“You know Julien made us chain him in the Pit for days, yeah? Kane and me took turns with him, and you were here. So sometimes… it was just me, alone, and… fuck, I was a wreck, man.”
I told Kane I’d be fine, that I was fine, but I lied.
I hate being alone.
I shake my head, hating how pathetic it all sounds, knowing what I’m going to say next is worse… “I nearly went to the Fae Realm, just to—”
“What?” His gaze blinds me, literally, making me wince. “Without us? Are you joking?Sai, what the fuck, man?”
I stare at the screen again, watching Red as she tucks her hair behind her ears.
“I didn’t. Nearly did, but I stayed.” My teeth drag over my bottom lip. “She actually called to me that night, just as I was about to go. She’s the reason I didn’t.”
I roll my neck, then force out the rest. “So yeah, I get the restless thing. And IknowI shouldn’t have fucking touched her, man. Believe me, I know.” I shake my head, hair falling over my face and covering an eye. “But fuck, I’ve just never felt anything like her. Never wanted someone so bad. And she feels so…”
How the hell do I put it into words?
I’m not an eloquent man, I don’t spout poetry like Julien. I like my words sharp, flippant, better suited for insults than confessions. But Zeek’s staring, waiting for me to finish.
I drag my gaze to him. “She makes me feel calm and still... safe.”Fuck. That last one… like a jagged ball of razors to spit that out.
Zeek studies me, then his expression hardens. “Don’t evergo back there without us.” His eyes darken, black eating into silver. “Don’t eventhinkabout it.” I look away. “I mean it, Sai. If the others knew, if Julien knew. Fuck, he’d be so—”
“I know,” I murmur. “I know.”
“That realm is a fucking abomination, and you know it,” he snarls, pinning me with his darkened stare.
Most idiots dream about the Fae Realm. I’m sure they’ve been spoon-fed the same shiny tale their whole lives—how the courageous and noble faes fought so valiantly to save the fractured Light Realm during the Dark War. How they bravely preserved artifacts of the light by taking refuge on its outer edge, the hardest parts to reach, while the rest of the realm fell into ruin.
What a load of shit.
Faes are conceited, lying, manipulative fucks who’d sell you poison and swear it’s water just to watch you choke. I grew up hearing their fairytale, but never lived it.
Never once saw the ‘light’ they supposedly carried.
After they stitched together their own realm from fragments of stolen light, no one questioned why dark faes started showing up.
Anyone with half a brain could’ve figured it out.
That place isn’t light. It’s patched together shit, forged from broken pieces, cracked through with shadows.
Unbalanced and incompatible.
For a realm that always claimed to be closest to the light, it was the darkest I’d ever known.
“Sai, remember what we said.” Zeek’s rage is gone now. I lost myself for a bit, always did when I thought about that fucking place. “Remember what we vowed.”
Ah, fuck. Not this. He’s making my chest ache, and I fucking hate when it does that.
“When we go back to that forsaken realm, we go together. And together, we’ll turn it to ash.” He waits, holds the silence, lets those words sink into me. “You were the only good thing that fake realm ever made.”
The words tear right through me, all the way down to the piece of me still caged in that place. I’m not built for heart-to-heart crap. But fuck, that’s why I love these bastards.
I shove at his shoulder. “Hey, don’t go all soft on me, man. We’ve been fighting for weeks.” I try for a smirk, but it sticks halfway, Zeek’s words still digging under my skin.
He grimaces. “Yeah, I know. Sorry.”
He pauses for a second, gaze locking on mine like he really wants to hammer his next words in. “You’re my brother, Sai. My family. Don’t ever doubt that.”
