Page 234 of Dark Souls

Luka huffed, rubbing his forehead as he fell back into his chair and I placed my hand on his arm. He glanced at Grandpapi with an apologetic expression. “I’m sorry about that, Arius. Zoran has a short temper, and he doesn’t like to hear what he doesn’t like to hear, if you know what I mean.”

Grandpapi nodded and leaned forward, placing his clasped hands on the table. “I know it must be hard for him to hear, but he does need to accept the fact that we may never find her. Of course, we will try our best, but he is free now. He should focus on that and start living his life.”

Luka shook his head with a sad smile. “I am afraid you do not know my brother. He will never give up on this. He deserves answers and he deserves closure. He may not have suffered what Hana and I did, but he still suffered greatly.”

“We understand. We want to help him,” Mum offered. “But we do need to ask…” She looked hesitant as she peered between me and Luka. “We know he is your family, but there is no denying that he is a very dangerous and, rightly so, volatile man right now. We need him to understand that the world isn’t like it used to be. There are rules and laws in place to keep peace and keep innocent people safe. Will he be able to follow them?”

I squeezed Luka’s hand when I felt his whole body tense next to me. I knew how that could come across to Luka, but I also understood my family’s concern. Zoran was a wild card. Someone who lived by his own rules.

Luka clicked his neck to the side, and my heart skipped as I saw the action because I knew that was his tell when he was trying to suppress his own anger or annoyance.

“What are you really asking, Queen Ruby? You want to know if my brother is a threat to humanity?”

“In short, yes. We don’t know him like you do, Luka.”

“And what will you do to him if he is?”

I inhaled deeply, feeling my stomach tightening just like the tension in the room. “They won’t do anything to him, Luka. He is your brother,” I jumped in to defend and reassure as my mum’s purple eyes locked with mine. “Right?”

“We just want to know how best to support him,” Mum answered. “He can seek his revenge on the right person, but we must make sure he can control his urges when he is out in society. We only say this because you and Hana seem a lot more in control of your demons’ needs. You manage them well, and you have agreed to feed primarily from the green list. Zoran is yet to agree to that. He said he likes the hunt. Arius watched him rip apart five grown men in a matter of seconds and then demand five more because he wasn’t satisfied. His thirst and anger worry us. We need to know he can control himself.”

Luka shuffled in his seat but held eye contact with my mum as he said, “You won’t need to worry about him. I’ll speak to him and make sure he understands. But he may need a little grace too. He had been a very skilled hunter and fighter before that night. And his demon is a firstborn from our bloodline, which makes him harder to control. Add the fact that he has been trapped and unable to meet those urges for centuries, and it is no wonder that he acts like this. But Zoran doesn’t kill without reason. And right now, he is hyper-focused on finding this witch so that will consume him entirely.”

“Okay.” Grandpapi nodded. “Well, we trust you, Luka. And we appreciate that it will take some adjustment for Zoran, so don’t think we are judging him at all. We are not. If anything, we are just trying to protect him and make sure the world does not see him as a threat. If he slips up, we need to know about it so we can support him and deal with it privately.”

Luka nodded in understanding and I finally released the breath I was holding. “I understand. I’ll talk to him. I promise.”

“As for the witch…” Grandpapi said, leaning forward. “Leif had an interesting idea. Zoran mentioned that when he was a raven, he recently came close to tracking the witch on more than one occasion because of the pull of her magic. If any of her magic is still lingering in his bloodstream, we could take a sample and Leif thinks he can create a magic locator spell from the fragments that remain to try to find her location. We were unsure how Zoran would feel about using magic to find her, so we wanted to put it to you first. Do you think he would be open to it?”

“I can ask him. I think, at this point, he would be open to anything.”

Times Have Changed

“Z?”Ishouted,steppingaround the tall, slender trees that stretched overhead, providing a leafy green canopy above. The afternoon sunlight trickled down, creating patches of light on the soft mossy ground as my boots trudged through the woodland surrounding the Romano Castle. I’d given him yesterday to cool off and hoped he’d be more willing to listen today. I stopped near a clearing when Heathen could sense Ambroz was close. “Zoran?”

“Up here.”

I zoomed forward towards an ancient oak tree and craned my neck to find him perched high up in the branches, leaning his back against the trunk. He stared out into the distance with a pensive expression, peeling the bark from a stick. I presumed some part of him still found comfort in the trees, having been a bird for so long. Placing my hands on my hips, I sighed before asking in Serbian if he would come down so we could talk, but I was met with silence.

“Looks like I’m coming up then,” I groaned and unsheathed my demon nails and wings to scramble my way to the top. Huffing down next to him, with one leg on either side of the sturdy branch, I stared at my brother’s tense expression and then ran my hand down my face.

“They are only trying to help. Times have changed, brother. You can’t go around threatening, torturing, and killing innocent people to find this witch. The world is more civilised now and there are rules.”

He made a deep grunt of disbelief and shook his head. “I can do whatever the fuck I want. I do not have to live by their rules. They will not control me; you shouldn’t let them control you either. We are Demonski Upirs, and we don’t bow down to anyone. Royal or not.”

“They helped save our lives, Z. And they have welcomed us into their family.”

His head snapped around with a look of barely controlled rage. His eyes turned pitch black with his demon’s presence, and the muscles in his jaw clenched tightly. “No. They are not our family. We are family. You, me and Hana. We are all we have left and all we will ever need.”

I inhaled deeply and swallowed the lodge of sadness in my throat. Before Ilaria, I would have had the same mentality as my brother. It has always been us against the world.

I slowly shook my head. “It doesn’t have to bejustus. Not anymore. I have Ilaria. Hana has Ronnie. The royals are our family now.”

He closed his eyes and turned his head away from me, trying to control his emotions. It was hard to see the hurt and pain fighting beneath his rage.

“Where does that leave me?”

I grabbed his shoulder firmly, giving it a little shake. “With us. You will always belong with us. You are our big brother. Our protector. But that is what I am trying to say, Z. You no longer have to work so hard to fight against the world to keep us safe. We have others looking out for us, too. You don’t have to worry so much. Hana and I are going to be just fine. You have permission to start living a life you want to live for yourself.”