We’ve let it slide because he needs it and because his antics keep pulling smiles and laughs from Thayla.
She needs that.
I need that more than I can fucking explain.
A grunt slips from my mouth as I breathe through the spear of fury that claws up inside me. Every time I think about how she looked when we opened that door to reach her, everything in me trembles.
My power was already riding the surface, and the second she came into view, everything slowed.
Her rage, heartbreak…terror were written all over her face. I replayed that moment over and over during the two days she locked herself away from us.
To my brothers, a millisecond passed before they stepped into that room. For me, I swear to fuck it was a millennium.
She couldn’t see us—couldn’t see anything. The lights were too bright, and the shadows clinging to her eyes blinded her. They faded slowly as she did everything she could to protect herself from the hands reaching for her.
I tried to warn them not to get close yet, but they didn’t listen. They had one track in mind.
I’m not satisfied with just the God of Shadows’ death.
I want all their lives.
The Goddess of Illusion for her contribution to that creation.
Everyone who stepped into our house that night and escorted her from me.
Derivius…may be the only exception.
“Uh, I swear to the Valories I’m going to kill your brother.”
My body flinches and turns from the shrill and slam of my bathroom door, but I force it to relax. I breathe through the spike in my pulse.
“Which one, gorgeous? I got a few of them.”
“Which one do you think? Fucking hyperactive psycho.”
“What did he do now?”
My question leaves my lips on a snort, but the breeze of air that whips through the shower silences the sound.
“Well, look for yourself.”
I peer over my shoulder, keeping my body tilted from her, and my mouth gapes. It takes everything in me to bite back my smile.
“Don’t you dare let that laugh slip free. I didn’t feel like washing my hair again, especially not before we leave.”
Yeah, she’s going to have to.
“How did that even happen?”
A laugh belts out of me anyway when she runs her finger across her forehead and a glop of whipped cream smacks my tile. She watches it swirl down the drain with a fierce scowl.
Damn. I thought him accidentally kicking a drink on me was bad.
“Dickhead tried to get a taste of the dessert Creed’s making and Creed of course wouldn’t let him. So, like the children they are, they started fucking fighting over the spoon. A big-ass scoop flew through the air and smacked me in the face. A cream war broke out when I shrieked and threw it back at them.”
“So they ganged up on you?”
“No, it was just Riven and his fucking giggle. Creed was hollering for us to stop. I ran away when he wrapped Riven up in his power and left Amick there to deal with them.”
