one with any hope of someday replacing me.” Dismissing Cade with an impatient turn of his head, Leandro slides an arm around my shoulders, and says, “Come. We’ll go into my office and nail down the details. By the time we’re finished, your new office should be ready.”