Page 17 of Run, Starlight (The Royal Ballet Presents #3)

ENZO

“I’m going to protect you from the darkness. You’ll be just fine, Little Star.”

I watch my brother fucking her from a dark corner.

Pride fills my heart from the sight, but it all comes crashing down when he opens his mouth.

I can hardly believe my ears. Why would he do it?

I’ve wanted to share her from the beginning.

We share a fate, so I know this is the right path for us.

I’ve been pushing everything along until we reach our destined conclusion, and here he is, not only taking her but saving her.

She doesn’t need saving. She’s finally where she’s supposed to be.

Rarely in my life have I ever been so angry with my little brother. He guards inside his own being part of my soul. He accepts the darkest part of me with ease and always guides me when I find the world outside us too tedious. Has he forgotten who I am? Who is he?

My cock is hard and leaking into my briefs as I watch them both come at the same time.

How can he even doubt that she’s perfect for us?

We are darkness, and she is ours. We talked about this, and I foolishly thought he understood.

My fingers open and close as I think of how to deal with them.

My first instinct is to kill them both, but I pass that over quickly.

I care far too much about them to live without either.

That would be my death sentence too. Marcella might be a new addition to my life, but unlike my brother, I have no interest in fighting fate.

They finish, and I don’t bother to watch any longer.

I’m too angry and I have too much to do.

Tomorrow is the opening night, and I plan to sit back and watch as Marcella dances, enjoying the beauty that so inevitably belongs to me, but how can I accomplish that when my suddenly saintly brother plans to protect her from her destiny?

Pathetic , I grit to myself as I leave them behind. Anger oozes off me as I make my way out of the theater. Lucky made me promise to keep an eye on Cygnus’s woman for a while, but she doesn’t interest me. He put me on a schedule as if that alone could keep me on a leash.

Fate is knocking on our door, and if Lucky wants to ignore it, I have to do the work for us both.

I climb into my car. The only thing keeping me sane is the knowledge that until now, everything was going according to plan.

Having to convince Lucky is a bump in the road, but not the end.

They will both embrace the darkness, whether they want to or not.

It’s not every day that I seek Cygnus. Lucky is tasked with all communication, leaving me free to do what I want with the targets handed to me.

But I turn the car around and head his way, knowing that a big man like him has a never-ending list of enemies, and right now, I need a name to cross off.

It doesn’t matter who. I just need them on my table. Cygnus is smart. He won’t turn me down.

A faint glow shines from Cygnus’s office when I show up outside the warehouse.

I would have gone to his house if I needed to, but it’s better that I find him here.

The smell of blood and death surrounds me as I step inside.

What would repulse most people makes me feel at home.

I take out my phone and turn on the flashlight, not trying to draw attention from passersby.

Glass covers the floor. I’m not sure what just happened here, but I can’t help but feel slightly envious when I see the dried blood on the shards.

Someone had some fun.

Cygnus’s office is up on the top floor in the back, where it would be really complicated to get a shot off if you were trying to snipe him.

A back elevator with a security-cammed entrance is the only way up.

I press the button to alert him of my presence, though I’m sure he’s already aware I’m here.

You don’t get to be where he is without knowing what is happening around you at all times.

The elevator doors slide open, I step inside, and it closes just as quickly, whisking me away to the top floor with much more speed than you would expect from something inside this rusted-out warehouse.

On the top floor, I’m greeted by darkness except for the end of the hall where Cygnus awaits me.

I hope he doesn’t ask about his woman because I don’t even know her name.

From the moment I saw Marcella, she became the only mission I cared about.

“That’s ridiculous, Diego. I can boost here and here,” a feminine voice says. “I used to work in those streets.”

“And I was watching you,” Cygnus replies.

“Watch me again. I’m not going to be sitting pretty just because I’m your wife now. You know I like to have fun.”

I reach the door and find a brunette woman in sweatpants and a leotard on top, her hair is in a bun with a few strands falling to the side.

Interesting. I thought I was supposed to be watching her, yet here she is.

She’s sitting on his table, looking down at his plans spread over the table while Cygnus rests his back on the leather chair and has one hand over her leg possessively even when alone.

They turn my way when I approach. The woman smiles warmly, and I wonder if she’s a little crazy. No one smiles at a monster approaching in the darkness.

“Enzo,” Cygnus dips his chin.

“Rat found that target for me?”

Cygnus tips his head to the side, watching me in a way that makes my skin crawl.

“Yes.” He finally drags out.

My skin prickles with his eyes on me. I don’t like to deal with anyone, especially when I feel this much rage.

“Are you alright?” his woman asks.

I blink and look her way. She looks too kind to be his wife, too prim to be in this warehouse.

“Yes,” I say simply even though I'm the furthest from alright.

“You owe me one, Enzo. I asked no questions.” Cygnus arches an eyebrow like I need a reminder.

I don't stay in debt to powerful men. I'm smarter than that.

“Yes.” I force myself not to snap.

“Pay it. Rat is guarding the door,” he says, his eyes calculating.

The voices in my head get louder, and this might be the perfect solution. If Cygnus wants me to pay for the favor now, that's better for me. I have enough rage to burn.

My back is to them before more words are exchanged. I follow the corridor to the left where I find Rat guarding a locked door.

“Bring him to me,” I say.

He dips his chin down, and I move away once again, tired of all this interaction. Lucky should be here. I should be back by my table just waiting for the delivery. My rage shouldn’t be aimed at my own brother, yet this is where I am.

Fragile, it feels. Without Lucky by my side, I feel weak and vulnerable, a feeling that makes me want to tear the world apart to prove to them I’m not.

Cygnus’s lackey brings the man to me after a few minutes.

His feet drag over the floor after a beating, and I growl in annoyance.

I don’t like it when they come to me like this.

There’s no artistry, just senseless beating.

My palms are itchy, and I grab a scalpel as the man is being tied to my table.

Shoulders back, I click play on the old radio player loaded already with the songs I like the most.

Art is never appreciated in its time. The big painters in history died penniless.

I understand not everyone can connect with the universe like I do, feeling its beating as if it’s the same rhythm of my heart.

I carve the man in front of me, sinking the blade into his neckbone.

He wakes up with a blood-curdling scream, trying to yank his arm free.

“I don’t like noise,” I tell him.

It’s good to let people know your boundaries.

He has a chance to keep this quiet, or I’ll take his own hand and stuff it into his mouth before he interrupts my favorite movement in Giselle.

He doesn’t listen to me, which is awfully rude, so I grab the saw and take his hand.

He flings his stump around for a second, spraying the room with blood, but soon he faints, and I’m not bothered anymore.

She needs another present, something pretty like she is.

I take his hip bones, wondering what I can create for her this time.

She likes the knife. She’s been carrying it around, and it fills my heart with pride.

The words Lucky said to her replay in my head like the music I don’t want to listen to anymore.

It scratches my brain, raising the hairs down my arm.

Destiny can’t be fought. She’s perfect for us. She belongs to the darkness just as Lucky and I do, and it pains me he doesn’t understand.

As I cut what used to be a man on my table, I decided on a plan for the first time in my life without consulting Lucky first. He will never bring her to me. I heard it from his lips, so I will bring her to him. I will show her how dark it can get and prove she was made for this life.

She was made for us.