Page 96 of Enchanted

The one called Elias smirked, the piercing in his brow catching the light with the movement. “It’s a Gaunt family tradition. Every new generation is named after the same letter of the alphabet.”

Which meant Damien was either their father or their uncle. Knowing our luck, it’d be the former. I surreptitiously started drawing up my power. Beside me, I felt Noah doing the same.

“Please, do take a seat.” Micah nodded to the empty chairs.

Ezra was the first to move, confidently striding over to the seat at the head of the table. After shooting a few looks at one another, his three siblings joined him.

Micah settled into the seat at the other end, clasping his hands together on the table as he smiled at them pleasantly. “We weren’t aware you were back in the country.”

Ezra gave him a thin smile. “Elias has been in London for several years now, but the rest of us returned last week.”

I glanced at Nate, who gave a small nod. Okay, so we did know that Elias had been living locally. That was something, at least.

“Where were you before?” Noah asked conversationally, as if it was a casual question. As if everyone around this table didn’t know that this meeting was far from casual.

“Barcelona.” Emerson was the one to answer that, his voice gruff. Like his brothers, his hair was dark. His was longer than his brothers’, half hiding his face from us. With the tattoos on his hands, he looked exactly like the kind of guy you’d see in a dark alley and then walk in the other direction.

Erik was the only one who hadn’t spoken so far. His eyes were a crystal blue, his full lips pursed. He was leaning back in his chair, just as Nate had been earlier, his shrewd gaze zipping around the table. The whole room, actually. Like he was mapping out exactly where the exits were.

Or what he might be able to use as a weapon if this came down to a fight.

Clever or foolish? Because if it came down to a fight, using an exit would be the only viable plan for the four of them.

“How nice,” Grace said. “I do love Barcelona. Did you ever visit⁠—”

“Can we cut the nicey nicey bullshit?” Elias said suddenly with a sigh. “We all know why we’re here. Let’s just get on with it.”

“Actually we don’t know why you’re here,” Benji said. “Which is why we’re engaging in the ‘nicey nicey bullshit,’ as you so eloquently put it.”

Elias smirked again. God, he was as bad as the twins. “Don’t you get bored of behaving all the time?”

Theo pulled a dagger from somewhere and twirled it between his fingers as he met Elias’s smirk with one of his own. “Wanna go outside and see how I like to behave?”

“Theo,” Micah said sharply. He glared at Theo until he put his dagger away with a sigh.

“I apologise for my brother,” Ezra growled. He too was glaring, but at Elias. “He’s not meant for company.”

Elias blew a kiss at his brother before settling back into his chair.

“Perhaps you should tell us why you requested this meeting,” Micah said.

“Oh, that’s simple,” Ezra said. “We want to help you kill our father.”

Chapter 26

Rami

We were all too well trained to let our surprise show—even the twins schooled their expressions.

“Who is your father?” Micah asked.

“Damien Gaunt.” Erik finally spoke. It was quiet. Measured. “Don’t pretend you didn’t know this already.”

“We didn’t before you entered,” Benji said frankly. “None of our research suggested that Damien had children.”

“We stay under the radar,” Ezra said. “We know our father. What he’s capable of. None of us want to be associated with him.”

Curiosity itched at the back of my neck. “So why come forward now?”