Page 237 of Dark Souls

Ilaria rolled her eyes and just waved her hand towards Zoran and me to continue.

“Shall we place bets?” Ronnie asked as I tugged my shirt off and threw it to the ground. “I’m going to back my master, obviously.”

“You are such an ass-licker,” Hana teased.

“You’d know that from first-hand exp–” Ronnie thought better than to finish that sentence because both Zoran and I had released terrifying demonic hisses in his direction. He paled and raised his hands up. “My bad. Forgot my audience.”

“I’ll back the sinister heartthrob,” Leif added.

“Yeah, me too. Sorry, Luka.” Neve shrugged her shoulders. “He’s like twice your size.”

“Well, my money will always be on my man.” Ilaria winked at me, and I actually felt myself melt a little. Fuck, this woman made me weak. But I’d beat my brother black and blue for her.

“Hana?” Neve asked. “Who’s your bet on?”

She widened her eyes and shook her head. “Uh-uh. I know better than to get in the middle of these two. I am just here out of pure curiosity. I haven’t seen them fight since I was a child. Zoran is older, fiercer, and very skilled, but… he’s been a raven for a few centuries, and Luka does have the firstborn gifts, so…”

“So, it’s about time I won–” I didn’t get to finish that sentence because Zoran’s fist connected with my cheek, and my whole body spun from the brutal force, knocking me to the ground. Fuck, I forgot just how strong he was, even when he was only in his vampire form.

“You were saying?” Zoran chuckled darkly as I clicked my jaw back in place and spat some blood out of my mouth.

‘Oh, big bro wants to play dirty, does he?’Heathen laughed maniacally in my head.‘Okayyy! Let’s go.’

We all winced as their bodies collided once again with so much force that the ground we were all sitting on trembled with their power. They had been fighting for at least ten minutes, and it was the most intense and crazy act of pure aggression and violence I had ever witnessed. I wanted to make them stop, but at the same time, I couldn’t look away. I was somewhere between feeling extremely concerned and ridiculously turned on.

“I honestly can’t tell who has the upper hand,” Neve mumbled next to me, her mouth half hidden behind her fingers as she watched on with wide eyes.

She was right. Not only were they moving so fast and furiously that it was hard to keep up, but they seemed to be equally matched in strength and speed. Whenever we thought Zoran landed a winning blow, Luka would get straight back up and counter it with a move just as impressive.

“We could be here all day,” Hana said, seeming to enjoy the chaos of her brothers letting their demons out to play, literally. They had started off only in their vampire form, but now, they were both half-shifted and sharing control, which definitely ramped up the adrenaline. “Neither of them will back down. They are just toying with each other.”

“What?” Ronnie frowned. “You mean this isn’t even them trying?”

“Oh, they are trying to outdo each other. But this is just training. The winner will be the first one to get the other in a vulnerable position that could cause death to a demon.”

With a guttural snarl, Zoran lunged with his fangs bared and claws outstretched to rip into Luka’s neck. Luka blocked his attack with a powerful swipe of his wing, sending a flurry of soil flying and hitting our faces. They grappled like wild beasts in the dirt, their fangs snapping dangerously close to each other’s throats as they rolled over the bluebells until Luka got Zoran in a headlock, crushing his neck as Zoran’s veins protruded on his face. Somehow, Zoran escaped his vice grip, and they were back on their feet instantly, circling each other with predatory intent.

“I’ll give it to you. You are stronger and faster. I feel like I am training with Father all over again,” Zoran chuckled, wiping blood from his lips with the back of his hand.

“Yeah? Remember this move of his?” Luka shouted. I couldn’t believe either of them seemed out of breath. Luka lifted his wrist and twisted it sharply. A branch broke off from a birch tree beside him, and Luka pointed towards Zoran, sending it hurtling through the air like a spear. We all gasped when it was milliseconds away from embedding itself into Zoran’s stomach, but he caught it with both claws just as the spike broke through the surface of his skin. He tossed it away, threw his head back, and laughed. He was a bloody psycho. They both were.

“You got his telekinesis? I take it back. I am pissed.” Zoran charged at Luka with an evil grin, grabbing his shoulders and slamming his knee into Luka’s ribs. The sound of cracking bones rippled through the air like thunder, and I jumped to my feet. Hana grabbed my arm and gave me a warning look.

I glanced back to see Luka unbothered by his injury. Instead, he spun around to grab Zoran by the throat and sent his enormous body plunging through the air and into the trunk of a nearby birch tree. The brute force of the impact caused the tree to split in half, sending Zoran to the ground in slow motion with the top half of the tree beneath him. A shower of leaves and dirt erupted around him, but he climbed back to his feet, smirking.

“Fucking hell,” Leif grumbled next to me. “Grandpapi is going to lose his shit if they destroy his forest.”

They raced towards each other and leapt into the air, colliding with determination as they took off into the sky. We all stood up, shielding our eyes from the sun to watch them throwing punches and kicks mid-flight before locking their bodies in a violent embrace. Their black wings beat frantically behind them, causing them to rip apart occasionally before they grappled together once again. The fight took a turn when their wings became entangled, and they lost their ability to stay airborne. I gasped as we all watched them plummet towards the ground, fused together like a bullet, refusing to break apart.

The ground shook with their landing, and they rolled together, hidden behind their wings, before one of them broke free. Zoran raced up behind Luka and grabbed his hair, locking his claw around Luka’s throat. Luka was on his knees and frozen in shock, his black eyes wide and ruthless as he panted heavily.

“Zoran’s won,” Hana said in surprise, and I realised that in his current position, Zoran would have ripped Luka’s head off if he wanted to cause instant death to a demon.

“Surrender, little brother?” Zoran smirked behind him. Luka slowly raised his hands, signalling his loss, but before Zoran stepped back, Luka reached up and grabbed Zoran’s head on either side and, with insane strength, flipped him over his own to the ground.

“Never.” Luka smirked as Zoran blinked up at him from upside down, realising Luka could have just ripped his head clean off, too.

I jumped up and down like a high school cheerleader as Luka held his hand out to his brother and helped him up. Zoran grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it with a look of pride on his face as they both stumbled towards us, only just realising the extent of their injuries. Their demons retreated, leaving the horrific signs of bruises, cuts, and blood smeared all over their battered bodies, but their eyes were glinting in the sunlight like they had just had an absolute blast.