Desire & Blood - The Thorne Siblings

34. Followership

Ed shoved me inside and closed the door behind me.

The room was larger than anything I would have expected on a ship. A glass window front with a balcony beyond, a wide bed covered with burgundy satin on the right side, and a massive black leather sofa and other furniture to the left.

The sofa was dominated by Thierry. He sat there, legs crossed, one arm over the backrest, a glass with a brownish liquid in his hands. He got up when he saw us.

My attention was distracted by a painting behind him. It was narrow, but tall, extending all the way from the ceiling to the floor, showing a man in pirate's gear drawn in a classic, realistic style. He had Thierry's eyes. Eyes full of defiance looking straight at me.

"Nice, isn't it?" Thierry asked. "I commissioned it, paid the artist to do it... But, please sit." He indicated a chair facing the sofa and sat back himself.

I could confront him now, shout at him, and dig my nails into his eyes, turning blue into crimson. But that wouldn't be helpful, he was stronger than me. Gritting my teeth to wall up the anger broiling inside me, I sat down at the edge of the chair, conscious of how wet and rank I was.

His nod was slow and pensive. "Good." He took a sip, sat straight, and put his glass down. "Anne, I owe you an apology."

I raised my brows.

"Ed can be quite... brutish. And you kicking his... best parts didn't help." He grinned.

"And what did Theresa do to him? He treated both of us like shit."

"Ah... Theresa." He took a long breath and glanced out of the window. "Don't be deceived by her. She's always the innocent victim, bullied and harassed by her big brother... that's her act. She knows how to get what she wants, that woman. Everyone does her bidding... She even controlled my mother. And our father was just the same as she. The two of them got anything from anyone."

"Even if this were true, that's no reason to treat her like that." I bit my lips before they could say more.

He clenched a fist and studied it. "See? She's already caught you with her lies and her smiles, pulling you on her side. Just like my dad did... Weren't you on my side, first? And then she and he... they joined forces, as usual. They pulled you over, made you betray me. Made you a deserter."

He relaxed his hand and exhaled.

Had I betrayed the man?

My gaze moved from his slumped shoulders to the painting behind him. The pirate looked brave, a figure facing a world of enemies with a smirk that challenged them to do their worst—he was ready for whatever they threw at him.

Yet even if I were guilty of betrayal, I owed him no allegiance. I had never joined his team.

Thierry looked up, his gaze echoing the one of the pirate. "But let's not talk about this treacherous family of mine. Let's talk about you."

He emptied his glass, got up, and went to an open bar cabinet at the wall behind the sofa to pour himself some more. "Do you want a drink, too? Old Scotch." He didn't look back at me.

"No, thanks." For a moment, the normalcy of these words hung like a strange, exotic beast in the room.

He walked over to the window and looked outside. Tired of sitting still, I got up to have a closer look, too, arms crossed over my chest.

A door led to a balcony, with smooth walls on both sides and a banister facing the water. The sun was setting into the sea to the right of us, bleeding a fringe of amber along the horizon. Above the ship, the sky was indigo, almost turning black as it touched a range of mountains to the left, miles away. They glowed golden as the last fingers of sunshine caressed them.