I don’t believe my own ears, but he seems to as he nods, his shoulders easing of tension as he offers me a flat smile.
“Good. You almost had me a little nervous there, Kael. I was worried it was me you were trying to dethrone.”
If the shoe fits.
This motherfucker would need a throne to be dethroned from, but I think better of expressing that and keep my mouth shut.
“We both know it’s The Sanctum I'm referring to. This is all their doing. It's time we corrected it.”
“Good, then you will kill this man if I don't have what I want from him. By the end of the day,” he reiterates, and I have to fight against the wince of pain under my arm.
“If not?” I ask, and he smiles, the wicked kind that starts deep in his soul.
“You don't want me to threaten you, Brother. We both know I always deliver on my threats,” he murmurs, running his tongue along his bottom lip.
There are so many occasions he is referring to, I almost test my luck, but decide to do so in a more productive way.
“Noted. But might I askwhywe'renot just storming The Vale? And are instead bullying a man into bending to your will when you already have so many subordinates.” His nostrils flare, but I proceed, the magic seemingly hellbent on having me die today. “I believed you when you said the girl was the last key. I believed you when you said she was all that was needed to finally bring justice to us, to our family, to our world.” I tilt my head, waiting for a response, but a verbal one doesn’t come.
Instead, my brother launches to his feet, hurtling over the desk at me. His fingers curl around my throat as he slams my back against the closest wall.
I want to fight back, I want to show him I’m no longer a child, but the intense sensation under my arm remains, like the magic binding me to Elodie is in full effect, and every slicing word falling from my mouth is to protect her.
All I can do is hope, because fuck knows I have no control.
“We'll storm The Vale whenIsay we storm The Vale. We will take down The Sanctum whenIsay we will take down The Sanctum. I will have the girl when I say so. Only then will everything fall into place; atmycommand,” he snarls, his voice likepoison, thickening in the air as he digs his fingers deeper into my throat.
“Then let me know when you're done wasting my time,” I rasp, my limbs surprisingly relaxed despite his proximity and his ability to remain unhinged and unpredictable.
Jude bares his teeth, his eyes narrowing as his vampire flares to the surface, but before he can do a single thing, the sound of Walker clearing his throat from the door cuts through the air, snapping both of our gazes to him.
“This brotherly bonding session is great and all, but am I required? I have things to do, subordinates to heal if we wish to carry on,” he states, and to my surprise, my brother's fingers unfurl from around my neck, one at a time, but he doesn't take a step back as he lets his hand fall to his side.
His eyes remain narrowed, veins darkening as he speaks. “Help with the subordinates. The task will still be waiting, with the same completion timeframe. You just earned yourself a smaller window to accomplish what I wish,” he promises before taking a step back.
Walker is already out in the hallway waiting for me, and I waste no time following after him.Although, this time, he doesn't stay a step ahead, he chooses to walk at my side, waiting until there’s a good bit of distance between Jude and us before he speaks.
“Fuck, man, do you have a death wish?” he grunts, and I peer at him from the corner of my eye.
“I don't know what you're talking about,” I retort, my adrenaline still pounding through my veins, and he scoffs.
“You're either dumb or have forgotten what he did to your parents,” he mutters, shaking his head, and I don't bother to give him a response.
The truth is, he's rightandhe's wrong.
I can never forget what he did to my parents, but I'm not dumb. I'm dead set on protecting the girl that consumes my every breath, and if that means facing off with a monster like Jude, the boy I've been frightened of my entire life, then so be it.
Thankfully, he doesn’t say anything else on the matter as we make our way toward the subordinates. Before we reach the staircase that leads to their cell, for lack of a better word, Walker pauses at the top, handing me a device.
“I’ll go and get the heal tank set up. Bring thisgirl. She's number one on the priority list,” he states before disappearing without waiting for confirmation from me.
With the device in hand, I make my way down, finding the key already waiting in the steel door that divides me from the people on the other side.
My gut twists with worry, a feeling I’m not very familiar with. Especially not for others. I want to save them, rescue them, bring them hope, but that's the version of me they don't have the pleasure of seeing right now.
Instead, I take another glance at the image of the girl on the device, inhaling sharply before storming into the room, keeping my gaze fixed on the walls as I avoid the knowing stares of Elodie's parents. Closing the door behind me, I finally dare to take in the room to find most of the subordinates ignoring me, while others perk up, waiting to hear their name.
As my gaze travels around the room, I realize the girl I'm looking for is fast asleep, propped against the wall with her eyes closed. But what's even more of a pain is the fact she's sitting beside Jenkins.
