Page 99 of Unlocking Ruin

“Henderson won’t be enough.”

“Is that why you set up his marriage?” I ask without thinking.

“Yes,” Alister replies right away.

“Are you going to arrange mine?” There, I asked the one question I’ve been scared to voice out loud.

Alister considers his next words. Then he exhales and stares at his wedding band. “I probably would have tried.”

“Probably?” I ask.

“I can’t now.”

“Why do you sound sad?”

“Because marriages in this world are easy alliances. And now that has been taken from you.”

“Taken?”

“There’s something I need to tell you.” He adjusts his cufflink, positioning it correctly. “When Steffen blackmailed me, he changed the deal after he took you.”

My heart pounds in my ears. “He trapped me, didn’t he?” I whisper. I knew it. Someone like Steffen doesn’t give up their muse without a backup plan. “Steffen made you give me back to him.”

A storm grows inside me. Anger and… joy. It feels wrong. I should only feel rage over Steffen’s last move.

“He did the opposite,” Alister says, shocking me.

I lean back in my chair, which spins a little. The heat on my screen feels too warm. “What do you mean?”

“Steffen made a deal with me, one signed by The Rites of Passage. We are all forced to comply. The deal stated that once I gave him Nelson, I would give you the freedom to choose.”

“Choose what?” I whisper.

“Your future, who you want to marry.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know. Steffen could have asked for his own safety. Technically, it’s my right to hunt him down. To punish him for blackmailing me. Instead, he chose to gift you the only freedom someone in our world can have. To love freely.”

I grab the edge of my desk and spin my chair away, making sure Alister can’t catch my eyes.

“Do you love him?” Alister asks me.

“You’re my father.” I grimace. “I’d be wise not to tell you about the men in my life. Knowing you, you’d hunt them down.”

“Should I?” Alister asks in a calm, collected tone. From the corner of my eye, I see him pull on his tie and loosen it. “He took you from me, used you, stalked you. Should I hunt him down, Rylan?”

“Why haven’t you?”

“Because he gave you something I could not. Freedom. As your father, I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe, and if that had meant demanding you marry another, I would have.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Steffen called me.”

My hair falls over my eyes as I whip around to face him. He reads my reaction instantly. Perfect—now he knows I love him.

“The Rites of Passage said if Steffen contacted you, they would…” I gulp. I can’t voice it.