Page 80 of Lord of the Lone Wolf (Bonded Hearts #3)
Auslin
S ilvery moonlight spilled through the castle windows, casting long shadows across Auslin’s path as he navigated the quiet corridors. His meeting with Liros in the Beyond Realm had left him shaken, the Knowledge Power’s words echoing in his mind with terrible clarity.
His steps quickened as he approached the family wing. Despite the late hour, he needed to see Maseo. Distracted by his tangled thoughts, he almost missed the sound of a low, cruel voice that made him stop dead in his tracks.
“Let’s see how long you can last before you break.”
Disbelief warred with sudden terror at hearing Kio free from the dungeon. Auslin broke into a run, following the sound to its source. As he rounded the corner, a horrifying scene greeted him.
At the end of the hallway, illuminated by moonlight streaming through a high window, a sword through Maseo’s shoulder pinned him to the wall. Blood soaked his tunic and pooled at his feet in a dark puddle. His face was ashen and contorted with pain.
Kio stood pressed against him, one hand wrapped around Maseo’s throat, the other disappearing beneath the waistband of his loosened breeches. The assault ignited something in Auslin that he had never felt before.
An incandescent rage that exploded into blind fury.
Without conscious thought, Auslin thrust his hands forward, calling upon his magic with a wordless cry. A barrier of shimmering purple energy erupted from his palms, hurling Kio across the corridor. He crashed into the opposite wall with a sickening thud , sliding to the floor with a groan.
“Auslin,” Maseo gasped, relief and pain mingling in that single word.
The auramancer rushed to position himself between Maseo and Kio. “You don’t get to hurt him anymore.”
Kio staggered to his feet, his yellow eyes wide with madness and fury.
Blood trickled from a cut on his temple where he had struck the wall, but the injury seemed only to enrage him further.
His gaze fixed on Auslin with murderous intent.
“Why do you always ruin everything by interfering where you don’t belong? ”
“Stay back,” Auslin warned, summoning more magic to his hands. “Don’t come any closer.”
Kio scoffed. “Or what? You’ll heal me to death?” He stepped forward, drawing Auslin’s attention to his prominent arousal. “What do you even want with him? He’s damaged goods at best.”
“Maseo’s worth a thousand of you.”
“Is that what you tell yourself?” Kio’s smile revealed teeth stained with rot from months in the dungeon. “That he’s somehow special? Ha! He’s nothing but a half-breed whore who spreads his legs for anyone who shows him the slightest bit of attention. He’s always been desperate like that.”
Something snapped inside Auslin at those words. Years of enduring Kio’s cruelty and manipulation came rushing to the surface in a torrent of white-hot fury.
“You don’t get to speak about him that way,” Auslin said. “Not anymore.”
“I’ll say whatever I want,” Kio spat, taking another step forward. “Both of you are mine.”
Auslin stood his ground as Kio advanced. “People aren’t possessions. They can’t be owned or claimed. But you’ve never known what it means to care for someone.”
Kio spat on the floor. “Caring is weakness. Power is all that matters. And I had both of you under my control until my asshole half brother interfered.”
The accusation made Auslin’s temper flare. “Kitsuki didn’t interfere. He showed us what genuine love looks like and taught us we deserved better than your cruelty.”
Kio’s laugh was bitter and cold. “Is that what you think the icicle dick king feels for you? For this pathetic halfling? Kitsuki is using you both, the same way I did. The only difference is that he wraps it in pretty words to make you feel special.”
“You’re wrong.”
A dangerous light flickered in Kio’s yellow eyes. “And what about you two? Was Maseo telling the truth that you love him?”
“Yes,” Auslin replied, although it stunned him that Maseo had said such a thing to Kio.
Kio took another step forward, drawing a dagger from behind his back. “Then I’ll enjoy making you watch as I break him to remind him who he belongs to. And then I’m going to do the same to you, just like I used to. Remember how you used to cry, Auslin?”
“I’m done crying. I carried that shame for too many years, believing I somehow deserved your cruelty.”
“You didn’t deserve what little attention I gave you,” Kio sneered. “I have the blood of the Ariake family in my veins. What are you? A common-born mage with delusions of grandeur because you spread your legs for a king?”
“Is that how you think of yourself?” Auslin asked, pity coloring his tone. “That your worth comes from the family that disavowed you? No wonder you feel so empty inside.”
“I’ll cut out your heart and feed it to you!” He lunged forward, dagger raised, aiming for Auslin’s throat.
Auslin raised a barrier that Kio crashed into. The impact sent him staggering backward, but he regained his footing, circling to the side seeking an opening.
“You can’t keep that up forever,” Kio taunted. “When your magic falters, I’ll make you beg for death before I’m done.”
“Why can’t you move on with your life instead of obsessing over hurting us? It’s over, Kio.”
“Because you’re mine!” Kio shouted, spittle flying from his lips. “Everything I’ve ever wanted has been taken from me. My parents. My birthright. My home. And now you two, the only things that ever truly belonged to me.”
He feinted to the left before darting right, trying to get around the protective barrier. Auslin pivoted, erecting another ward that caught Kio mid-stride, sending him crashing to the floor.
“You won’t touch him,” Auslin warned. “You won’t touch either of us ever again.”
Kio scrambled to his feet, his face a mask of hatred. “You think you can stop me? You? The most pathetic excuse for a mage I’ve ever seen?” He laughed, the sound unhinged and dangerous. “You forget I’ve had you crying and begging before. I know how weak you are.”
Auslin held his head high. “Unlike you, I’ve changed, because I learned what actual strength is.”
“Is that what you call hiding behind my half brother’s protection? Letting him fight your battles while you cower in his shadow?”
Auslin ignored the taunt. “I’m done for real this time, Kio.”
Kio charged again, abandoning all pretense of strategy in favor of pure rage. Auslin met the attack with another barrier, but Kio ducked under the barrier. He came up inside Auslin’s guard with his dagger raised.
Auslin twisted away, but the blade sliced through the sleeve of his robes to draw a thin line of blood along his forearm.
“Not so confident now, are you?” Kio advanced with the dagger held low and ready. “All your pretty words about strength and love, and here you are, bleeding and afraid. Just like you always were.”
Auslin glanced at Maseo, still pinned to the wall, his face gray with pain and blood loss. The sight of him so wounded but fighting to stay alive filled Auslin with renewed determination.
But Kio was right that Auslin couldn’t keep creating barriers forever. His magic, while powerful, had its limits. When fighting an armed opponent like Kio, driven by madness and rage, it could prove fatal. But engaging in close combat to get his hands on Kio was far too risky.
He needed a weapon to channel his power.
As Kio circled him like a predator, Auslin’s gaze fell on the sword embedded in Maseo’s shoulder, pinning him to the wall. The very instrument of his torture could become the means of his salvation. But using it would mean inflicting more pain and trauma on Maseo.
As if reading his thoughts, Maseo gave a small nod, his jaw tightening to brace for what was to come.
“What’s the matter, Auslin?” Kio taunted, stalking closer. “Running out of tricks? Or have you realized all your talk of strength and love doesn’t mean shit when you’re facing somebody who isn’t afraid to do what needs to be done?”
“You’re right. I’m done talking when you’ll never listen.” Before Kio could react, Auslin moved toward Maseo and wrapped his hands around the hilt of the sword. “Please forgive me.”
Then he pulled.
The sword came free with a sickening slide against tearing flesh and scraping bone.
Maseo’s scream echoed through the corridor, the agony shaking Auslin’s resolve.
But there was no time for regret or comfort.
As Maseo slid down the wall, leaving a smear of blood in his wake, Auslin spun to face Kio, the bloody sword held before him.
“Wow, look at the healer becoming the warrior,” Kio taunted, his eyes glittering with malicious delight. “How poetic. But do you think you know how to use that thing? You’ve spent your life putting people back together, not tearing them apart.”
“You’ve never known what I’m capable of, Kio.” Auslin poured his magic into the blade, purple fire racing along the steel until it burned with Divine light.
Kio’s eyes narrowed. “Cute magic trick.”
“No, this is justice. You’ve hurt us for the last time.” With that, he attacked.
All the time he had spent training with Kitsuki and Jaega in the past came rushing back. Kio parried the first strike with his dagger, but he scrambled away.
“You think a decent fighting stance is going to save you? I’ve used swords longer than you’ve been alive. You’re nothing but a healer pretending to be a warrior.” Kio feinted to the right before striking at Auslin’s left side.
Auslin countered the blow, the purple fire intensifying as their blades glanced off each other. He pressed forward, forcing Kio to retreat a step, then another, until he backed Kio against the far wall.
“Who are you?” Kio demanded.
“The only person who can stop you for good.” Auslin thrust forward in a decisive strike.
Kio attempted to dodge, but Auslin knocked the dagger from his hand with such force that it spun down the corridor. Before Kio could recover, Auslin drove the glowing sword through his gut.