The Serpent's Curse by Lisa Maxwell (read an ebook week .TXT) 📕

at risk for a cause you don’t believe in,” he said quietly. “But for better or worse, Cela and I are committed. If you aren’t, I’ll understand, and we won’t hold that decision against you one bit. But if you don’t want to be involved, I think it’s best if you go now.”

Uneasy silence descended over the room as Abel’s friends suddenly seemed unwilling to look at one another. Aaron and his wife were the first to stand and go, taking their leave without apology or explanation. Three others followed, until it was only Cela, her brother, and Joshua. A moment later, though, Joshua stood as well, his cap in his hands.

“I’m sorry, Abel. I’d like to help, but…” He didn’t finish. Simply turned and left with the rest.

The three of them seemed stuck in the silence, until the sound of a carriage pulling up broke through their stunned disappointment.

“That’ll be Theo,” Viola murmured as the reality of what they’d failed to accomplish struck her. They would be alone against the Order, and they weren’t ready.

Cela went to let Theo in, and when she returned with him, he looked more troubled than usual. “Tell me you have good news,” he said.

“I’m afraid not,” Abel told him. There was still a bit of tension there between the two, Viola noticed. Abel held himself a little straighter, kept his voice a little more formal when Theo was around. He clearly hadn’t forgotten the first time they’d met, on the corner in the Bowery, even with Theo’s willingness to act as their spy.

“They’re all cowards,” Cela said. Her voice seemed to echo in the now-empty room. “Every one of them.”

Abel sighed and looked at his sister. “They’re not cowards, Cela, and you know it. Those are some of the bravest men I know, but I can’t blame them one bit for not wanting to put their necks on the line for this,” he told her. “And you shouldn’t either.”

“Of course I should,” Cela started, but Jianyu placed his hand on her knee to steady her.

“Why?” Abel asked, his brows raised. “What exactly has any Mageus ever done for us except get you wrapped up in their messes?”

“We are grateful for your help,” Jianyu said. “We understand that your friends have lives to protect.”

Abel nodded, looking even more exhausted. “They’re good people,” he told Jianyu. “I think they wanted to help, but Negroes all across this country have a hard enough time these days without inviting more trouble.”

“As though they’re the only ones who suffer,” Viola huffed, her words coming before she could think better of it. Once they were spoken, she felt immediately shocked that she had said them at all. They were words she had heard a hundred times before—her mother’s words and her brother’s. They were her family’s sentiments, but they’d surprised her by coming from her own mouth.

“Viola—” Jianyu’s voice was a warning now.

She felt every pair of eyes in the room upon her, especially Cela’s and Abel’s. Their understanding—their judgment of her—was clear. More, she knew it was deserved.

“I didn’t mean—” But Viola wasn’t sure that there was anything she could possibly say to retract the words. She had meant them, even after all the Johnsons had done for her and for Jianyu, and suddenly her cheeks felt warm with that knowledge. Irritation and shame all mixed together.

“Oh, I think we all know exactly what you meant,” Cela said, sounding even cooler than before.

“Cela…” Abel looked even more tired now.

“Don’t Cela me, Abel Johnson,” Cela said. “You put your reputation on the line to ask for help. The least this one here could do is be a little grateful for it.”

“We are grateful,” Jianyu said, stepping in before Viola could respond. He cut Viola a quelling look. “It does not stop our disappointment, though.”

Abel leaned back into his chair, as though he was too exhausted to stay upright any longer. “You have to understand their perspective.… What happens if this goes badly? Who pays the price?”

“It’s not a risk any of us takes lightly,” Jianyu acknowledged.

“But we don’t all take that risk equally,” Abel reminded him. “The Order will come for all of us if we fail, yes, but Hattie wasn’t wrong when she spoke of the lynchings.”

“My countrymen are hated as well,” Viola argued. “When I was a girl, eleven were hanged in New Orleans.” Her family had prayed for weeks, for the men who had died and for their own safety.

“This conversation isn’t about you, though,” Cela said. “We aren’t talking about how your countrymen have suffered. We’re talking about what’s at stake right now if my brother’s friends offer their help.”

“You’re not wrong,” Abel told Viola. “But what you need to understand is that the decision that my friends and I make to help you is a decision that impacts more than our small circle. More than a hundred of my brothers were lynched last year alone. Citizens of this country were killed in broad daylight, and the authorities looked the other way—or they helped—usually over some white woman.” He eyed Viola pointedly. “Mrs. Wells exposed the truth about that particular kind of violence a decade ago in the very paper owned by the man whose house you’re now standing in, and it still happens with impunity.”

“There’s little point in comparing suffering,” Theo said, his tone verging on dismissive. “Terrible things happen every day to many different people.”

“Spoken by a boy born with a silver spoon,” Abel said. “Don’t you see? It’s all related. All of us are implicated. You included, Barclay.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Theo asked.

“You don’t think I saw the way you looked at me when we first met? Or don’t you remember?” Abel asked. His voice was soft, pleasant even, but there was no mistaking the steel in it. “I knew exactly what was going through your mind when you saw Viola getting into my carriage.”

“I didn’t… That is to say, I didn’t mean anything.” Theo looked momentarily stunned.

Abel shook his