“You are like no other who has threatened to take my life here in the Realms. Seems as if everyone wants my life, even those who I thought I could trust.” I take a step forward, standing close to Koen who inhales deeply the moment I come near him. “I am sorry about your brother, truly, but it's not like I willingly took his life.”
“I don’t believe a damn word you say.” Her face burns a crimson red, and she clenches her teeth tightly.
“Let me handle this,” Koen grunts over his shoulders, his curls whipping in the breeze as he glances my way at last, finally making eye contact. But his are dark, as if he is lifeless. I almost don’t recognize him, like fear is etched into every detail in not only his face, but body.
“I can handle this.” Our eyes both violently gaze at one another before he whips his gaze away. He’s pissed.
Good. He should be.
He has no right to fight my battles for me. As if he thinks I cannot handle it.
I scuff, internally laughing.
I’ll show him what I am capable of.
I will show them all.
His voice drops to a raging growl. “If she dares touch you, even looks in your direction, I will hold her life in my hands at last and take her soul from Azure, sending it straight to the darkest place possible where she deserves to rest for eternity.”
“She has a right to mourn her brother!” My head shakes, my brows narrowing deeply inward. “This isn’t like you.”
“This is exactly like me,Spark. You just haven’t seen my dark side.”
Spark.
I clench my eyes, my mind racing with the images I once saw.Are they real?Or are the Gods playing a trick on me?
“The descendants of the Gods always feel as if they’re untouchable. Just because you Royals are theFallen Embersof our Gods, protected by them with your Vitaei water and ability to live longer than the rest of us, doesn’t mean death can’t come sooner for you all.”
“Are you bringing this up again?” Koen snarls. “Dixyn chose dark magic over staying here with you… that is not my fault. If he truly loved you, he would have stayed! You can’t blame that on me!”
“You are the one that brought him there! I can’t believe his brother, Theon, didn’t stop him, or you.” Her lips curl with a wicked twist. “How could you let him go!”
My heart skips as I catch sight of Koen’s nostrils flaring.
My eyes flicker between the two of them, watching the storm rage inside them as if they are both ready to blow at any moment.
But the words Klayra said. Theon having a brother. I had never heard him speak of this. Fallen embers. Descendants. Words I have never heard from the brothers. Nor Theon and Kaine.
I take a deep breath as I catch Klayra’s silver eyes flickering with a soft hazel hue around her cornea, but they burn with rage as the blade drips Koen's blood at her feet. The sight of it sets my heart into a violent, deadly rate, pumping a raging fire throughout me as I lock onto the blood dripping from his hand.
And that pisses me off.
Something inside me shifts.
I hate him. Damn it, yes I hate him.
But, my heart beatsfor him.
My teeth clench tightly, staring at the blood slowly dripping repeatedly.
What the hell is wrong with these people? Thebloodshed. Theviolence. Thebetrayals. Damn it, what did this curse do to them?
Even though I have a burning hatred for him that sears through my heart, he has always felt different to me, a feeling I have yet to feel in all my years. I deeply care for him, and even if I haven’t screamed it out loud to this Realm, my heart has been screaming this for quite some time now. I cannot deny it. It overrides any of my other senses, making me feel as if I have gone mad, and I don't believe those feelings can ever fade away.
Especially with seeing the beauty of him…everyday. Maybe once I leave, those feelings will soon be erased. How I hope for that.
The Gods didn’t listen to me when I begged them not to fall in love.
