Page 21

T he dorm suite resonates with an eerie hush, broken only by the rhythmic ticking of the antique grandfather clock stationed against the far wall. Draped across the leather sofa like a brooding renaissance sculpture, I idly thumb through one of my literary anthologies, though the words fail to breach my consciousness.

A sudden commotion jolts me from my reverie as the main door is flung open with enough force to rattle the adjacent windows. Briar storms inside, face contorted in a scowl fierce enough to curdle milk as she barges through the common area. Not even the sudden burst of activity prompts Arius to glance up from his novel, the bastard seated across from me with typically poor posture.

I swallow the urge to tell him to conduct himself like a fucking gentleman for once as Briar brushes past without sparing us so much as a sideways glance. Hauling myself upright, I trail after her, clearing my throat in a feeble attempt to issue some semblance of a greeting. The resounding slam of Arius’ bedroom door punches the words back down my gullet.

Deflating with a resigned sigh, I smooth the front of my blazer and reclaim my spot on the sofa, pinning Arius with a sour glare. That knobhead doesn’t even acknowledge my scrutiny, attention riveted on his novel as he flips a page with practised nonchalance.

“Briar went to see Hansley on her own,” he drawls without prompting, tone infuriatingly dismissive. “That’s why she marched in with a face like a smacked arse.”

“The fuck do you expect?” I growl, upper lip curling as displeasure cascades through my veins. “Maybe if we told the poor girl what’s actually happening instead of stringing her along, she wouldn’t be trapped in this perpetual state of confusion and anger.”

That finally prompts him to glance up, one eyebrow inching higher as he scrutinises my expression with that maddening, flat-eyed stare. When our gazes mesh, Arius cocks his head incrementally to one side, considering me with a derisive twitch of his lips.

“You know we’re not permitted to divulge a single scrap of intel.” Each syllable drips from his tongue like molten lead, simultaneously barbed yet coated in an eerie calm.

Gritting my teeth until my jaw throbs, I shift to fold my arms across my chest, needing something to occupy my fidgeting hands before I lash out. “Not permitted?” I repeat the words with a derisive snort. “It’s not fucking right, Arius. This entire situation is beyond fucked.”

He hums noncommittedly before returning to his novel, evidently finished with entertaining my concerns. That’s the final shove I require to snap, propelling me to my feet and launching across the cramped space separating our respective seating arrangements. Before he can react, I snatch the book clean from his grip, clutching the hardback in a white-knuckled fist.

If I have to resort to physicality to keep that cocky prick’s attention, so fucking be it.

Arius rolls his eyes heavenward and exhales a ragged sigh, sinking deeper into the plush cushions as he folds his hands primly across his lap. His mercurial gaze settles on me with that same maddening patience, awaiting whatever tirade I have brewing this time.

“This!” I bark, jabbing a finger towards the closed bedroom door, where the angry slam still reverberates through the furnishings. “This isn’t how shite gets done, Arius. This cloak-and-dagger bollocks, withholding information from the group? It’s not who we fucking are.”

His brows pinch together for the first time, lips pursing as I strike a nerve that exposes the tiniest fracture in that impenetrable facade. After a pregnant pause, Arius speaks, tone so carefully measured that each word lands with precision. “Well then, enlighten me. How precisely do you propose we navigate these clandestine protocols, ?”

The mocking undercurrent grates beneath my skin like steel wool. Snarling deep in my throat, I toss the book onto the loveseat beside him, pivoting to rake my hand through my hair. A humourless scoff shreds itself from my chest before I whirl back around, vibrating with restless frustration.

“Oh, don’t be obtuse. You know precisely what I mean.”

My final retort hangs there like a physical weight between us, challenging him to dissect the implication. Those quicksilver eyes bore into me, assessing every nuance and inflection with almost clinical detachment. When it becomes evident I won’t elaborate further, Arius rises from the sofa in a single fluid motion, filling the narrow gulf separating our stances with his looming presence.

I stand my ground, holding his stare as he crowds into my space with the same casual invasion of boundaries he’s become so adept at wielding. Just like that, the languid sprawl across the sofa evaporates, the menacing aura I’m infinitely more accustomed to manifesting from one blink to the next.

“Are you under some misguided impression that any of us are bloody enjoying this situation?” Arius rumbles, timbre plunging to subterranean depths. One hand gestures between us with a sharp, staccato motion. “Do you think that just because I’m not constantly voicing my apprehensions, clucking and crowing like a worried hen, it somehow means I’m deriving some sick fucking thrill out of this?”

He pushes on without permitting me a chance to respond, words emerging increasingly clipped. “There’s nothing entertaining about receiving constant texts from Enforcers, reminders that they’re watching my every interaction with Briar. Even in public settings, they dictate how I comport myself around her. Last night was not thrilling for me. There is no ‘satisfaction’ in being told to debase and publicly humiliate the woman that’s been chosen as my fucking wife.”

The muscle in Arius’ jaw flexes and clenches spasmodically as his tirade gains momentum. “I follow their directives to the letter… because the alternative would mean Jace deploying his latest concoctions on me again. And I’ve no wish to revisit that particular brand of agony.”

He doesn’t grant me an inch to formulate a rebuttal before barrelling ahead, shoulders tensing with each clipped exhalation. “If anybody ought to be fucking complaining, it’s me, .” Spittle flecks his lips, enamel grinding audibly. “Watching her endure those despicable brands seared into her skin? Not one, but four. Four fucking brands, four houses claiming ownership. I’m not quite sure where the disconnect happened in your brain, but being forced to participate in public debasements that should curdle the blood of anyone still clinging to an iota of decency…”

A vein bulges at his temple as Arius shakes his head, jaw clenched so tightly the tendons strain beneath tattooed flesh. “It’s fucking infuriating beyond measure, knowing there’s not a goddamn thing any of us can do to circumvent these atrocities if we want a hope of surviving this shiteshow.”

The fire in his eyes gutters for a fleeting instant, shoulders sagging almost imperceptibly before that iron-clad mask of aggression slams back into place. I hold his blazing stare, swallowing down the knot of impotent rage scorching my gullet. As much as it galls me to admit it, the fucker’s not wrong.

Drawing an unsteady breath, I nod once in grim acknowledgment before pivoting on my heel to put some distance between us. My fingers pinch the bridge of my nose as I attempt to compress the roiling discord swirling through my skull.

“You’re right, Arius,” I mutter at last, punctuating the admission with an explosive sigh. Turning back to face him, I shake my head with a grimace carved deep across my features. “But that doesn’t make this constant cycle of passive fucking acceptance any easier to swallow, does it?”

His jaw twitches almost imperceptibly, but I’ve learned to recognize those hairline fractures in his stoicism over our many years together. Ploughing onward, I gesture vaguely with one hand as the words tumble forth in a weary stream. “I’m fucking tired of these circles we keep treading, mate. These drawn-out conversations that inevitably end up going nowhere because you won’t let any of us have even a bloody inch of leash to explore other options.”

A muscle feathers along Arius’ stubbled jawline before he lunges forward, thick fingers tangling in the fabric of my shirt and tie. He wrenches me closer with a startled grunt, our noses almost brushing as he snarls directly into my face. The tang of his breath—beer and cigarette smoke—washes over me in a dizzying wave.

When did he start smoking again?

“If you’re even entertaining the notion of pulling some idiotic, self-indulgent stunt to ‘rescue’ the girl, I’ll make Jace’s punishments look like a fucking massage and a nice little acid trip.” Each syllable detonates against my face with scorching venom. “Briar stays exactly where she is and in the dark regarding the grand plan. No deviations, no detours from the protocols. Get your fucking shite together, Marston.”

Swallowing back the urge to respond with a scathing barb of my own, I settle for brushing his grip away with a scowl. My shoulders straighten as I meet that incandescent glare head-on, steadying my breathing to mask the spike of indignation roaring through my bloodstream.

The tension stretches out for several heartbeats before Arius emits a derisive snort, upper lip curling away from his teeth as he pivots on his heel. That expansive back fills my vision as he stalks toward the doorway, his figure taut with harnessed ferocity.

Pausing in the threshold, he seems to wrestle with some inner war before exiting without a backwards glance. The resounding slam jolts through the furnishings, an audible exclamation mark punctuating the hollow quiet settling over the living area like a shroud.

Chewing the inside of my cheek hard enough to flood my mouth with coppery tang, I glance between the closed door Briar disappeared through mere minutes ago, and the entryway still vibrating in the wake of Arius’ abrupt exit.

Fuck me.