“Oh, shit,”Sai laughs, either oblivious or just too entertained by Kane’s fury.
“Brother, what’s the meaning of—”
“Theytouchedher.” Each word is spaced out, dropping into a deeper octave until Kane’s voice is fully entwined with the dark. “After weexplicitlysaid we wouldn’t. After we voted, swore we’d wait until she knew about the bond. They touched her. Both of them.”
Kane seems to grow taller, shadows coiling around his towering frame like vengeful serpents before lashing out at Sai and me again. I sidestep as Sai lunges back.
“Mate, come on, you know those votes mean fuck all.” Sai grins, barely ducking another viper-like shadow. “Hey, I tried!”
“Tried? Youtried.” Kane rarely ever raises his voice, but his tone is on the precipice of a yell. “This is why she felt so betrayed. Because of you two. You tried? You’re immortal beings, you have eternity, and you couldn’t wait?”
Another swathe of darkness swoops towards us, Sai’s coils erupt into flickers of iridescent blue at the sudden contact.
“You have—” Sai starts, then dodges another black spike, “—no idea—” An eruption of sparks blocks the next shadow. “—how hard it is when she’s justthere. Feeling the way she does, looking the way she—”
“Ihave no idea?” The darkness recedes, dragging and collecting every shadow as it pulls back to the source. “I refused myself any part of her. I limited all contact. Then I slept in a bed with her against me.”
Rising and rising, the dark becomes an impenetrable wave around him.
“You can’t even imagine the things I had to picture. The foul memories I had to conjure to stop myself from touching her.” Kane’s voice deepens, echoing with something truly demonic as it fills every corner of the room, the shadows pulsing behind him in symbiosis.
And although this rage and wrath is aimed at me and my dearest friend, I am in awe of the spectacle that is Kane. I have never been more impressed.
“But you,” he spits.“Both of you, betrayed her.” The tremendous wave explodes.
I can no longer see as an endless abyss engulfs us, entangles us—begins to suffocate.
But the darkness and I are old allies. For a moment, it remains strong, but soon sinks into me, allowing me to see once more. I watch Sai from the corner of my eye; Kane’s shadows grip him mercilessly, tightening—constricting.
“Fucking... hell... mate,” he wheezes, but even strangled he grins, defiant. “If you’re... this... jealous now...” Blue flickers crawl up his throat, the light reflecting off his teeth. “…how are you gonna be… when we share—”
“You think I’ll ever allow you to look upon her again?” He steps towards us, and an earthquake begins. “That you won’t spend the rest of your existence in the Pit?” The universe shakes. “Awaiting her judgement, which I’ll ensure sheneverdelivers.”
Sai’s grin drops, and I know I need to move to him, now. I watch as his markings darken, as sparks start spitting, his initial excitement shifting into something sharper. Something vicious and dark—
A shadow delves for my throat, latching in a painful noose. I groan as I grapple with it, its icy embrace piercing my skin like thorns, before I finally wrench free.
“Ezekial, step in,”I grit out, darkness biting deeper as I speak only to him.“They’re slipping.”
“If I step in, I’ll make this worse.”My gaze cuts to Ezekial beside his brother, watching Kane’s darkness tear at Sai. Sparks and shadow collide, and still he stands there, calm, waiting for the right second to move.
Yes, Kane is an unholy being, his power truly terrifying to all but us. But the two brothers together? That was another entity entirely.
I warily note the wisps of darkness emitting from Ezekial’s tense form, how his eyes hold the barest glimmer of light. And it is… concerning.
It seems we have truly unleashed the wrath of both brothers. Interesting.
“How could you both?” Ezekial’s beast begins to rumble, I hear the gruffness, the grit lacing his words as he glowers. “You’ve made everything so much worse.”
“Oh, fuckoff!” Sai’s coils splinter through the shadows, finally escaping Kane’s hold. “Look, I know I should have waited. But I never forced her into anything.”
His arms are behind his head, trying to open his chest and catch his breath while his power creates a crackling shield around him.
Every time a sliver of darkness hits, a shower of sparks rains down.
Sai pants, scraping back his hair. “Look, I’ll show you—”
“Don’t youdare,” Ezekial growls, when he steps forwards, I flit closer to Sai. “The two of you have ruined the hope we had.”
