Page 83 of To Bleed A Kingdom

The leader of these twisted souls, the one who was seconds away from raping me, slowly regains consciousness. Horrified gaze bouncing from one body to the next, he trembles in fear when he sees a god-like Darius standing amongst the dead with a still beating heart clenched within his fist.

Darius' eyes narrow on the alert male and he throws the heart at him, smacking him in the face. The male yelps before scrambling backwards until his back hits the wall. Darius stalks forward to crouch before him.

He cowers and refuses to meet Darius' gaze until the Gods Wrath fists his hands into the male’s hair and jerks his head back, forcing him to.

“You. Touched. Her,” Darius snarls.

The male sputters and pleads as Darius’ power electrifies the air, nipping along my skin with crackling bites.

Cocking his head to the side, the Fire immortal’s lips curl into a cruel smile. “I saved something for you,” he says forebodingly. And for the first time ever, I watch true joy light up Darius’ face as he presses a single, orange, glittering finger to the terror-frozen male's lips.

Dozens of flamed threads slither into his mouth and he coughs and sputters, clawing at his throat. But when nothing more occurs, he peers up at Darius, his brows pinched in confusion. Several moments pass as Darius stares wordlessly down at him, and I find myself confused as well. Until the male suddenly slams his head against the wall with a resounding crack and the veins within his face ignite in glittering flames. His mouth gaping on a silent scream, the male convulses as flamed serpents burn through his blood vessels, blackening the skin of his cheeks as the glowing snakes slither down into his neck, spreading outward into the dozens of jagged veins throughout his body, mapping his bloodstream in fire as he burns to ash.

Crouched before him, Darius watches every second of the fire eating away at the male’s body as if he doesn't want to miss a single moment. Even after he has long passed and the body is nothing but smoking bones and ash atop scorched stone, Darius watches. He seems to find some sort ofcruel pleasure in the male’s torturous end.

Blue eyes suddenly snap to mine and Darius stands from his crouch. His steps are measured, calculated, the sound of his boots meeting stone thundering within the alley at a much slower rate than the heart that beats against my chest as he walks slowly toward me. He stops in front of me where I've plastered myself against the wall. Peering down, his blue orbs bore into my amethyst ones with the same savageness he had while slaughtering the males who lie dead around me.

Flattening a hand on the wall above my head, he raises the other to my cheek and strokes it gently with a single, crimson painted finger, igniting a fiery spark along its path.

He stole from you.

At the thought, my blood chills and all reverence over his brutal performance is instantly wiped clean. Fury bubbling to the surface, I snatch at his throat, hooking my leg around his knee and spinning us both as I slam his back to the wall.

“Don't touch me,” I hiss, tightening my hand around his throat in warning.

His face softens, and he slowly raises his palms above his head. “I won't,” he promises in a soothing tone. “Not without your permission.”

“You killed them,” I accuse.

Darius nods. “I did.”

“That was not your punishment to give. It was mine!”I seethe.

Cocking his head to the side, his brows furrow. “This is my kingdom. Those males were my citizens.” His throat bobs on aswallow, pushing against my hand. “And you are mine to protect. Their punishment belonged to me.”

“You had no right!” My gums burn and I instantly clamp my lips together. Clenching the column of his throat once more, I shove off him and stride towards the opening to the alley with fisted hands.

Calloused fingers wrap around my wrist as Darius whirls me around to face him.

“I had every right!” he roars, his eyes burning in fury.

Growling, I flick his hand away and smack mine against his chest, shoving him back.

Blowing out a calming breath, he raises his palms. “I have every right when it comes to you,” he says softly. “I'll kill anyone who touches you.”

He doesn't understand. He was just trying to protect me.

My anger cools at the thought, dousing the indignant flames. In its place, a colossal wave of despair slams into me. Treading water, I struggle to take a breath.

Feeling the burn within my gums recede to an ache, I unclench my lips. “It's not your fault, it's mine.”

It’s true. I should've listened to Zander. He tried to warn me but I ignored him. All because I can't handle the emotions coursing through me, the emotions Darius awakened.

His eyes flash in anger and he stalks towards me. “This is not your fault. No female … or woman,” he adds, “ should have to worry aboutbeing assaulted while walking the streets.”

“Not with this face,” I retort, smiling grimly as I point at my face. “I'm beautiful. Distracting. You said so yourself.” Laughing bitterly, I add, “Males just can't seem to help themselves, can they?”

“We can and we do.” He grits his teeth. “Some just choose not to.”

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