Danny Torent's POV

There's this logic about connecting animals to human emotions. They say that happiness is like an Eagle whose sky is the limit. Stress is like the Sloth. Anxiety is an owl that hoots in the darkness and looks for what isn't there.

And then there's anger.

It's a snake that wraps itself around the heart and kills its victim from the inside out.

And like other emotions, anger has its signs no matter how hard one tries to hide it. It starts with pinched facials and rigid movements, and my favourite is the drastic actions that happen afterwards.

As I eat the distance between Penny and me, I spot all the symptoms, but she has a new one.

Tears.

They flow down her face and drop into the fountain. Penny's lips tremble as she looks at her reflection in the water. She sees the only person who could stop her waterworks. Running her hands through her head, she pulls it so hard that some strands of blonde hair pull out.

She turns away from her reflection and paces in front of the fountain. Stopping again to glance at her reflection, she screams and pulls out her gun. Aiming the object at the reflection, she pulls the trigger.

The bullets enter the water one after the other as the chips fall to the floor at her feet. She continues to fire at her reflection until the barrel empties. Flinging the gun away, she pulls a knife from her boot and slashes her reflection till her sleeves soak with water.

There was no stopping her.

I reach her and stand aside as she moves with precision. Her knife slices through the air as she tries to injure her reflection, but as you can tell, no blood bathe.

Tired, she slumps against the fountain and sits on the floor. She cradles her knees to herself and cries softly in them. I continue to watch her, allowing her to deal with her emotions.

Her sobs turn into sniffs as she rests her head against her knees and looks at me tearfully. Once I notice her still demeanour, I ask. "Are you ready to talk?"

"I see her, Danny." She sighs. "I see her every bloody time I look in the mirror, and I'm sick of it. All I want is for her to stand beside me and be my sister till the day I die. She's my missing piece. My other half. The person I want to conquer the world with. If I have to live here for the rest of my life, I want her to live here with me."

"What about Rachael and Sam, your grandparents?"

Her laugh has no humour as she replies. "Rachael is lovely, but I know it's too late for me to have a motherly figure in my life. As for Sam, the man might be a wonderful father figure, but he's broken me. No, thank you."

I don't have the heart to tell her that the person she wants by her side might be the same person who wants her head on a silver platter.

I walk to her and pick her up with her shoulders. I keep eye contact with her and see the changes. The vulnerability in her blue eyes speaks volumes as her golden hair glistens in the moonlight. Her face crumples in despair as the seconds tick by. She wants me to offer a solution, but this is beyond my power. If Lola joined forces with the French Dynasty, she is our enemy now.

Such news would make Penny use the knife against herself instead of the reflection. I take a different route to avoid that.

"I need you to calm down and breathe," I say.

I inhale slowly and exhale along with her. Once her erratic breathing gets under control, I pick her up bridal style and carry her towards my room.

On our walk there, I say. "Penny, this place will change us for the worse. It will make us lose sight of who we are to keep up with it. Lola might not return, and you need to accept it before your run mad."

I spy her opening her mouth to argue, but she keeps it shut.

"Yes, she is your other half. You want her next to you, but you can't have both wishes come true. This time last year, we searched for ways to escape this place together. Unfortunately, only one of us left with more scars than a stray. Coming to terms with her absence will be hard, but I need you to find the strength to do so. You must be strong not because of incoming danger, not to put up a front for the Empire members and surely not for Charlie. You must be strong for yourself. Because in the, you and you alone can save yourself."

She looks thoughtful and allows my words to sink in as the lock scans my eye, and I walk into the room. I enter and lock the door after me. Placing her quietly beside Charlie, I offer parting words.

"Every broken piece always fits in, even if it is in an awkward position."

I brush my hair away from her forehead and move away from the bed.

Penny sighs and turns to her side, and falls asleep. I stand at the foot of the bed and watch over them like a guardian angel.

-

"Harder!" Penny yells.

Charlie continues to gasp as she moves frantically above me. Her punches are sloppier than the last.

"Harder!"

Tired of entertaining her moves, I flip us around and straddle her. Charlie's brown locks form a hollow around her face, and it is hard not to kiss her while in this position.

"Oi! Danny, you're meant to fight with your hands and not your tongues."

I allow a smirk to coat my lips. Breaking the kiss, I peck Charlie's forehead and get up. Charlie remains on the floor, breathing heavily as her eyes remain trained on the ceiling.

"How in God's name do you two do this every morning?"

I shrug, "Not sure."

Penny struts up to her panting best friend and pulls her from the floor with one hand. She leads Charlie off the mat and walks back to me.

She calls over her shoulder, "Watch how it's done."

We assume an attacking stance and circle each other. Stalking her reminds me of the children I encountered in the halls months ago. They had similar courage to Penny's, but the difference lies in how she runs to me and tries to punch me.

I dodge her punches and go for a roundhouse kick, but she ducks and kicks my legs. Jumping, I grab her hand and flip her onto her ass. She falls flat with a groan. I waste no time in raising my foot and going for her windpipe.

Penny's eyes widen, and she rolls away. Propelling herself upward, she returns to her feet and comes after me again.

I get two punches to her abdomen while she strikes my jaw. My hands spread wide to hold her in place, but she dodges out of my hold and elbows the back of my neck.

She hit my pressure point hard and refuses to give me time to recover. Using her elbow, she strikes the pressure point again, and I stumble forward.

A loud clang on the floor has me stopping my next course of action. I turn around to see rods on the floor and a smirking Charlie at the foot of them.

"If you two want to beat the crap out of each other, at least make it interesting." She says and bows.

She moves backwards and sits indie style on the floor, with her chin propped in her hands.

Penny and I exchange looks, and we dive for the rods. I was faster than her and got to them first. Hitting them against each other, I spread my legs apart, raise one above my head and hold one against my torso.

"Bring it on," Penny mutters under her breath and mimics my position. She uses her fingers to beckon me forward.

I charge for her and flip a few steps away. Turning in the air, I use the staff to hit her back and head. Landing on my toes, I twirl and form a wall with the rods. Penny turns and throws me off balance with a roundhouse kick. I use one rod to block her and the other to hold the leg and flip her.

She lands on the floor and pants. I point the staff to her chest and give her a pointed look.

"Ready to admit defeat?"

She answers me by spitting blood on the floor and gripping the staff. She pulls the rod to make me stumble forward for her to kick me backwards. Using her hands to raise herself up, she wipes under her nose and raises her hands in a fighting position.

"Charlie, never call quits."

She says and charges for me once again.

Such a stubborn ass.

I swipe the staff in the air and move toward her. She dodges the swipes and moves to the left and punches my face. I turn and swipe the rod for her side, but she bends back and kicks the rod from my hand.

She smirks at me and starts a series of backward flips toward the rod. I stop her with the rod, but the girl was damn fast. She gets to the rod in record time and grabs it.

Penny takes the rod and jumps in the air. She aims the rod at my head. I use mine to block her and force her backwards.

Our clashing rods are the only noise in the room as we try to knock the other down. Out of nowhere, she hits my rod out of my hand, using hers like a fencing sword. I move backwards away from her swift strikes while looking for a way to get my rod or a weak point.

Penny didn't give me enough time to think because she struck me on the ribs twice. She flicks her wrist and brings me to my knees with a single blow to my abdomen and to my calves.

She holds the rod to my throat and puffs. Her blue orbs were solid with an intense emotion that made me narrow mine.

I raise a brow, flick the rod away, and stand.

"Why the look of hatred, Griffin?" I ask.

I know the look isn't for me, but who is it for?

"Drop it, Torent." She says to me before turning to Charlie.

"And that, Charlie is how you bring a man to his knees." She says with a triumphant smirk.

Charlie cocks her head, "You missed the part where you take off your clothes and whisper dirty words."

"The only dirty words said here are the ones used to make men and women bleed with passion," Chloe says from the doorway.

"Mom!" Charlie stands and makes a beeline for the older version of herself.

In a thin gown, Chloe uses the door to brace herself for the tight hug from her daughter. Charlie's hands go around her mom, and the two say quiet words to each other.

I grip Penny's shoulder comfortingly. Knowing the blonde as well as I do, I can tell she's beating herself over what happened while we were in Miami.

She thinks that if we had found Valentia sooner, Charlie won't have watched her mom almost die.

Charlie and Chloe separate and face us. With a smile, Chloe waves Penny over. Penny walks to them and hugs Chloe as well. The women look at me expectantly, and I take a step back.

"I'm good, thanks."

Chloe rolls her eyes and sighs. "I heard you found Megan."

Penny's glare is hot enough to make me burn, but I remain flesh and bone instead of ash and dust.

"And I know you want her to find information about the French Dynasty for you. I talked to her last night, and we made a deal. We could use her and me as bait-"

"Fucking no!"

"Over my dead body!"

Charlie and Penny say before Chloe could finish her statement.

Ignoring her daughters, Chloe continues speaking. "to draw them to us. That way, we can catch both the French Dynasty and my former husband's enemies together. I have a strong feeling that they are working together."

"Mom, if you think I'm going to let you go through with that plan, then they must have pumped too many drugs into your system in the infirmary." Charlie grips her mom's hand tightly.

"Why do you think the French and the Chinese would team up?" I ask.

"Why won't they?" she retorts, "After all, they have a common goal."

"To make the British Empire fall to its knees," Penny says with a sigh.

"So why is my mom the sacrificial lamb here?" Charlie asks as her grip on Chloe grows tighter.

"It's not about being a Martyr, Chars. Your mom and mine are of value to them. If they get them, then they can get to us." I tell her calmly.

Her eyes shift between all of them as she struggles to comprehend the scene before her. The feeling of losing your loved one repeatedly isn't easy to handle. And Charlie does that theory justice.

"Meanwhile, a turn of events is always welcome," Sam announces his presence.

We turn to look at him, and I see the older people in the room glare at each other.

Dressed in a suit, he chews on a toothpick as he slips his hands into his pockets. His eyes shift around the room as he removes the thin wood from his mouth.

"Is our deal still in order?" Sam asks her as he flicks his toothpick away.

Chloe nods and turns away.

"What deal?" Penny and I ask at the same time.

"Chloe wanted to hand herself over to Mr Li's enemies, but I had a better plan instead. We'll make them believe that she's dead. That way, the only person they would want is Kasie. I did some digging, and Kasie owes those men a huge chunk of money."

Penny glares at her grandfather. "And how are we supposed to make an army of dozens of men believe she's dead?"

"Simple." He says, "She'll go into hiding back in Africa. It's easier for her to blend in with where she's from."

"But we can't go home." Charlie injects with a frown. "Our relatives want our blood, so going home isn't an option."

I think about Sam's plan and agree with it. Better his bitch sister than my future mother-in-law. If it were up to me, I'd tie Kasie up and leave her in the borders of France.

"Actually, they don't," I say. "They only want to talk."

"How do you know that?"

"I had a little chat with your cousins. They've missed you terribly."

Charlie glares at me and goes to open her mouth, but Sam beats her to it.

"Also, on the matter of the takeover. Peyton, is Danny still your choice of second in command?"

The blonde girl nods as she side-eyes me.

Sam says, "The bloodlines have to be continued, which is why Marcel and Charlie have to be your third and fourth in commands, respectively."

"What about Marci?"

At the mention of the next in line for the third in command, Sam smiles.

"The girl has a wicked tongue and promises to pay me tenfold if her dad dies here. She doesn't seem to realise that the war coming will have casualties, and it's out of my hands."

"I thought we agreed to leave my daughter out of this." Chloe glares at the man.

Sam tsks, "You laid down your complaint, but it's impossible. She's the only living offspring of Oscar. Except if another one turns up before December, your daughter will join Peyton to rule."

Chloe scoffs at his logic. "What if you exiled us away?"

"You come under my roof looking for protection; this is the best I can give you. I didn't write the rules of the land I abide by them. And since you live, I suggest you do too."

Chloe marches up to the patriarch of the British Empire and says menacingly to his face. "One of these days, Sam Griffin, the toes you've stepped on will come for your head. Best you know it."

With an injured side, the woman storms out of the room. The butcher knife strapped to her back glints in the sunlight as she walks past the window.

Sam sighs and turns back to us. "I believe I owe you two an apology." He directs at Penny and me.

"I didn't mean to take advantage of you two at your weakest. Sometimes, I'm blinded by the bigger picture and forget that the smaller ones are important."

I nod and extend my arm to him. As he shakes it, Penny mutters under her breath in a scoff. "Sometimes."

"What was that Peyton?"

Penny glares at the man, but it melts off as he ruffles her hair. He turns his attention to Charlie and holds out his hand to her.

"In the past, we were hard on you because of the colour of your skin, which was wrong. I apologise on behalf of the Empire. From your generation onward, we will make things right. Your protection and that of your mother will be the top of our priorities, especially when you take over as fourth in command." He says softly to Charlie.

"When do you plan to kill off Kasie, Joey, and Jordan?" I ask.

"During the crowning ceremony. It's best to start a new generation with less wolf in sheep's clothing." He eyes the rods on the floor and grins. "I'll leave you three to continue your training."

He turns on his heel and walks in the same direction as Chloe. As he leaves, Charlie heads back into the room.

Penny glares at me to pass on her message. "When were you going to tell me you contacted your mother?"

"When I knew it was right."

Translation: never.

"What?" Charlie asks from inside.

"Nothing," we say at the same time.

She continues to glare at me as we walk back to the mat. She picks up her staff and motion for Charlie to pick up the other one.

I made a vow to uncover all the secrets kept from me when the year started; never did I promise to share them.

Charlie looks at the staff in annoyance. "Instead of beating the crap out of each other with sticks, why can't we try karate?"

Penny places her staff on the floor and rests on it. "Okay."

Penny throws the staff off the mat, and the two women walk to each other. When they are a few feet apart, they bow and assume karate positions. I use my right hand as a sword and swipe between them to begin.

As they fight, I stand at the end of the mat and observe their moves. Charlie enters her element whenever she fights karate. She gracefully blocks all of Penny's moves and gives a few of her own.

Think of a lion toying with a rat before he kills it. Even though they both took karate during childhood, Charlie was clearly better at it. In a matter of minutes, Penny lands on her back with blood dripping from her nose. Charlie stands before, hands in position to continue attacking if Penny doesn't back down.

Penny allows her head to fall to the ground and raises two fingers into the air. "Alright I give."

Charlie beams and flips her hair behind her ears. She sits next to her best friend and massages her hands.

"Now that you've got that out of your system, we need to talk," I say. "Charlie, you need to go home."

The brunette glares at me. "What do you know?"

"I ran into Terry."

"You know he's not wrong, Charlie," Penny says from her place on the floor.

Charlie turns her glare to Penny. "Whose side are you on?"

"You kicked my ass. Do the math." Penny huffs. "Look, I talked to Taryn and Terry, too. Both of them refused to tell me why they need you to go home. They only emphasised the consequences of what would happen if you didn't."

"And we're trying to handle the issues here and limit the blood bath. Taryn said that the meeting was after Winter. How long will it last?"

Charlie sighs and rests her head on Penny's stomach. "Should only be a week. That's if Taryn and I don't kill each other."

"What is the deal between you two, anyway?"

"It's complicated."

"Sweetie, complicated is on a holiday with Jake and the Neverland pirates, searching for our asses. Chars, you are about to be the fourth in command of an Empire that can't stand your background."

"Guys, I don't want to talk about it, and I'd appreciate it if your drop it." She huffs, "Besides, we have bigger fish to fry."

Penny pats Charlie's head while I tilt my head.

Another secret to uncover.

"Yes, fish like Megan." It's Penny's turn to glare at me.

"Penny, if I told you I spoke to my mom, you would have killed her, no questions asked. I understand that you and Sam want to take revenge, but we have to do this logically. And the person who killed Faith is already dead."

"Who?"

Both women sit up and groan from the influx of blood to their heads. They hold their heads in place and look at me expectantly.

"It was Valentia. And as you already know, she's already dead."

Penny sighs and drops back to the floor.

I can only hope that one day, she'll come to terms with her mom's death. That she'll realise that Faith's death wasn't her fault. And everything that happened afterwards was out of her control.