Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 129912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
“When I was pregnant with Killian, I swore that I wouldn’t keep him,” Maeve says, her red-stained lips trembling. “I was afraid, but not of the world. I knew how dangerous Vakeeli was, but that wasn’t what scared me. What scared me was the person I was living with. The father of my children was not a good man, and I didn’t want to bring a child into the mix for him to torment like he’d been tormenting me.”
My eyes expand and my heart drops hearing that. I had a feeling something happened in Maeve’s past. There had to be a reason she started the Vigilante, that group of women defending other women’s honor and saving them from rapists and abusers.
Juniper leans forward. “Mum, you’ll just scare her more.”
“It doesn’t scare me,” I tell them. I take Maeve’s hand, and when her damp eyes land on mine, I cling to it. “Go on.”
Maeve draws in a breath big enough to fill her lungs, then exhales as she swipes at her eyes. Juniper leans back in her chair again, no longer interested in her fruit.
“His name was Tiberius, my now dead husband. He was similar to my brother—Caspian’s father. Back then, men always had the final say so. It didn’t matter if I ran into the streets and screamed at the top of my lungs that he was throwing me into walls and pressing knives to my throat. No one believed me. And even if they did, they never intervened. Of course, there are laws here. Getting rid of a child once pregnant is a criminal offense, but I admit, I’d have rather been sent to The Trench than to spend another day with him.
“But I kept my son. He struck Killian many times when he was older, but I always fought back. And I always lost. Then Rowan came along, but Tiberius favored Rowan. Everyone does.” She shrugs, a faint smile appearing. “But when Juniper was born, that’s when I knew I had to do something. I refused to let his tirade continue. As soon as they told me it was a girl I’d given birth to, I was paralyzed with fear.
“I brought her home one night while her father was sleeping. He didn’t even bother coming to the Mythic lodges to watch her birth, the fucker. A few days went by, and he never touched her. He seemed to disregard her, like she wasn’t a person at all. Like she wasn’t worthy of his attention. Many women were treated that way and still are sometimes. We’ve come a long way since then, but it still happens.
“Anyway, I preferred that he ignored her. I’d have rather him done that than to bother with her at all. But there was one day Juniper wouldn’t stop crying. It was clear Tiberius was becoming frustrated about it so he left the house. When he returned, she was still crying. He was drunk and angry, so he rushed to me and tried snatching her out of my arms. I started screaming and demanding that he hand her back. I begged him to, said I’d soothe her and take her outside for some fresh air, but he wouldn’t hand her back. He kept pushing me, and he had his hand over her mouth. He was trying to silence her, but she only grew rowdier. He was…suffocating her.”
Through my peripheral, I notice Juniper stiffen.
“I kept fighting for her, kicking, biting, screaming,” Maeve goes on. “I assumed Killian and Rowan were in bed, and by then, I gave them sleeping elixirs so they wouldn’t wake and accidentally stumble into their father. The next thing I know, Tiberius is yelling and falling to his knees. And behind him, I see my oldest son holding a dagger.”
I gasp.
“Killian had stabbed him,” Maeve says. “When Tiberius fell, I grabbed Juniper quickly then took the dagger from Killian. I handed Juniper to him and told him to take her back to his room and lock the door. And when he was gone, I finished the job.”
Holy shit.
My heart thumps wildly as Maeve purses her lips, not a single ounce of remorse on her. I cut a glance at Juniper, but she’s not the least bit phased by this part of the story.
As if she’s read my mind, Juniper says, “I’ve heard this story many times from the ladies in the Vigilante. Terrified me at first. It’s a good thing I can’t remember any of that.” She huffs a humorless laugh.
“What I did gives me nightmares every single night. I will never forget it—killing someone like that,” Maeve says. “He was the first person I’d ever murdered. I never wanted it to come down to that. I gave him chance after chance to do better. He only became worse. But as much as it torments me, I will never regret it,” Maeve says, looking between me and Juniper. “As women, we are meant to protect, Willow. And whether we’re ready or not, we will.