Page 177

Story: Blood Rains Down

“You really expect me to sleep when my brother was just murdered, when an army is headed toward us and we still know nothing about how to win this?” My words were a snarl now as I took a step toward him.

Landers whirled on me.

“I am yourKing. For once in your life, do as you are told,” he growled, his eyes hardening as I leaned away from him.

I stared at him for one moment, trying to stop the anger that was rolling off my tongue.

But it was already coming.

“A crown doesn’t make you a King, Landers, your actions do. And right now, your actions are telling me you don’t give a fuck about saving your people—the people you call family.”

Pain flared in his eyes at my words, his jaw clenching as he sucked in a deep breath.

I wanted to take back every word as they fell from the tip of my tongue, swallow the hate that wasn’t meant for him.

He didn’t speak right away, waiting until he had calmed his anger, until the edges of his face had softened.

“I would do anything for my people; I would give my life for them. But none of us are of any use to the ones that cannot fight if we are too exhausted to last through battle, physically or mentally. So do not rest for you, or even me, rest for the people that are counting on you to win this war—to win them their freedom.”

I knew he was right.

But my grief had already turned rotten, had already fermented into rage, and I didn’t know where to put it, didn’t know how to stop it from bleeding onto the only people I had left.

My eyes flickered to Andrues and finally, he met my gaze from across the room. The same fire burning in his eyes that scorched my own heart, the chasm of secrets and unspoken feelings still yawned between us, but in that moment, all I could feel was his presence, his stare, calming me like it always had. Soothing the parts of my soul that only listened to him, only reacted to him.

I was acutely aware of the four pairs of eyes locked on me as I breathed through the poison, swallowing the demons that had reappeared far too easily.

“Save your fight, love. We will need that beautiful fury come dawn.” Dukovich’s breath was hot against my neck, trickling down my spine and seeping into me as I nodded in response. I didn’t stop myself from leaning into the feeling, leaning intohim.

Andrues’s eyes flashed, a deadly calm settling into his irises as he watched Dukovich’s hand linger on the small of my back, his fingers splaying possessively against my skin, his lips hovering dangerously close to my ear. Something dark and primal ignited in Andrues’s features, a fury that eclipsed the grief still etched into the lines of his face, and in an instant, he was moving.

He bolted across the room, his boots pounding against the wooden floorboards. The air crackled with the dark energyflowing from him, tendrils of Death Magic snaking around his muscular arm. Before anyone could react, Andrues had Dukovich slammed against the wall, his head cracking against the oak paneling with a sickeningthud. His fingers wrapped around Dukovich’s throat, pinning him in place as green and black coils of power inched their way closer to Dukovich’s skin.

The room fell deathly silent, the air pulsing alongside our hearts as we watched the scene unfold in front of us. Landers moved to take a step forward, but Cin held him back.

“Do noteverfucking touch her again,” Andrues snarled, his face mere inches from Dukovich’s, his sapphire gaze burning holes into him. “She is not yours to comfort, not yours to claim after the hell you have put her through.”

I stood rooted to the spot, my heart hammering against my ribcage as I stared at them.

They would fucking kill each other if we let them.

I had never seen this side of him, never heard the raw possessiveness currently emanating from his voice, the unbridled jealousy etched into every line of his face. It stole the breath from my lungs.

Dukovich didn’t struggle against him, instead a sneer twisted his lips even as his face reddened from the lack of oxygen.

“And she is yours?” he choked out, derision dripping from every syllable. “Jealousy does not become you,brother,” he taunted.

“Andrues, stop.” Cin’s voice cut through the tension, her tone sharp and commanding. “We don’t have time for this. Let him go.”

For a long, tense moment, Andrues didn’t move, his gaze boring into Dukovich with an intensity that could melt steel. Then, with a disgusted scoff, he released his grip, shoving Dukovich away from him.

“Tell me, Dukovich, when you kissed her, did you taste the death I left on her lips for you?” Andrues snarled.

My cheeks flared with heat as my eyes met Cin’s. She raised a brow at the revelation and I quickly pulled my gaze away.

“Ahh,” Dukovich started, amusement curling around the disdain in his tone. “I think we kissed different lips, mate.”

My stomach fell to the fucking floor.

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