Page 20

We eat breakfast in silence, but I can feel Stone’s eyes on me throughout, and I’m desperate to reciprocate the attention but refrain from doing so, knowing the agony it could cause. I’m barely able to eat the muesli placed in front of me. I don’t enjoy it the best of days, let alone with the threat of violence aimed at Stone hanging over me like a dark cloud threatening a storm of brutality.

Czar clears his throat, and I snap my head up to face him. “Stone is leaving in two weeks.” I turn my attention to Stone, who stares ahead, completely unfazed by this announcement. Was he even aware? “He has a big fight to prepare for on the East Coast.”

“Where?” I ask, then mentally chastise myself for showing too much interest.

His eyes narrow on me, and I turn my attention back to my muesli, pushing it around the bowl in the hopes it will disappear. I’m not allowed to be excused from the table until every mouthful is eaten, per Father’s orders.

“You pay too much attention to your brother, . Maybe you should concentrate on your own life. You are, after all, going to be married before long,” Azrael gloats, but his focus doesn’t leave Stone, and out of the corner of my eye, I see him straighten at Azrael’s words.

When I turn to face him, his jaw is set, and I swear I hear him grind his teeth. His hands are balled into tight fists, which he quickly moves to beneath the table while staring down at his untouched food. “Not hungry?” Azrael asserts, making me want to kick him in the balls for being such a blatant dick toward Stone.

As each day passes, he sounds more like our father, and I hate it.

“No.” His deep voice is gruff.

“You’re normally starving the morning after a fight.” Azrael continues eating with a calculated calmness, but the implication of his words is clear: he knows something is off with him.

Stone’s eyes dart up, and he stares back at Azrael. “Maybe I had my fill last night.”

Every muscle in my body pulls tight, and I try my best not to choke on my muesli. My cheeks heat, and with the tension in the air, I lift my eyes to find Azrael and Stone staring at one another. The thick atmosphere becomes suffocating. Danger seeps from Stone’s eyes while Azrael’s have darkened so much it’s clear retribution is on his mind.

Does he know?

Surely, he doesn’t know. Right?

Azrael’s jaw grinds from side to side, then he cracks his neck. “You’re dismissed.” He waves a hand toward Stone, who pushes back in his chair so hard it falls to the floor, then he throws his napkin on the table and strides toward the door. I wince, expecting a slam, but it doesn’t come, and with the click of the door closing softly, relief floods me. Something clearly pissed Azrael off, and it will serve Stone right not to aggravate him further.

“Your wedding just got moved up. It’s probably best you don’t tell your brother.” My heart thuds heavily, making it difficult to breathe while Czar’s eyes ping-pong between us.

“I—”

Azrael holds his hand up, and his eyes slice to mine, the venom in them like a laser searing through me.

“Shut the fuck up and do as you’re goddamn told, and maybe everyone can survive.”

Tears spring to my eyes, but I won’t allow them to fall. Not for him.

He doesn’t deserve my tears.

When I reach my room, I will let them fall. I will cry until there’s nothing left in me for the man I can never have.