Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79726 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79726 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
He tilts his head at me, the expression on his face changing as he nods. “Well, little girl.” I bristle at how patronizing he is. “At last, you say something sensical. I’ll get Abaddon here, and he’ll know what to do. At least he’ll back my play because, obviously, the logical thing to do is to put you back exactly where my brother found you.”
“Hey!” I snap. “Why don’t you start trying not to be an asshole, like. . . now?”
He narrows his eyes at me, then strides for the door. Which is another kick to the gut.
“Wait!” I call, and he stops.
He starts to turn around, but I wave for him to stop. I don’t want to see Romulus’s stupid face. I reach up to Remus’s sleeping features and caress his face. He looks calm in sleep. Unlike himself. Remus never looks calm. He’s always riled about something and so alive. He’s the definition of alive.
I reach up and kiss his sleeping lips, whispering, “Come back to me, my love.”
Romulus doesn’t move for a long moment after I pull back, and for a second, I hope his stillness means they’ll switch back.
But no, he reaches for the door and then stomps out, large wings swooping behind him, tail near the floor rather than playfully dancing in the air like usual when Remus is in control.
I follow after him. “What am I supposed to do now?” I ask.
“Wait,” he says before slamming the door shut in my face.
Chapter Thirteen
ROMULUS
Come back to me, my love. Her soft voice whispering those words to my twin brother, of all people, haunts me as I run down the stairs.
All Remus knows is war. He was never good at the art of sweet words or manipulation. That was our father’s domain and, on occasion, mine. I could manipulate for tactical advantage like no one else.
Remus was only ever the chaos. He could burn fury and contention in men’s hearts that made them lust for blood. He could turn kinsmen against kinsmen, lighting up a personal quibble that had nothing to do with the battle at large and stoke their bloodlust so they’d slay one another on the spot, though the battlefield was two leagues away.
So there is only one true reason he’s brought this beautiful woman to our castle.
He has done it to torment me. To allow me to feel the touch and embrace of the most beautiful woman and then have her turn away in disgust right after the climax of my first-ever sexual encounter. Because he is a sadistic fuck and always will be.
He is no one’s love, and the sooner this woman realizes it, the better.
Abaddon will be my ally in this. He will see the danger in Remus’s reckless actions, betraying our presence to the humans. If I’m lucky, he’ll agree to another two-hundred-year sentence in the dungeon.
Yes, it means I’ll also be caged, but at least I know my family will come speak to me when I am awake, and I’ll still have my studies. Layden has been showing us all sorts of devices that connect the whole world on computers with little screens. He declares the entire world can be held within the palm of one’s hand. I will have time to study this new world of his.
Order will be restored.
And Remus will be punished. I allow myself a small smile at this and breathe out as I pull out the phone from the library desk on the second floor. The library was an addition Hannah asked for, and we’ve been slowly filling it with tomes and comfortable furniture.
Hannah likes to be in here while Raven plays. It was a bit of a hairy week while they taught Raven not to fly up, rip the books off the shelves, and tear into the books with her sharp little fangs, but Abaddon was patient with his small daughter. I’ve been quite impressed with the transformation of my eldest brother into an understanding father.
I punch in the phone number Abaddon was insistent that I memorize upon his leaving. Did he intuit there would inevitably be an emergency, leaving only me and Remus behind? I promised I could keep my brother in check for their weeklong vacation, but I could not even manage three days.
I lift the phone to my ear and listen to it ring. Perhaps he will not answer. Do I want him to? I am never happy to discuss failure, but we can only begin to fix a problem once everyone knows about it.
It rings and rings. I sigh, about to set it down, when it’s answered with a gruff, “What?”
“Abaddon.”
“What’s wrong? What’s happened?”
“It’s Remus,” I answer.
A heavy sigh comes across the line. “Of course it is. What’s happened?”
“He’s taken a consort.”
“What?” Abaddon roars. “Why didn’t you stop him?”
“I wasn’t awake in time. You need to come back home. He also made a spectacle in front of some humans.”