Page 54 of Broken Souls

I inhale, breathing in his pheromones, searching for any trace of a lie. He’s on edge, but his sweat doesn’t have that specific smell it gets when he’s fibbing his ass off.

Fuck.

Stepping back, I say, “Get the twins and head south. I’ll send you a destination soon.”

“If Maddox comes with us –” T starts.

“He’s needed here,” I say softly, such a contradiction to the screaming inside my skull. I fuckingtrustedher. Love her. I would have given her everything if she’d just given it back to me.

Gesturing with my head for Leno and Maddox to follow me, I stride down the hall to Mother’s room. She’s no longer nailed to her headboard, but the circular wounds up and down her arms are still bleeding. Leno’s focused his magic on somewhere else, an internal injury perhaps.

“Wake her,” I order.

“That’ll damage –”

“She’ll heal. Nowwake her.”

“Varius –”

I glance at Krypto, letting him see the full force of my gaze. The dog actually steps back and whines, ducking his head.

“Shit. Fine. But you’re only getting a few minutes. She’s suffered severe brain damage. If we need her to heal Khalid later, then she needs her rest.”

Reaching out a hand, he calls his dog to him. Krypto looks at me warily before slowly slinking back over. Once he’s in position, acting as Leno’s eyes where he wants him, my brother cradles her head with his hands. He breathes in deep while my breath stills, stuck in my throat, unable to move in either direction.

White light flows from his palms, surrounding her head, encompassing it completely. He mutters incantations under his breath, speaking faster and faster, harsher and harsher until he sags forward. Kyrpto whines, then turns his head to nudge him. Ignoring him, Leno keeps pouring more magic through his hands, healing her as much as he can before he forces her awake.

As soon as her eyelids flutter, he collapses completely. Maddox moves in to catch him before he falls on her, but in my impatience, I shove them both away.

“Why did your monster attack Micha?” I demand.

She blinks up at the ceiling, her gaze unfocused.

“Were you not content with blackmailing her?” I hiss as I lean in and grab her jaw, forcing her to look at me. “Did you try to kill her?”Was it fucking self-defense?

She blinks again, but there is awareness there now. And pain. The sorrow of a mother who can’t protect her child. “I wish I could tell you yes…” Shaking her head, she grabs my hand. “But I’m sorry, son; she’s with Antonio. They...kissed.”

I rear back. “You’re fucking lying. You’re just trying to keep us –” I stop, aware that my two brothers are still here. That I don’t have the privacy to speak about certain truths. “You’relying,” I say again.

Her eyes start to drift. “I wish I was. I never wanted…”

Her hand slips off mine, and I step back, my movements jerky, my skin too damn tight for my muscles to move.

“That’s it,” Leno says as he shoves forward. “She needs her rest.”

But I don’t care. Because all I wanted to know was who the traitor is. Khalid’s girl ormine.

And now I fucking know.

Turning on my heels, I make my way to Micha’s room, but Maddox darts in front of me just as I reach the doorway.

“Don’t,” he says, his voice sharp, his eyes serious.

“Get out of my way,” I growl, my words a low warning about what will happen if he doesn’t.

He shakes his head, his eyes never leaving mine. “I’m not going to let you do this to yourself, V. You’ve started to have something with her, haven’t you? Don’t throw that away. We can rebuild her. We can turn her so she’s on our side. Just don’t ruin this.”

“Why do you care?” My eyes narrow. “What. The.Fuck.Is she to you?”