“No. Do you feel at all?”
“Yes,” Sila said. “I’m annoyed. Stop throwing a tantrum like a three-year-old.”
“Go blow yourself, at least one of us has experienced that!” There was silence immediately following Rin’s words.
His brother broke it finally with a sharp burst of laughter. “Did you mean the blowing part or the tantrum part?”
“Tantrum,” Rin mumbled, dropping down on the bench. “I’m sorry. I fucked up.”
“He made you angry.” Sila shrugged like the fact Rin had accosted an Imperial Prince—twice—was no big deal.
“There’s a name attached to the decree, brother,” he said softly.
They stared at each other a moment, and then Sila nodded.
“No one makes us do anything.”
“You should be more concerned,” Rin stated.
“You mean if I wasn’t a psychopath, I would be.”
“That’s not—” He blew out a breath. “I know you have feelings, okay? I was just being an ass.”
“Well, there’s nothing all that new there.”
“Dick.” Rin chuckled.
“What do you want to do?” Sila asked a moment later.
“You don’t do anything,” he said. “I’ll figure something out.”
“Brother.”
“He’s an Imperial and as soon as they make that announcement tomorrow, all eyes are going to be on us. We can’t afford for the two of you to go at it.”
“Sure that isn’t just jealousy speaking? Since you’ve already…” Sila gave him a pointed once over, “gone at it?”
Rin pinched the bridge of his nose. “Sometimes I really want to drown you.”
“Sometimes I’m curious what you look like on the inside.”
They both meant it.
“We’re fucked up.” Rin had stopped feeling bad about that fact a long time ago. Being normal meant the two of them ending up as their father’s perfect pawns, and that sounded far worse than anything they’d been through together.
This wasn’t like anything they’d faced before, though, and admittedly, Rin was worried.
“Always have been,” his brother grunted. “But I love us.”
“Do you?”
“Of course.”
“Us,” Rin said, “plural?”
Sila sent him an odd look. “There is no singular us, brother. That’s not how the word works.” He snorted. “What are they teaching you at the Academy? I don’t remember it being that lax.”
“Eat me.”
