Page 190 of The Gods Order

“We’re going to get rid of the least favored of the four sons. I really can’t imagine spending a lifetime with any of them, but it was easy enough to agree to as long as the singleton was gone. Once he’s out of the way, you can go back to fulfilling your fake place as the sons of Obliteration’s Binder.”

For a fleeting second, all hearing escapes me. My eye twitches as his words roar around in my brain.

As long as the singleton is gone.

Fake place.

Something inside me…snaps.

My knee drives upward with every ounce of strength I possess. I fucking love the way his eyes go impossibly wide.

The breath explodes from his lungs as his grip tears away from my throat. I don’t wait for him to double over. My fingers lock around the Binding.

“Mine!”

I wrench the globe from him so violently it nearly slips through my hands. His curse barely leaves his mouth before I swing.

The crystal sphere cracks against the side of his face with a sickening thud and his head whips sideways.

Again.

“It’s my fucking responsibility I didn’t ask for.”

I scream as I bash the precious creation against his face again.

“My fucking life.”

The globe collides with his forehead.

Blood erupts down his face and spills over his eyes. I throw my head back, laughing as he frantically tries to wipe it away.

“My fucking men!”

I swing again, and he finally catches my wrist.

Not before that last blow lands square across his nose with a crunch that sends blood spraying between us and happiness through my soul.

His fist connects with my ribs, and more laughter rumbles through the pain. I rip my arm free and throw myself at him.

We crash to the ground in a tangle of limbs, and the Binding tumbles from my grasp, rolling through the dirt.

I dive for it and he grabs my ankle, tugging me back a foot.

Rage blinds me.

I kick backward with no rhyme or reason. I just…fucking bash my foot wherever it can land. My heel connects with his jaw hard enough to snap his head aside. He grunts and his hold loosens just enough.

I scramble forward on my hands and knees.

The instant my hand closes around the Binding, I surge to my feet.

Run. Get to the Veil. Get out.

My feet pound against the fake-ass arena ground. Each stride gets me closer to the charcoal haze stretching before me.

One more step. Another.

The realm tears apart. Cold crashes over me and slithers over my skin in a slow, sickening embrace. The moment lasts both forever and a matter of seconds. Sound slams back into existence. I stumble through the Veil, catching myself before my knees can hit the marble.