Using my own words against me. He was making fun of me. Asshole.
Scowling, I stalked off in the opposite direction, away from all the brothers in my path. But Jade caught my arm. I tried to pull out of it, but his unassuming grip was ironclad. Damn, the book nerd was stronger than he looked.
“What, you have more sassy remarks to get off your chest?” I grumbled.
“Aurum. I know how much Saffron means to you,” Jade said. “This ongoing drama must be affecting you deeply.”
“Wow. Great insight, Dr. Phil.”
“But this behavior has to stop. You’re acting like a child in the throes of a tantrum.”
“Oh, gods, no. Are you gonna send me tothe ranch?”
Jade raised a pencil-thin brow. “What the devil are you talking about?”
His confusion gave me an opening to yank my arm free. Now that I wasn’t in the snake’s coils, I trudged away from him.
“I’ll be here if you need to talk,” Jade called pleasantly behind me.
My lip curled. I was so annoyed that my teeth shifted into fangs in my mouth.
That conversation left me more irate than before. I was not throwing a tantrum. Jade didn’t get it. Nobody did. Yeah, we wereallbrothers and that was great, but Saffron was mytwin.My other half.
And now I was losing him.
To the stupid-ass concept offated mates.
My fists curled. My dragon claws shifted out, digging into my human skin.
We never argued before the Games. Not once. We got along better than anyone, and we were always there for each other.
But now, I felt lonely.
A hiss escaped through my fangs. I glanced down at my hands, then gasped. Blood ran down my palms. I’d accidentally pierced my skin with my claws.
“Shit,” I muttered.
I turned to head for the bathroom where the first-aid kit was, but I didn’t expect anyone to be behind me.
Saffron frowned in concern. To my surprise, he held cotton pads and a brown bottle in his hands.
I blinked at him. “How did you—”
“Twin magic,” he said, grabbing my bloody hand. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. “How the hell did you do this to yourself? Did you do it on purpose?” he demanded, voice sharper.
“No. It was an accident,” I grumbled.
The air felt tense and awkward. We glared at each other silently as I let Saffron clean my wound.
“There,” Saffron said curtly when he finished. Turning his back to me, he said, “I felt you hurting. So I came.”
My chest tightened. Hedidcare. I knew he did.
So why were we constantly fighting?
Two days later,I was invited to a bright and early meeting.
Translation: a miserable family gathering at the ass-crack of dawn, courtesy of Jade.
