My Brother's Keeper
Chapter 25: The Audacity of Preston Stuart

As the sun sets, my stomach swirls with anxiety. Can I pull off this royal persona? What if he talks to his dad? My mother’s journal stated that Doctor Stuart was kind to her, whereas his son was dark and worthy of sacrifice. How did she decide who died and who lived?

“Nervous?” Odile asks, poking at the fire.

My sister is as solid as they come and has been more than willing to show me her magic. My concern about her turning on me is even stronger between new dresses and dancing flames. Something tells me Preston isn’t at the end, but I must do this. No matter what happens to me, I have to open the gates.

“A little,” I reply with a shrug.

“Just stick to the plan, and everything will turn out fine.” Odile spins a few more flames with her fingers and sits down on one of the large logs she had brought over from the small cluster of trees behind us.

“What do I have to do with the last two?”

“I was banned from Eider. They used your magic to ensure I could never physically step on their soil. You had to take out Irene Patterson. Otherwise, we would still be the third victim. Besides, you are far better suited for the surgical aspect of the job. I was never any good with anatomy.” Odile smiles wickedly. “Preston is more of revenge murder. Just remember, he convinced our brother he wasn’t good enough to be alive. Maybe we wouldn’t be here if he had just kept to himself and not said anything.”

I know she isn’t telling me something. Our mother’s journal had mentioned Preston hurting Odile. I don’t know when it happened or what happened. All I know is she fears him. The consecrated ground is interesting; it says a lot about my sister. After all, the last night she spent at Eider, she had murdered Doctor Lawrence in her room. I suppose that would be grounds for banishment. They knew I was there, but they thought she and me to be the same.

“Are you going to stand there all day and stare at the water? Here he comes,” Odile growls, pointing out across the water.

I see the boat, and my body goes slack. I’ve spent most of the week trying to replace a way to get rid of him so that I know Pax is safe. Now I’m standing on an island in a dress made from magic and blood, trying to seduce a man so I can turn femme fatale and slice his throat.

“I didn’t know this place had a dock,” I say as the boat stops.

“It didn’t. While you were out playing with fairies and elves, I was here setting up what is to be our biggest kill.” Odile smiles and claps her hands. “This, sister, is going to be epic.”

I stand by the fire with my hands behind my back, waiting for Preston to show. I shouldn’t be surprised when I see the single shadow spread into three. He hasn’t come alone, and I know the two men with him are just as ruthless as he is. Nurse Patterson wasn’t kidding when she said the families had been making allies.

“Well, well, Odette,” Preston whistles as he walks toward me. “If I had known you had a body like that under those baggy clothes, I wouldn’t have beaten you so badly.”

“I believe you took the last beating,” I retort hotly.

Seduction is not in my wheelhouse. Should I have taken his half-assed compliment and giggled like a schoolgirl? Or make a comment that would be borderline taboo?

“Another I hope to be taking again later,” he teases.

My stomach flips, and I nearly vomit. His attempt at flattery is making me sick.

Grand and Maddox both laugh.

“I’m not so sure you can handle round two.” I smile. “Let’s not forget I threw you through a wall.”

Preston steps forward and places his fingers softly around my throat. It takes every bit of me not to attack him. Odile has a plan, and I have to follow it. Grant and Maddox are not the kind to stand by. The moment I move to strike Preston, the two of them will be on me in a heartbeat.

“Might I remind you of the night in my front yard when you appeared in my house?” He leans in and brushes his lips against mine.

I do not reciprocate the kiss. I let him do as he wishes so he’ll let me go and step away from me. Or at least I think that’s what he has planned.

“I apologize for that. I’ve had a horrible case of sleepwalking recently.” I try to sound apologetic, but inside, I’m screaming.

My father should have let me kill him the night in the grass. Then I wouldn’t have to stand here and let him paw at me.

“Something tells me you were there for other reasons. Too bad our fathers had to make such a scene.” Preston winks. “Where’s this sister of yours?”

I notice that she’s gone. Maybe she bailed on me because she even feared the next sacrifice.

I shrug. “She’s around.”

“And your brother?” Preston questions.

“At home.” My answer comes out as a squeak.

When Pax left me on the beach, I prayed he was going home to escape what had happened at Eider. Pixies had assaulted us, and a giant beast chased us down a long hallway. Just to be held at sword point by a group of Elven fighters. There was no way he would come to the island. Everyone is afraid of Preston. Hell, even I am, and I had been in three fights with the man in the last week.

“Probably best. I wouldn’t want the twerp to see his sister in a compromising situation.” Preston licks his lips, his eyes flashing.

I don’t need to know what’s going on in his head to understand what he expects from me.

I want to fight, but I’m grounded. Every will to raise my hands is present, yet I feel as if I’m held in place. What is Odile doing?

“Maddox, how about you and Grant return to the boat to get the cooler? Give me a couple of minutes alone with Odette.” Preston snaps his fingers, and the other two men jump.

“Anything else you want us to grab while we’re there?” Maddox asks as he grabs Grant’s arm and pulls him back in the direction they came from.

“No, I don’t think I will need that tonight.“ Preston laughs as his friends leave us alone.

“What do you want from me?” I ask as he walks in circles around me.

“I don’t get it, Odette. You spent the last three years traveling under the radar. We could have been together plotting our takeover of the kingdom. I feel bad about the way I treated you. If I had known this was under all that trauma and murder, I wouldn’t have been so willing to kill you.” Preston smiles. “Is that what the last week has been? You did not know how to tell me you wanted me?”

Does he seriously think his words are going to make me swoon? Is that what ordinary girls do when a man passively aggressively makes a pass at them? Also, how could he think I would be into him for even a moment? He had tried to have Pax kill himself.

“What makes you think I want you?” I chuckle nervously.

I don’t think I’ve stepped backward until Preston moves toward me and pins me against one of the many trees.

“Is this not enough?” He smirks before pressing his lips to mine.

It isn’t a passionate kiss; I only do it because I need him to be distracted. If I give him a fraction of what he wants, I’ll finish the job efficiently with his goons off at the boat.

“I asked my dad about the missing royal, and he told me something I replace quite interesting.” He narrows his eyes and grips my hips tightly.

“What?” I whisper. Part of me thinks he’s on to me, and another wonders if he wants me to confess.

“You are not the princess. You are the witch’s daughter who caused all of this.” He presses his forehead to mine and grins.

“If you kill me, the gates won’t open,” I choke out.

He snorts. “I have no intention of killing you. I know how this is supposed to work. I also know who Pax is, and I cannot make the same promise for your brother. Killing a fifteen-year-old would have been easier if he had just done what I told him several days ago.” Preston’s fingers dig into my skin.

“Then what do you want?”

He’s far too close to me, and I’m increasingly uncomfortable.

“You and I could rule the entire kingdom,” he replies with a grin.

“Why would you want to be with me?” I press.

“Years ago, I met a girl, and she and I made a deal.”

“What was it?” I try to look him in the eye.

“She would get her mother’s magic, and I would get the key to doing what I wish.”

There it is, my confirmation that Odile is setting me up. My mother had believed Odile was hurt. Therefore, she placed Preston on the list. However, we need Eider’s blood to open the gate. If Preston isn’t willing to sacrifice himself, he must have brought a contingency plan.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Preston asks, pulling me closer to him.

I stare at him with my mouth agape. I do not know what to do to rectify my sister’s betrayal. She had always wanted our mother’s magic, and now she has half, which means he must have mine.

“Maddox is my cousin, and as we speak, your sister is slitting throats and opening the gate so I can take the throne.” He smiles and presses his lips to mine again.

Maddox isn’t on the list. My mother didn’t choose him. If Odile thinks she could change Mother’s plans, she’s deathly mistaken, or does she even care?

“You know my sister?” I ask, wishing I could do more than stand here.

He laughs. “Do you think I’m stupid? Whose idea do you think this was? We open the borders, allow everyone to go home, and I get you.”

“Why do you want me to be the queen?” I question.

“Oh, I never said you would be queen. All I said was you would be mine.”

I won’t say I like the sound of his plans. I need Pax to be safe.

“Shit.” I breathe in and close my eyes.

“Finally figuring it out, are you?” He smirks. “Did you know my father and your mother had a little thing going on when she was at Eider?”

I shake my head. How could I know? I didn’t know her at all. Even the few tormenting moments I got with her at night left me knowing nothing.

“Oh yes, you wouldn’t know because you were trapped inside the mirror. They planned everything, from your mother’s death to your sister’s manifestation inside your body. Oh yes, the only thing not planned was Doctor Lawrence taking all your magic.”

Preston kisses my nose before pulling me from the tree and flipping me around so he is posed behind me.

“That was why he had to die, Odette. Because he and Nurse Patterson knew what would happen. They wanted the key to themselves so that when the time came, they could hurry on through the door and leave everyone else behind. But I couldn’t have that! No, Coscoroba was supposed to be mine.”

Odile appears out of the darkness with a bloody knife in her hand.

“Is he dead?” Preston asks, holding me tighter.

“Maddox? Oh yes, very dead, and Grant too. I have them by the basin. Mother knew Soren couldn’t keep you in the mirror forever. She figured it all out and changed the prophecy.” Odile smiles.

“But the diary?” I exclaim, my mouth falling open in shock.

She scoffs, “You were just as gullible as our father.”

“What about Pax?” I demand.

“Yeah, he’s collateral damage. If you had kept your damn mouth shut, he would never know he was the heir. Karen knew he was in danger when you stepped foot into that house.” Odile’s eyes go wild with rage.

“Wait! Soren?” I try to pull away from Preston, but he holds me tightly.

“Yeah, my dad had to take care of him. He was onto us the whole time. Kept waiting for you to appear where he could reveal all the dark secrets,” Preston replies, nuzzling my neck.

“You killed Soren?” I whisper, my eyes going wide.

“I wouldn’t say killed, but he is currently indisposed on an island with your dead mother.” Preston laughs.

“There is just one more thing to do,” Odile says, cleaning the blood from the knife.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“I need your blood!” she squeals as she reaches out to grab my arm.

“No scars, Odile. I need her in pristine condition for my coronation,” Preston demands.

“Of course, I forgot you had an aversion to scars.” She rolls her eyes and presses the tip of the knife into my wrist.

I don’t know why she needs my blood, but it has something to do with my magic. The deal was she got all of Mom’s powers, not just half.

“Where’s the bottle?” Odile demands and Preston points toward the boat.

“It was in the cooler,” he replies as if she’s supposed to know what he’s talking about.

“No, it wasn’t. I looked,” she says with a growl.

They lock eyes, and both of them glare at each other. My sister is sure Preston’s trying to pull a fast one. Get the key and the magic all at the same time.

“Do you mean this?” I hear Pax’s voice and turn my head to replace my brother holding a mason jar with white glitter inside.

“Don’t just stand there! Get him!” Odile screams at Preston.