She nodded, and my nostrils flared.
My brother was alive, I reminded myself. There was no greater gift than that.
Then why did I feel the urge to tear his head off?
Jealousy, red-hot and venomous, coursed through me. My chest tightened, and my hands trembled with emotion I could barely contain. A part of me relished the sharp, corrosive ache. Yet another part screamed in warning, desperate to stop the fire from spilling over.
“You love your brother. You love your brother. You love your brother.”I repeated the mantra in my head until my body loosened.
“Aren’t you happy that Riordan is alive?”
“Of course I am.” I snarled, undoing all my efforts to calm myself in an instant.
“Really?” Riordan said, his grin as bright as the midday sun. “Because you don’t seem all that… overjoyed.”
Callum snickered, and I considered whether Cadence and I even needed siblings. We had a son on the way; he’d make us a family. How much family did one person need? My own experiences were nothing to celebrate, and Cadence’s were much the same.
“Why do you look as if you’re considering my untimely demise?” Riordan asked. When I didn’t respond, he laughed. “Shit, you are, aren’t you?”
“Why do you find that amusing?” I demanded, making him laugh harder.
“No one is dying,” Cadence said, giving me a hard look.
I couldn’t help but smirk. I loved it when she became assertive. It turned me on.
“Besides, we have more pressing matters to contend with.”
I glanced around the hall. The guards stood scattered and unsettled, clearly at a loss. What they needed now was direction. A leader.
And damn it all the hell, that leader was me.
I crossed to my brother and offered him my hand. He gripped it without hesitation, and I helped him back to his feet.
“You aren’t going to kill me, are you?”
“Not today.”
“Good enough.”
I clasped Riordan by the shoulders and hauled him into a firm embrace, the kind neither of us was used to, and let myself breathe for the first time since the fighting ended. He was alive, and that’s all that mattered.
“Their relationship is… strange.” I heard Callum mutter before he grunted in pain. “What was that for?”
“Don’t ruin their moment,” Cadence murmured.
Pressing my brow to Riordan’s, I said, “I am grateful you’re alive. I might not say it often, but I love you, Little Brother. More than you could ever know.”
Riordan clapped me on my shoulder, lessening the emotion constricting my chest. “I know, Ryker, I know.”
“Good.” I cleared my throat. “Now go make yourself useful and oversee the guards.”
He flashed a grin and gave me a sharp salute before heading toward the dazed guards, giving out orders and taking command. He looked far too pleased with himself, and the sight made me chuckle.
Small hands wrapped around my waist, and I felt the warmth of Cadence’s body as she pressed herself to my back. “I’m proud of you, Ryker.”
“Don’t think your silken words will spare you from the punishment you earned with that little stunt, Temptress.” I twisted in her grasp, turning to meet her gaze.
“It was worth a try,” she said with a shrug. “I could heal that for you, you know.” She let her fingers glide over the wound on my neck, even though the flesh had already begun to knit back together.
