Page 11 of Temptation Unleashed (Talaenian Fae #3)

Blinding white fled his fingers as he swung his arm forward in his momentary blackness.

Cael was flung from his feet but twisted before he slammed into the counter, using a burst of magic to buffer his collision.

Thaddeus stalked over to him, throwing weak shots, trying to bring his brother to his knees, to stop this foolishness.

To remind Cael who he was, what he was, why he was here.

A powerful Fae capable of anything.

Cael dodged each blow until, in a smooth offensive motion, he spun low and shot out at Thaddeus.

The bolt of magic felt as if it tore through his abdomen, throwing him through the air until he landed hard on his back in the center of the room.

Cael lunged, another attack forming on his palms. Thaddeus threw up a defensive shockwave that rocked the building.

Or so he’d thought.

Their magic collided halfway between them in a wide sphere that singed the ceiling and the carpet as it rotated in a white and blue swirl. The air thrummed, whipped around them, knocking pictures from the walls, rattling the furniture, and flickering lights until they snuffed out.

“Yield, Cael!” Thaddeus barked over the thrum of magic. One of the windows exploded outward, spraying glass in a furious burst.

“You first!”

Thaddeus’s lips peeled back from his teeth.

He maneuvered to his knees, holding his magic, working against the strength behind Cael’s challenging assault until he rose to his feet.

With one final pulse, he shot out a burst of power that split through Cael’s, knocking his brother back a few feet as he extinguished his own attack with a sharp shake of his arms.

Cael snarled, his silver eyes filled with resentment as they stared at each other, breathing heavily, nostrils flared.

Thaddeus fisted his fingers in his palms, his nails biting into his skin as he contained the swelling storm burning inside him.

He dared not entertain Cael’s revelation, regardless of the bloody evidence.

As Cael’s breathing slowed, he straightened up and pointed a finger straight at him.

“You are undeserving of her. Undeserving of anyone, Thad, but most definitely undeserving of Rori. That woman is special in so many ways, and you don’t deserve what she can offer you.

I’m beginning to think you don’t deserve a chance. You don’t deserve redemption.”

A sharp breath fled Cael’s lips as his arm dropped to his side. Thaddeus reinforced the emotionless expression over his face as his mind reeled from Cael’s pronouncement.

“I’m fucking wasting my breath on you, but I feel I must because you’re my brother.

You’re my blood kin, and all I have left.

But I’ll say this, Thad, and I hope you listen.

Get. Over. Daeanna. She played you like a fucking fiddle.

She played you, brother, and you’re so bloody blinded by what you think love is to realize it.

Do you really think she was thinking of you when you fucked her?

Do you really think she was thinking of you when she crooned and preened and stroked your ego like a bloody dog?

” Cael hissed and shook his head. “Look at yourself. Hell-bent on this pureblood escapade in the name of a dead woman who bloody loved a half-breed Fae!” Cael’s anger rose to flash in his eyes and turned his cheeks red as Thaddeus bit back the urge to knock his brother unconscious before he spewed his next insult.

An insult he already knew formed on the tip of his tongue.

“A half-breed Fae who had been your closest friend! Whose father and ours were loyal to each other for centuries! You could and would never compare to Shaye in her eyes, and yet you kowtowed to her every whim like a bloody fucking love-sick fool !”

“Cael.” Thaddeus drew out his brother’s name in a low, rage-infused breath. “I warn you?—”

A strand of purple shot from Cael’s hand. A thin ribbon that speared to the dagger embedded in the wall, wrapped around the hilt and yanked it free. Thaddeus’s dagger flew toward him but stopped a few inches from his head and dangled in the air. Thaddeus cast his enraged brother a closed glance.

“Go ahead, Thad.” Cael jutted his chin toward the dagger.

“If you think nothing more of me than a nuisance, a threat to the Seelie and the pureblooded race, a threat to your new puppet master, a waste of your time and our parents’ rearing, then go ahead.

” He spread his arms wide, the purple string vanishing.

The dagger dropped to the floor with a clunk.

Thaddeus watched his brother, the tic at the corner of his mouth, the fury in his eyes, but the resolve in his choice more than clear. “ Kill me .”

For the first time in decades, Thaddeus swallowed what he could only describe as shame. He’d known the feeling before, when he was a child. The faint tingle of that ancient sensation teased his skin and heated the back of his throat.

This was his chance. His opportunity to show his loyalty to Daeanna’s ultimate goal.

To show loyalty to Grison, not Daeanna.

He started to tear his gaze from Cael’s, but caught himself before submitting. He did not submit. Ever.

Slowly, he opened his fist. The dagger flew to his palm, the familiar weight warming his skin. Cael stiffened, but didn’t recoil.

“One thing, Thaddeus. Everyone knows Dae wanted Shaye more than anything in all these realms. He was her obsession, her unobtainable prize. Not you. Not any other man who warmed her bed. Shaye . Tonight, the Goddess deemed you worthy of your anam cara in a wonderful mortal woman. I never knew you to be a hypocrite, but should you wish to carry out your orders to kill me, you do so in the name of a hypocritical princess. Bear that in mind.” His chest puffed out a little more as Thaddeus’s fingers tightened around the hilt of his favored weapon.

“You can deny it to me all you want, brother, but I know the man you used to be. The man you still are…somewhere inside there. If you believe, even the slightest, that all I’ve said is true and all the evidence is present, I know you’ll never harm Rori.

Because if you do, I will kill you without regret, knowing my brother is long since gone. ”

Thaddeus held his brother’s gaze, unwavering and unblinking. The dagger grew heavy in his hand as Cael’s stinging words whittled away at the thick barriers erected around his soul. A fortress strong enough to withstand anything began to crumble beneath his mortal-loving little brother’s words.

All because of that bloody redhead. Had she not come here, he could’ve completed his mission and proven his loyalty to Daeanna’s cause…

An unseen force squeezed at his throat before his thoughts completed.

Daeanna wanted a pureblooded Seelie. ’Twas her vision for the future. And yet, all Cael says is true.

This is Grison’s vision. His means to achieve his vision under the pretense of Daeanna. And he’s trying to play me for a fool.

Thaddeus sheathed the dagger and folded his hands behind his back once more, never waivering from Cael’s gaze.

He watched his brother’s expression relax, as did his arms, lowering to his sides.

If Thaddeus wasn’t mistaken, Cael swallowed hard, a subtle sign of relief.

A moment later, his brother lowered himself to sit on the edge of the sofa, clasping his hands between his spread knees.

“You know, brother, years have passed. Too many between blood kin. Our parents couldn’t possibly be happy with how things turned out between us.

However, I have never forgotten the Thaddeus I grew up with.

The man whose heart was that of gold, encompassing and empathetic.

Selfless. The one who would do anything to help and sacrifice his own happiness for the sake of others.

The brother who stepped in front of a magical assault to protect his little brother.

The one who nursed injured animals back to health.

A healer. A man who forged a name for himself for his loyalty to both pureblood and half-breed Fae.

You appreciated life , the most basic ingredient to all of our existence.

Fae, human, and all in between. And all races admired you for your kindness and gentleness.

You were a leader then, and didn’t even realize how much of an impact you had on those around you. You and Shaye. You were a powerhouse.”

Cael’s eyes lowered before his head dropped. Thaddeus looked away, unable to bear the reminders of a past life, for ’twas all in the past. He wasn’t that man anymore.

He was a man who lived on borrowed time.

He wasn’t fool enough to believe otherwise.

“I don’t know what she did to you. What magic she used on you.

You became her pitiable sidekick. Her sex slave and minion.

You refused to see otherwise, as you still do.

Turning a blind eye to one’s deceit is only deceiving oneself.

Fooling a fool. It’s a dangerous, unforgiving path you are choosing to tread, and the consequences will surely be steep.

Blood will be on your hands, and your hands only, because not a single person in this new movement will come to your rescue if it means their lives.

The Goddess is not one who takes ruthless bloodshed lightly. ”

Thaddeus closed his eyes, keeping his head turned away from Cael until he felt the heat of his brother’s gaze strike his cheek.

He leveled his gaze once more, only this time, the churn of emotions in his brother’s silver eyes squeezed the cords and nerves in his chest. He struggled to maintain a flat affect and prayed it held.

“Word travels fast, Thad. Everyone in the Fae communities knows what’s going on.

What has happened. Her failed attack on the Talaenians.

Why do you believe the Goddess granted Shaye and his people her protection?

Not a single Talaenian fell that day. The only fatalities were those of Daeanna’s army.

” He lifted his tangled fingers and pointed to Thaddeus.

“And you nearly died, if rumor holds truth. Even after all you’ve done and all you plan to do, the Goddess still believes in you. Don’t take Her blessings lightly.”

Each breath turned into a battle to draw air into his lungs. He needed to escape this cramped box of an abode. He needed to get away from the high-charged air and these sullen fact-filled speeches. His brother, irritating as he was, stirred too much turmoil in his soul.

“Stay away from those humans, Cael. ’Tis my only warning.”

“Your threats fall on deaf ears, Thad. Your power doesn’t frighten me.

Nor does your small squad of traitors to Dagda who hide because they are cowards.

If you for a moment believe I’m a small minority who mingles with humans, you’ve fooled yourself.

Many pureblooded Seelie mingle with humans.

So if your new movement’s idea of killing off each and every one who does is the solution to their maniacal vision, buckle up and prepare for the genocide of Seelie Fae.

Should you follow that path, brother, you’ll sacrifice your soul to the Netherworld for all eternity.

You will lose whatever blessings the Goddess bestowed upon you.

” Cael raised his hands in a show of uncertainty.

“Your dead princess didn’t even propose such an absurd idea and claim it to be her vision, but you’re so quick to jump on this bandwagon in her name. ”

“We shall see.”

Without further hesitation, he transported himself out of Cael’s home and into the corridor of the multifloored building.

A spurt of weakness flooded his muscles.

He stumbled and leaned against the rough wall, the heel of his palm pressed hard to his forehead.

The sticky, humid air clung to his flesh like an unwelcome film of suffocation, molding his silk shirt to his body.

His hair whipped around his waist and cut across his face in the corridor’s cross breeze, strands clinging to his neck.

Heaviness poured into his chest, his soul, like infinite weight with no mercy.

Using his magic drained him far too fast, an unnerving revelation, leaving him shaking and exhausted.

The haunting picture of the redheaded woman. The instant response from his cock. The unforgiving battle in his soul.

What in the Goddess’s name was happening to him?

His fingers curled into his palm before he pulled his hand away from his forehead. His vision blurred when he opened his eyes, but quickly cleared.

This eve had turned into an absolute disaster. He must still be healing from his wounds. His power overwhelmed him. Unless…

Nay. Nonsense. Grison could never tamper with his power.

Unless…

Follow through with your plan. ’Tis the only way now .

Aye.

One way or another, he’d discover Grison’s secrets and defeat him at his own game. He’d follow this mission through to the end.

Whatever the end may be.