No one would.
Getting to my feet slowly, I leaned down and kissed her forehead softly. Quen hummed and turned over, curling herself up. For a moment, I thought about her gift and how useful it would be, but I would never take it without her permission. Never betray her trust like that.
“I’ll be back for you. I promise,” I told her softly.
I padded out of the room and went to my study. I hoped they would all forgive me for what I was about to do, but this was never their war. None of this boiled down to Erik or Elva or Ignacio. The rest of the council had been pulled into an argument that had been raging on for years. Quentin wasn’t the cause, as she believed, but merely the tipping point. This war was personal. It came down to me and Hunter, and that was how it would end.
Sitting down at my desk, I drafted a quick letter. If I knew my big brother at all, then he would be awake, pacing and stalking and planning his moves with military precision. As I sent the letter off, I hoped that his predictability hadn’t changed. And, without waiting for a response, I went downstairs, grabbed the pocketknife laced with oleander, and soundlessly left my home.
Standing up on the cliffs,I let myself feed off the chaos that pounded through the air. The storm was raging, and I wanted to be in the eye of it. For it to begin and end with me. The rain was icy. Heavy drops hit the ground with such force that it left dentsthat grew until they formed puddles. Bright flashes of lightning and deep rumbles of thunder rolled out across Elysia as the Gods fought. I let go of the last constraints of my control and became vengeance. The blue bled away from my irises until nothing but black was left, and my aura pulsed around me, breathing steadily as we waited.
My toes curled inside my shoes, grounding me, and my clothes stuck to my skin. The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood to attention. Years ago, at the peak of the last war, I was reckless. I took orders and dived into the mess without too much of a thought. Not until it my friends were at risk. And even then, I hadn’t done enough.
This time, there was Quentin to think about. Her fear vibrated through our bond. It made me want to turn away and find her. Comfort her. Assure her that this would be over soon and a balance would be found. She was still new to all of this. How could she know how often we were on the edge of war and how quickly things resumed at their usual pace?
But if I left now, then we would waste a golden opportunity. There was no telling what the outcome would be for me when I finally did the unthinkable and murdered my brother. Elysia may still see it fit to sentence me to death. There was the chance they would never open their eyes to who Hunter was and how he had manipulated the masses, but that wasn’t for me to mull over right now.
The skies lit up as lightning unleashed itself, blinding the heavens. When it cleared, standing before me was my big brother, shrouded in swathes of his blue aura. While I thrived from the chaos, he fed from the protection that mortals and Gods alike were begging for.
We stared at each other as thunder cracked, and the ground shook.
“You came alone,” I called out, secretly grateful that he had believed me in my letter.
My correspondence was short. I told him to meet me here. That I would be alone and that he should be too. That we could finally finish this like we should have years ago.
“It should never have come to this, Grayson,” Hunter said. “You always had a knack for finding trouble.”
“Usually created by you.”
“None of this is down to me,” Hunter said, sounding like he believed his own lies. “This was all your doing, Grayson. All you had to do was listen. Sit pretty and answer some questions. You knew the rules and you still couldn’t help yourself. You had to have what was forbidden.”
“Quentin is my soulbound,” I countered. “She was made for me.”
“She’s a whore who wants to save her own skin. A woman with no loyalty.”
I launched myself at him, aura flying around me as I took us both to the floor. We grappled on the ground, punches weighted with powers. Hunter pushed me off him, sending me to the edge of the cliff where I managed to stop myself from falling over. My hands pushed along my pocket, feeling for the knife and the ring.
“I should have killed you both when I had a chance,” Hunter shouted, voice full of venom.
I would never understand what happened between me and Hunter, why we never shared a bond how I did with Erik. The protective instinct that he should have had, that he was responsible for, merely did not exist for his younger siblings.
I pushed myself back to my feet. “You brought oleander back to Elysia,” I said. “You cleared use for it on Earth, but you grew it here! You knew you were going to use it again.”
“I couldn’t guarantee that the study would calm the fears,” Hunter said, coming towards me. His aura was growing largeraround him, and I tried to focus on mine. “Gods are prone to hysteria if you leave them to their own devices. It was my currency if things didn’t go according to plan.”
“You were always going to sacrifice me.” I laughed, realising that Hunter had wanted me gone for a lot longer than I cared to admit. I used my aura to take me away from the edge of the cliff and to the space behind Hunter. “It could have been different.” The words left me coloured with a hint of sadness. I thought of Erik. I thought of Quentin and Cassidy. Bexley and Larkin.
Blue barrelled towards me and I felt the breath rush from my lungs as Hunter struck me in my middle. I tumbled backwards, fighting against the onslaught as best I could. The war that raged around us helped to fuel my powers as I lapped every drop of chaos and destruction that electrified the air.
Every hit reverberated through my body, causing my teeth and bones to rattle. Hunter and I had come to blows before, but never with as much behind us as there was now. Each strike that hit him unfurled the pure hatred in my heart that was saved only for him. It sliced his flesh and bruised his skin. But I took as much as I dealt.
I pulled the knife from my pocket, knowing that time was critical. The longer I drew this out, the more damage would happen to Elysia, and the more the mortals would suffer. Far be it from me to care, but Quentin would never forgive me if anything happened to Cassidy and Sophie.
Steeling myself, I started to run up the cliff, pushing my aura out as far as it would go. My body braced as I threw myself at Hunter, letting out a roar and thrusting the blade towards him. The oleander it was coated in burned my palm, but the pain was unmatched to Hunter’s aura wrapping around my neck. It was a bruising hold that crushed my windpipe as it lifted my feet off the ground. The knife slipped from my grasp. Flashes of thunder illuminated the madness that took over Hunter’s features. Gleeso wild that it tipped quickly from warming to uncomfortable. A man on the cusp of insanity with no restraint. Hunter would freefall because there was nothing else to lose.
My bones shook as he slammed me to the ground. The mud splattered around me and the sharp edges of rocks dug into my spine. Despite the pain, my aura shot out towards the knife, drawing it back into me. But Hunter, who threw a punch at my face, matched my speed. His aura grappled with mine, keeping me away from my goal of driving the sharp point into him.
Hunter laughed as our fight continued. “I should have known you’d try and get rid of me. You would sell your soul for power, no matter how you have to get it.”
