All Hail the King (Celestra Forever After Book 6)

by Addison Moore

“Not yet.” Laken pulls her back. “You’ll want to hear this firsthand.” She turns to my brother. “It’s your turn, Wes.”

  31

  Wesley

  “Laken—” I start as I try my best to pull her in, but she bounces out of my grasp.

  “Don’t you touch me.” Her voice seethes, and that’s all I need to break my heart.

  It’s happening again. Through my own foolish measures, I’ve got her hanging by a thread, and Coop is already inching his way over, wasting no time in moving in for the kill.

  “How could you?” Her voice is faint as she shakes her head, but there’s no sign of disbelief in her eyes. She knows deep down in her heart it was wholly possible. “Don’t answer that. Your devotion to your brother, to the cause, to the ridiculous Barricade that does nothing but torment the Factions—it propelled you forward to pretend to be him. Whatever twisted reason he concocted to have you do it, you bought it hook, line, and sinker. Which makes me wonder if in some way you are just as desperate as he is. I’m no longer concerned with the why, Wes. I’ve seen the outcome of the story, one too many times. You will always choose the Barricade over me—over your fidelity to our family and me. Our joke of a family.”

  “What?” My hands gently wrap themselves around her arms, and she gives me a good push the hell away from her. “Laken, you know I love you—I love our family.”

  “Stop it!” she bellows so loud her voice sounds as if it’s shredding her vocal cords on its way out. “You slept with Chloe!” she shouts so loud the words deafen me. “And worse than that”—she pounds her fists on my chest—“you did the unthinkable. I had other intentions with you tonight. Wes, I had Charlie take a paternity test. She’s not yours.” She turns to Cooper. “I’m so sorry, Coop. I found out a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been trying to figure out how to best straighten this out.” Her eyes flit my way once again, and there isn’t a hell of a lot of sympathy in them for me.

  “Oh my God.” I close my eyes, wishing the entire damn world would disappear. “Laken. You have to believe me when I say that only Ezrina knew the true results. She’ll vouch for that. I did not know, and I’m sorry.”

  Laken shakes her head. “No. I’m sure you’re right. She will vouch for you because you have her by the DNA. You know she loves Tobie, and I’m sure you arranged to have those results favor you no matter what the answer might have been. Guess what, Wes? A technicality is still a lie.” The words spear from her loud as a gunshot. “Because of your insecurity, you made Cooper lose out on the first year of his daughter’s life.” Tears rain down her face. “And I still wasn’t going to leave you. My love for you and Cooper was equal up until that point. That was what I had finally concluded—stay with Wesley. I thought, we have a brand new baby. Our own child. I know that you love me, Wesley. I will never doubt that. You will never have to prove that to me. You were my best friend growing up, my first love. You will always have a place in my heart, but for the same reasons I parted ways with you at Ephemeral, I’m leaving you now. You simply cannot change.” She cups the side of my face for a moment, and her touch stings as much as her words. “Tonight, I was going to tell you that I knew the truth about Charlie. And then I was going to ask you to leave the Barricade. I came with an ultimatum. But I can’t even give that to you now. Your actions with Chloe all those months ago have proven that you cannot deprogram yourself. My God, the Barricade owns you. The Counts killed your body all those years ago and they stole your soul that same night. And I am so very sorry I ever got to witness it. I am so very disappointed in you.” She swallows hard, and her chest bucks. “I’m leaving you, Wes. I don’t believe in the Barricade and its barbarous ways. Some days I even wonder if you truly understand what you’re fighting for. Power isn’t anything. They say it’s lonely at the top for a good reason, Wes. Because it is. There is nothing up there—no one to care for you. The golden carrot you’re chasing—it isn’t real. Don’t try to make this up to me, Wes. Nothing you do or say will change my mind. I just hope one day you wake up and do the right thing. Leave the Barricade and run as far away from it as you can possibly get.” She turns to Coop. “Please, forgive me. I would like to stay at your place if you don’t mind.”

  “Our place,” he corrects. “Your home has waited for you, Laken. Let’s get out of here.”

  I watch as Coop wraps an arm around my wife, drops a kiss over the top of her head, and they disappear into the crowd together.

  The music ratchets up a notch as loud and inviting as a seizure, and yet all I hear is the sound of the world crashing around me.

  Hell.

  I’m already there.

  I look to my brother and meet with his stone-cold eyes. Here we were so frightened of spending eternity away from those we love, away from Laken, and I’ve already lost her. I’m damned either way.

  Yes, eternity is a hell of a long time, but I would much rather have Laken’s respect for five golden minutes than an infinite amount of time spent with her loathing, her horrific disappointment in me.

  Laken sees me as a coward. A liar. A thief. And she’s not wrong. Not on a single count.

  A hot tear rolls down my cheek as I look around at the familiar faces, all bearing their judgments over me.

  Chloe steps up and spits in my face, hot and thick sludge right in my eye.

  I wipe the slime off my skin and blink over at her.

  Chloe Bishop, the cheated, the victim—not that she sees herself that way nor should she. What was given to her was as close to any form of comeuppance the world has ever doled her way. Nobody here will cry a river for her, nor will they for me.

  But Laken. She is determined to never be mine again, and it’s far more than I can ever bear to think about. I would do anything to have her smile my way once again and mean it. I would do anything to trade the words I’m so disappointed in you—and turn them into something sublime—like the words, I am so proud. That is what my itching ears yearn to hear from Laken. At best, the most she will ever give me again are words in any capacity.

  Laken, what have I done to us? We had it all. Heaven on earth.

  I glance to Gage and a red-hot rage infiltrates my bones.

  I pull him in hard until we’re nose to nose. “You did this. You and your threats. You knew you had me by the balls. You had no problem throwing my relationship with Laken under the bus to save what?” I howl in his face. “You could have had her. You could have had Skyla and the Barricade. Everything was yours for the taking. You were never that bright.” I let go without any fanfare. I’m not embedding his back into the wall. I’m not spitting in his face or decking him. I’m going low, and I’m yanking hard and fast.

  “I’m done,” I pant the words out. “I’m leaving the Barricade. You sink with your ship because I know that is what you are determined to do, but you will do it without me. You cost me everything, and now I’m going to make sure you rot in hell right along with me.” His eyes widen a notch in terror, and I relish the moment. “That’s right. I’m breaking faith with the Barricade. I’m siding with Celestra.” I take off and roar, “See you in hell, brother.”

  32

  Logan

  Holy hell.

  Chloe laughs as she steps up with the party at the Harrisons’ still raging around us like a building inferno. Surely, this night has hit its crescendo. It could not get worse—or perhaps better if it tried.

  “Oh, Gage.” Chloe shakes her head at him, her rage refining itself, straining itself through her thirst for vengeance until it’s at its purest form. “We are off to a good start already. Good luck surviving a day without Wes or me to back you. Find a rock—better yet, find a casket to crawl into. You are a spineless, spineless creature that nobody on earth wants anything to do with. The Factions have all but turned on you. There is no hope for you. Do us all a favor and go back to paradise where you belong. But you won’t. And for that I’m grateful. You’ll be much easier to eviscerate when you’re at an arm’s length. And I will do exactly that. Just
you wait and see.”

  She takes off with Brody in her wake, and I look to Gage to assess the damage.

  Dudley scoffs. “Entertainment at its finest.” He bows to Skyla. “Ms. Messenger, I look forward to seeing you in the morrow along with the little goats. Thanks to the new developments, it appears we have much to discuss.” His head turns hard to the right with his ear cocked just enough as if he were listening to something the rest of us aren’t privy to. “Mind yourself, my love. Wickedness abounds this fine evening.”

  He steps her way and lands a lingering kiss over her lips, and just as I’m about to pull him off and send him back to paradise himself, he evaporates to nothing, right here in the open as if our people didn’t have enough shit to worry about these days.

  Skyla’s phone buzzes in her hand. “Logan, I’ll be right back. Laken needs me next door.”

  Bree links arms with her. “I’ll go with you. I may not care for Laken in general, but I’m all for her leaving that scumbag.”

  Ellis takes off in their direction. “I need to find G before she hears what an asshole her brother is from someone else.”

  The crowd around us disperses, and it’s just Liam, Gage, and me. Family—enemies all in one.

  Liam takes a breath and expels it slowly. “My parents died at the hands of the Countenance.” He tips his head toward Gage. “And you stepped into the Counts 2.0 without so much as blinking.” He shakes his head. “No way. Wes is wrong. You are not stupid in any capacity. Something sinister is dragging you into the muck and mire, and you are relentless in following along.” He wipes his face down with his hand. “I’m going to talk to Barron, break all of this to him and Emma.”

  “No”—Gage raises a hand, weak with protest—“let me.”

  “You don’t get that privilege.” Liam swallows his emotions down. “You’ve done enough.” He stalks off, and our corner of the room grows cold.

  “And then there were two.” Gage glares my way. “Let me have it. Sucker punch me if you can. I dare you to try.”

  “You won’t get that from me. I figure you have your reasons. You weren’t unfaithful to Skyla—you just wanted her to assume you were. Believe it or not, that feels like a pinhole of light in what’s been a very dark cave we plummeted into exactly one year ago. And believe me when I say I still don’t know what the hell to make of it.”

  “Good. I plan on keeping it that way. Look, I’m not hanging around, so if you’ve got something else to say, get it out. And if you don’t, I’m out the door.”

  “Yes.” I jam the palm of my hand into his gut to keep him from going anywhere. “I do have something I want to say. You are in a shitload of trouble, and I’m not talking with the Justice Alliance, that kangaroo court that has let you off the chain for the last twelve months. I’m talking about the fact Celestra has walloped your ass effectively overnight. Do the right thing, Gage. Step away from the Barricade. If you fall, the Fems fall and this entire nightmare is over. Take off your crooked crown and give Skyla her standing back. Jump off the crazy train. Do it for your kids, if not for anyone else.”

  “My kids,” he mutters to himself and glances around the room with a renewed urgency. “Damn right, I’m doing it for my kids. To hell with Wesley. He’s not taking me anywhere with him.”

  Gage takes off in a fury like a man on a mission. Dear God, help us all.

  I head next door and help Coop load Laken’s things into his truck and mine. It takes over an hour to square away the kids’ things alone, but we get it all done.

  Skyla comes over to me as I seal the tailgate of my truck.

  She offers a pained smile. “Laken is going to need somewhere for the kids to sleep tonight. I’ve got two spare playpens still in their boxes at Whitehorse in the garage.”

  “I’ll get them.” I dot her lips with a kiss. “Why don’t you go with Coop and Laken and help her get settled. It’s only a few minutes out of the way. I won’t be long.” I look deep into her eyes as they shimmer like diamonds in the night. “Things are shaping up for Celestra. We’ve got this, Skyla. Everything is turning around for us. Gage will come around, too. I’m sure of it.”

  “Don’t hold your breath.” She hikes up on her tiptoes and presses her lips to mine as if she were hungry for everything I could give her. She pulls back with her lids seductively low. “I know we went through hell tonight, but I very much plan on cashing in on my birthday gift when we get home. I need you, Logan—more than ever. I love you, Logan Oliver.”

  A soft moan emits from me. “Not more than I love you.” I pull her in tight and hold her like that as long as I can. “I love you, Skyla. More than the heavens love the sun and the moon.”

  She pulls back. “My all-time favorite words. See you in a minute.” She lunges in for another kiss before taking off for Laken’s car.

  I hop into my truck and head for Whitehorse, unsure whether to laugh or cry at the outcome of the insanity that played out tonight.

  Gage and all of the memories we shared growing up flood me all at once—wrestling as kids, t-ball, football, warring over Skyla, fighting for what was right—on the right side of the celestial law. He was my brother. He still very much is. The entire world might have given up on him, but I can’t seem to do it. A very stubborn, loyal part of me refuses to even try.

  The bowling alley comes up at the end of the road, and a dull smile rides on my lips before dissipating. I turn into the driveway across the street, at the house I built for Skyla, and kill the engine. I’m about to open the garage when something catches my eye. The door to the front of the house is wide open, the peach glow of lights emanating from inside.

  My first thought is Lex and Michelle swung by. Maybe they were picking something up and forgot to shut the door, but I do a quick sweep of the vicinity and there’s no sign of anyone’s car. Nev and Ezrina have a private garage off the back. They left the party hours ago, so I’m assuming they’re already asleep.

  I hop out of the truck and run up the porch.

  “Hello?” I shout, caustic and mean in the event I’m about to run into trouble, but my voice comes back to me in an echo. The house looks empty.

  Something is off. Something is very, very wrong.

  A viral panic strikes me, and I run through the kitchen, down the stairwell through the pantry into the Wonderground.

  “Ezrina?” I bellow and run like hell to the lab. “Nevermore?” My voice echoes, desolate and hopeless, and then I see it. Tables are overturned, Gage’s head lies on its side, the glass box that once contained it broken in shards. I step carefully from room to room, the station where Ezrina was working with the serum utterly decimated, and my heart lodges in my throat because I know what this means. The serum, the afterbirth, the stem cells we relied on so very much all up and gone. I stagger to the left, only to find each of those glass receptacles that Ezrina used to house the Viden youth has been shattered to pieces, the room flooded with blue keeping solution.

  “Ezrina?” I run down to their living quarters, the lights are on, their beds unmade as if they were taken by force.

  Ezrina, Nev, baby Alice.

  They were much too dangerous to the enemy.

  And now they are gone.

  The sound of footsteps rustling in this direction grows from behind. I turn just in time to see a bat come crashing over my face and the world goes black.

  33

  Skyla

  The rain pours down from the sky like a mother’s tears grieving a lost child. I cried those tears once for Gage, and every last ounce of me felt that anguish all over again this night.

  Gage Oliver loves me in his own warped and twisted way. Evil or not, there is something in there that wanted to protect what we had. He didn’t sleep with Chloe—not because he was repulsed from her, not entirely. And now I have a new truth to nurture—a new truth to torment me in the night.

  Laken made a makeshift bed for Charlie on Coop’s couch. We butted the coffee table to it so she wouldn’t roll off. And she took l
ittle Wes Coop to bed with her. I guess I can call him little Wesley now that she’s firmly back with Cooper where she belongs. I know her heart is broken over Wesley’s actions, but thankfully, Coop is there to comfort her. His devotion to her never wavered.

  I texted Logan and told him to park the truck in the garage for the night. The storm hit so hard and fast I’d hate for Laken’s things to get ruined. Poor thing has enough ruined already no thanks to Wes—and to Gage. The finger can be equally pointed his way.

  I hitched a ride back to the party with Bree and asked Logan to take the Mustang and meet me here. No rush. I’m sure Logan could use a moment to catch his breath. Get all the mental vomit this night offered up out of his head.

  The music pulses through the walls of the Harrison estate like a heartbeat, the walls pulsating in rhythm to the horrifically loud music. Bodies thrash as the room continues to fill with Paragon youth. Nothing but a bunch of high school kids. They all look so young. That alone spells out that I’m too old for this.

  Bree dances out into the crowd, thrashing her fist in the air, bouncing to the music with Michelle, Lex, and Nat. They seem to be having the time of their lives, and they should. Heck, I should.

  If anyone should be fist pumping with glee, bouncing on the balls of their feet, it’s me.

  Celestra is right there at the finish line. With Ezrina, Logan, Chloe, and Wes, we are unstoppable. And, in the end, all we needed were Logan and me, our DNA, our leadership, our relentless fight to keep our people safe—okay, so Ezrina was definitely an important part of the equation. After we get over tomorrow’s birthday hump, Logan and I will come up with a way to repay Ezrina and Nev. I’m dying to do just that. A small token of our appreciation. They deserve it all.

  The music ratchets up a notch, and instead of heading toward the dance floor, toward my friends, I go left to the quiet hall Rory lured us into right before she landed us on the back of a hurricane.