Anya would get her wish. I was going to turn violent, or I would self-combust and take down half the estate with me.
‘Isle of Shadows,’ I muttered, noting the way she swayed.
Would I care if she dropped dead? Taking in her dishevelled state, I could see she had recovered from her grave wounds to some extent, but the danger wasn’t past her.
Daring another glance, I noted that she seemed smaller than I remembered. Fragile. Weaker.
Not nearly as much of a threat.
Sweat dripped from her forehead, clinging to her eyelashes like tears when she demanded in a forced, harsh tone while her voice quivered, ‘Where is their portal?’
Never had I seen her look so dull and worn. The witches had done real damage, yet she stood before me, looking down as if I were nothing. Her beauty used to make me so self-conscious I couldn’t bear it…
‘You look atrocious,’ were the only words I could muster. ‘Unless you want to stay outside when you drop, I suggest you get back where Alec left you.’
The pale skin of her cheeks flushed as she attempted to feign strength by straightening. Her resolve might have been commendable, but I saw the way her eyes glossed over with pain. I just couldn’t bring myself to care for it.
‘Who do you think you’re talking to, Ava? Guide me towards the portal, now!’ The infernal wretch raised her voice while her hands trembled.
Was she scared or feverish? Perhaps both.
My lips curved slightly. How could this girl ever intimidate me?
Pushing past her, I ignored the nauseating stench of blood clinging to her clothes and barged inside looking for the lord’s exasperating firstborn. It seemed like yesterday that I tore into him for making reckless decisions like kidnapping me into the Isles. This was even worse.
My witchcraft pried open his bedroom door, accidentally ripping it off its hinges. The top half splintered, leaving a wide crack trailing through the elaborate carvings.
‘What’s happening?’ he asked, his voice lacking the usual cockiness. His eyes widened as he waited for me to explain.
Fire and witchcraft surged to the surface—irritated, heated, and vengeful.
I had been patient long enough.
‘What’s happening?’ I snapped while my power locked the wrecked door in place. ‘Let me paint the picture for you, Alec.' My voice trembled, betraying me. ‘You kidnap me into a foreign land, calling it my home…’
Pacing around the room, I watched him pale and fidget while tracking my movement. ‘Call me greedy, but this was supposed to bemysafe space. I accepted it and want it to remain mine! Why, for fuck’s sake, is that absolute trollop here?’
He hesitated, hands restlessly fidgeting with the cuffs of his shirt. ‘She’s your family—’
A dark chuckle rushed out of me. ‘That’s rich. So is my mother; do we have a spare room for her?’
‘No, that’s different. Tell me why you don’t want her here,’ he pleaded, looking a little worn out himself. The dark circles under his eyes weren’t there two days before.
‘Why do you want her here?’ I demanded, something cracking within me at the prospect of losing the Isles. I wouldn’t share them; they were mine or at least felt mine.
My brother's gaze dropped to the floor, and he stayed silent for what felt like an eternity. Barely above a whisper, he tried to explain, ‘You know better than anyone you can’t choose things like that.’
The roof might as well have caved in for all I cared.
Could my life get any more complicated?
Chapter Six
River
She landed in my court, and the ground beneath my feet seemed to shift. The weeks without any knowledge of her whereabouts or condition had been the worst of my life.
Every night I dreamt of the ways Alexander could have been torturing—or seducing—her. Touching the parts of her that should only be mine to explore and cherish.
