Ian’s jaw clenched with fury. “Absolutely not. If you think for one moment I’m going to let you take Illiana on some secret mission,” he chuckled sarcastically, “you are profoundly mistaken. Every time I leave her with you, something terrible happens.”
I tapped my finger on the table, glaring at him. Fighting would get us nowhere. I would think, after everything we’d beenthrough, Fae male bullshit would be the last thing on their minds.
Apparently not.
Kade scoffed. “I’d die before letting anything happen to her.”
Tension filled the room, thick and heavy as it pressed in around us. Ian scowled. “Says the man infected with the darkness. Who let her get kidnapped on, what—two separate occasions? Who knows what you’ve done under Thames’s control? No thank you.” He stalked to Kade and shoved his finger in his chest, twitching slightly. “I’ll be taking care ofmyqueen.”
Ian’s distorted features forced me out of my chair, heart racing as shock drove me to stand suddenly. The anger and hatred on his face weren’t like him at all.
“Ian,” I said quietly, terrified of what he was feeling to make him act out like this while simultaneously wanting him to snap out of it.
Shadows slowly billowed around Kade’s legs, ready and waiting to pounce. As Kade slowly approached Ian, his eyes widened as a sly smile formed on his face. “I’m the one infected by darkness? How areyoufeeling Ian?”
My attention shifted fully to Ian.
“What does that mean?” I asked, only to be ignored as the two stared each other down.
William yelled from across the room, “If you’re going to fight, you better do it outside. I’m not fixing anymore broken chairs.”
“Gladly,” Ian and Kade replied in unison.
These men were incorrigible. “Tits and daggers. You two are absolutely ridiculous. No one is fighting right now. We don’t have time for this.”
My words fell on deaf ears. Ian and Kade were outside before I could even finish my sentence. Ian rolled his sleeves up, ready to take on Kade and his shadows.
“Yeah, fight,” Jax exclaimed, clapping his hands together once. “Fates, I wish I had a snack for this.” His gaze shifted around the room, eyes widening at a tray of nuts on the bar top. He ran toward it, taking the whole bowl before racing outside to watch the brawl.
I followed behind, hoping someone would stop this nonsense. No such luck. Ian and Kade were circling each other, taunting, each waiting for the other to make a move.
Kalliah had been standing with a group of Fae just outside of the inn, but the minute she locked eyes on Kade and Ian, she ran over to me, scanning my worried expression, “Kade won’t actually hurt him, and neither will Ian. Let them duke it out for a minute. Maybe it’ll break up some of the tension brewing between them.”
I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t believe this was the kind of behavior the two men I loved the most resorted to. They may feel the need to choose violence, but I wouldn’t let them actually hurt each other.
“You can feel it calling, can’t you, Ian,” Kade taunted. “Tell me, are you feeling angry? Do you feel out of control?”
Ian remained in a defensive position, hands up protecting his face as he mirrored Kade’s movements. “Angry? Of course I’m angry. The world has gone to complete shit. Look at the mess we’re in.”
Kade chuckled, like this was a game. His shadows remained dancing at his feet. “Tsk, tsk, now you know that’s not what I mean. You haven’t admitted it yet, have you?” Kade shuffled forward and threw a jab at Ian’s chest. “Afraid?”
Ian ducked and blocked the jab with his forearm. “I’m not afraid of anything.”
I tried to step forward into their make-believe ring but was quickly pulled back by Jax and Storm. “Hey, stop that.Someone’s going to get hurt.” I ripped my arm out of Storm’s loose grasp. “Kade, come on. Ian, this is stupid. Stop fighting.”
They continued to ignore me.
The two carried on circling each other and taking small hits. They teased each other, both holding back, just waiting for the other to make a mistake.
Ian threw a jab-cross, aiming directly at Kade’s jaw. To his credit, his shadows held back and didn’t attack. They let Kade take the hit. His lower lip split open, and a small rivulet of blood formed on the skin. “I know you owe me a few of those,” Kade said, wiping the blood from his face and then shaking it from his fingertips. “If you want to hit me to deal with it, fine, but you need to talk about it.”
Ian’s lip curled. “I don’t know what you mean.” He shouted the last few words.
My body tensed, frozen as I observed the exchange. A sickening dread filled me.
Kade took a step toward Ian, hands out in a placating way. “Out of anyone, you know I would understand. You can talk to me.”
“Fuck all the way off,” Ian shouted, sprinting toward Kade in a flurry of fists and rage.
