“Really, Azrael?” Hevan snaps me out of the story, and I only now realize how long I’ve been reading for. “The Count of Monte Cristo?”
I smirk and place the book back on the bedside table, then step up toward my wife until we’re toe to toe. “It’s about a man who faked his death, then came back as a different person to live with the woman he always loved. He took revenge on those who wronged him.” I swirl a lock of her hair around my finger. “He took his rightful place in the world. By her side, always.”
“I’ve read it,” she breathes out.
“I’m aware,” I quip back with a tilt of my lips that lets her know how well I am truly aware of her actions.
Her eyes flash at realizing how far I went to get to know her. Her blue orbs bounce over my face, and I broaden my smirk at the surprised look on her beautiful face. Of course I read every book that the woman who entrapped my dark heart was reading in an act to get to know her better, but there’s only this one that stood out among all others. It was as if it was calling to me, guiding me in the direction of my path.
“Do you think Czar is coping today?” she asks, changing the subject. It’s the anniversary of my death. Or the death of Azrael Carrera. The devil.
I push her hair off her shoulder and kiss along her jaw and down her neck, delighting in the goosebumps covering her skin.
“I think Czar will be just fine.” I smile broadly. My younger brother has had enough time to become the man he was meant to be; it’s time he learned that fate has a way of coming back to you when you least expect it.
The End.
Extended Epilogue
Czar
It’s been over a year since Azrael’s passing, and not one day goes by without me wondering what could have been.
When he lost his unborn child and Hevan, it hit him hard, and I can relate. When Evelyn was taken from me, I didn’t want to live another day without her, yet I knew it was for the best, for all of us.
In our world, love is equal to liability, and our father reminded us of that on a daily basis. Proved it, too, in the sickening way he violated Hevan, and while Evelyn narrowly missed out in his depravity, he made her pay in other ways. Something I would never be able to fix for her, despite how desperately I wanted to.
So I can appreciate why Azrael no longer cared; he had nothing left to lose. He didn’t just murder our father, he committed suicide, knowing the repercussions of his actions.
Jensen assured me he didn’t suffer, but we both know differently; we both know burning to death is a horriblepain to endure. Hell, we use it to torture our enemies. We’ve heard the screams that bounce off the walls and our stone hearts.
After Azrael’s passing, I struggled to gain control of our empire, but I rose from the ashes of a fallen kingdom and gradually recreated us. We no longer deal in human trafficking. Though the money is less, I can rest easier knowing we’re no longer an accomplice in the obscenities of society that haunted me and my brother.
Just dealing drugs and firearms is all.
A knock on the car door interrupts my thoughts and lets me know we’ve arrived at our destination. I push open the door and step outside. The sunlight is blinding as I head toward the cemetery to pay my respects to mark my brother’s one-year anniversary. The leaves crunch beneath my shoes, and when I arrive at his grave, I kneel to trace over his name for the first time since they placed the headstone a couple of months after his death.
I swallow back the lump in my throat, and my chest tightens, causing my hand to tremble with emotion.
When I lower my head, I notice that something is poking out of the fresh flowers on the grave, and I glance around the cemetery, wondering who the hell would have put flowers on his grave to begin with, but my search comes up empty. He didn’t exactly have a stellar reputation.
I lift the envelope from the flowers, and my heart skips a beat at the writing.
It looks just like his.
What the?
My heart thuds as I swiftly tear the envelope open to reveal a letter.
Czar,
I once told you that you would make an outstanding leader, and I meant it. You’re doing great things, little brother.
My heart pounds against my chest like a drum. “The fuck?” I glance around the cemetery.
Nothing.
You were born to rule; never forget that.
