Page 52

Lorcan

A iden flew across the room and hit the wall, small bits of plaster crumbling around him. I didn’t care. I’d have someone deal with it later.

He had touched Briar—my Briar. My fingers curled tight, knuckles white and aching, the tips of my fangs cutting into my lip. If she had wanted it, I would walk away, but from the smell of her fear and the terror on her face… How dare my brother do this, of all things?

I heard a gasp from Briar and glanced at her, Rory’s arms around her. I would go to her in a minute. For now, I needed to teach my brother a lesson.

Aiden pulled his knees to his chest like they moved through molasses, lifting his eyes to mine. They were empty pits, no glimmer of the smug arrogance—just hunger, raw and endless. “Come to save your mate?”

I flew at him, feeling as though I’d gained wings.

“Lorcan!” Briar screamed somewhere behind me. Her voice, cracked and rough with panic, barely found me through my rage. As I reached Aiden, I kicked him square in the chest, my fangs exposed. He hadn’t expected me to keep going, and his back hit the wall again.

This time, he didn’t move slowly, springing to his feet. “Oh, the protective one, are we? Maybe you shouldn’t have chased her away.”

His words were a sharp and clean knife because they were true, but it wasn’t enough. “The only reason I did was because of you,” I spat at my younger brother. “Because you have to have everything. Because nothing is ever enough for you.”

His smile stretched too wide, his chest heaving with the weight of his own self-importance, raising his voice. “Because I am more than you. More than all of you combined.”

The words slammed into me as I fought to contain a dark smile. He really didn’t know we all carried the same power.

“You are nothing,” I said coldly. “Nothing more than an egotistical, insolent child who believes the world should bow to him in a way it was never meant to.”

“It was always meant to!” he shouted. “If it wasn’t, why would I be the way I am? Why would I survive a stake to the heart? I cannot die.”

Cormac stepped forward, away from Declan, his voice calm but firm. “Aiden, we don’t know why. But what we know is you need to stop. You’re going to turn the entire supernatural community against us, and when that happens, there will be nothing left for any of us.”

Aiden narrowed his eyes. “There will be everything. And everything will be mine. I will be the one in charge. I will be the one who rules it all.”

I laughed, the sound bitter and cruel. There was no reasoning with him. That flicker of the person I’d once known was long gone. “The king of everything? And what happens to the humans in your silly little game?”

His gaze flicked to Isla, Rory, and Briar.

“They mean nothing,” he said, his voice dismissive. “They were put here only to feed us, to sustain us. That’s all they’ve ever been. They must learn their place—to understand that a new order is coming. And there’s nothing they can do to stop it.”

Declan took Isla’s hand. “Aiden, you can’t mean that.”

“Oh, I most certainly can.” He looked at Isla and sneered. “Every last word of it.” His gaze locked on Declan, and something shifted in his expression. “And look at you. Standing there with them when you should be with me. I’m your sire. I’m the one who fought to have you turned.”

Declan’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t move from beside Isla and Conall.

“This is enough,” Cormac said sharply. “Aiden, you need to give up this ridiculous plan. Come back with us. Let us be the family we were always meant to be.”

Aiden looked pointedly at each of us before glaring squarely at Cormac. “That will never happen, dear brother. You can have the traitor in my place.”

And then he vanished between Cormac and Declan—out the door.

The air had barely settled before I was at Briar’s side, the silence as thick as the dust Aiden left behind.

Rory stepped back, leaving me alone next to Briar. “Are you okay?” My fingers trailed down her cheek, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath my touch. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

She shook her head, though her skin trembled under my hand. Her voice was tight as she tried to keep it steady. “No. No, you got here just in time.”

Relief crashed through me. My fingers slid around to the back of her neck, cradling her. “I would never have forgiven myself if anything had happened to you.”

Her eyes narrowed. Her voice rose, sharp with disbelief.

“If anything had happened to me? What do you think that was?” She stepped back from me, folding her arms over her chest as a protective shield.

“My whole life, vampires were a myth. Lady Isobel was crazy—but she wasn’t crazy, was she?

” Her eyes locked with mine. “You’re the same Lorcan from the journal, aren’t you? ”

My gaze dropped along with my voice. “I am.”

I looked back at her. Tears glistened in her eyes, and her breath hitched, but she swallowed hard, forcing her shoulders back. Her eyes darted around the room, widening at the faces surrounding us. “Are all of you vampires?”

Cormac stepped forward. “No, not all of us. The mates are human.”

Rory raised her hand with a small smile. “Well, witch,” she said lightly.

Briar shook her head, stepping backward. “I can’t—I can’t be here. I have to go.” She started for the door.

“Briar, please—” The words fell unintentionally from my lips. “Briar, everything that happened was my fault. It’s my fault your family ended up in Australia. It’s my fault Lady Isobel was convicted.”

She stopped in her tracks and turned to me. Her brow furrowed, her expression tight with disbelief. “How could that be possible?”

I looked down, unable to meet her eyes. “Ashdowne was a vampire. And I was the one who turned him,” I admitted. “He convinced me at the time that he wanted to help people—to spend eternity doing good. But once he turned, everything changed. Once he got a taste for blood, I couldn’t stop him.”

“What does that have to do with Lady Isobel?” she asked.

“Ashdowne became obsessed with Isobel. He wanted only to be with her, to control her. She only wanted Harrowmont. She loved her husband deeply.” I paused, taking a long breath before adding, “Not only was she married… she was pregnant.”

Briar shook her head. “But… she had no children before she left.”

I nodded, the weight of it pressing against my chest. “She lost the baby shortly after Ashdowne killed Harrowmont. Between the combined loss and Ashdowne pursuing her, I don’t think she saw another way out but to kill him. I should have known.”

Briar clenched her jaw. “But how did she know he was a vampire?”

I smiled, a warmth at the memory of my conversation with Isobel gripping my heart.

“She grew up with the stories you always thought were myths. People took them as fact in those days because they explained the inexplicable. She suspected, but knew it was true when Ashdowne claimed a stag had killed Harrowmont. Even during a hunt, that’s a rare occurrence—and Isobel knew it was Ashdowne.

” I bit my lip, the confession causing bubbles in my stomach.

“And all of it was my fault. I knew he was dangerous, and he wanted her. I planned to send him away, but didn’t act fast enough.

I should have stopped him. I’m so sorry, Briar, for everything I did to your family. ”

“How could you have known the outcome?” she asked.

“What matters is that I created him. My sireling caused it all, and I should have been able to stop him.”

She shook her head, her arms wrapping around herself tightly. “Maybe so. Maybe you should have stopped him. But you didn’t.” Her gaze swept the room, landing on each of us. “How many families like mine have you destroyed? How many people have died?”

The questions landed like blows, forcing the air from my lungs. The truth was, I’d stopped counting centuries ago. “Briar, I didn’t—”

She cut me off, her voice sharp and trembling. “Lorcan, you never wanted me here. Don’t pretend you did.”

I nodded, unable to deny it.

She took a breath. “I’ve done what I set out to do. And now it’s time for me to go.”

I stepped toward her. “But—”

“Lorcan.” Cormac placed a firm hand on my shoulder. “Let her go.”

I glared at my brother. How could he suggest that when he had his mate at his side?

He turned to Rory and Isla. “Stay with her, please.”

Briar’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

Cormac looked at her and dropped his voice. “We’ll all stay here. But two vampires are out there—both ready to take revenge on this family. You need protection, and they can provide that for you.”

For a moment, I thought Briar would refuse out of spite. Her shoulders stiffened as she glanced between Rory and Isla before she took a deep breath. “Only for tonight. And then I return to Byron Bay tomorrow. And I never want to see you again, Lorcan.”

Briar turned and walked out the door, Rory and Isla stepping behind her.

I stood there, unable to move, wondering if I would ever see her again. Her scent lingered in the air, the last part of her I could grasp as her footsteps faded.