Page 91 of A Reign of Storm and Madness

“I’ve heard that the Academies are brutal. We’re going to be shipped off there soon,” he says. “We need to make sure that when we arrive, we make it clear to all the other Mortal Gods—no matter who our sire is that we have far more potential.”

I tilt my head. “How do you propose we do that?”

Rifling in his pocket, Ruen withdraws a parchment. “I’ve been writing to a fellow Mortal God,” he admits. “He’s a boy our age and he doesn’t live far. He didn’t grow up in the facilities either, but his God parent is friends with Azai and requested that we be … writing companions. Azai knew you would refuse. He’s a good kid, lonely though. His name is Darius.”

“You want to make an alliance with this Darius?” I guess.

Ruen shakes his head. “I want to find friends we can rely on,” he states. “We need allies and we need friends. I think you and I can survive this world—and whatever Azai plans for us—if we stick together and start making some connections.”

I am not a thinker or a planner—not in the way Ruen is. As he speaks, however, I can see the potential in his proposition. My gaze returns, once more, to the spot on the floor where Olivia’s body had laid and then up to the crystal chandelier where the frayed rope that hung her frame has been removed. Olivia could not help me in this world beyond my creation, but Ruen, on the other hand…

Perhaps it’s not such a bad idea to form friendships. Ruen can be my new cat. A companion with more strength and persistence. Ruen, unlike my feline friend, won’t break under Azai’s pressure. No, in fact, I would hazard to say that one day, Azai might break under his.

I would like to be there to see it, I decide.

Present Day…

The old memory fades as I stare at the woman across the room. Kiera is not a cat, defiant and seeking out worthy companions. She is not one of my serpents, loyal and easy to manipulate. She is a monster all her own, but she represses it, tamps down the anger roiling within her and the chaos that threatens to spill forth until her mortal bones vibrate with the need to unleash it all.

There is a monster that lies sleeping inside all of us—my brothers and me. For Theos and Ruen, it was born from the increasing resentment and hatred towards our sire. Azai. For me, however, I was born with the creature. It’s a quiet, hulking beast that’s usually content to slumber within my chest and mind. There are times when I go days, even months, without the monster waking.

Now, as Kiera lifts her pale face from the short scroll parchment barely the length of a finger in her fist, the monster cracks a single eye open. As if the beast can sense the words about to come from her lips—words that I know neither of us will like.

There are smudges of purple shadows beneath her normally vibrant gray eyes. The color that usually roils with storm and madness that calls to me is muted. The monster within shifts, unsettled.

“Kiera?” Theos steps forward and when he reaches for her—the sudden revelation he was introduced to just a few short hours ago seeming to have no effect on the strong pull he feels towards her—she backs up a step.

No, the beast and I will not like what she is going to say.

“I have to go.”

Silence greets her announcement. The monster cracks its other eye open. Scales slither beneath my skin. My gums tingle. My gaze sharpens.

“No.” Her gaze falls upon my face as I deny what I know is not a request from her.

She stiffens and her lips curl downward. The displeasure and annoyance on her face flashes over her expression briefly. They’re quickly pushed back though as she takes what I’m sure she thinks is a calming breath. I know the truth though. I know that beneath the surface of the facade she’s been wearing, under her mask of civility, Kiera Nezerac is just like me.

There is a darkness inside her that calls to me. A deranged creature that craves chaos just as much as she craves a mate to relish in that chaos with her. She is angry, though she pretends not to be as wild and unhinged as I know her to be. Like calls to like and her rage calls to my own.

“I wasn’t asking you,” Kiera snaps, crumpling the remains of the scroll in her fist as she lowers her hand back to her side.

“You are not leaving the Academy,” Ruen states before I can reply.

Kiera’s chin juts out, defiance curling her scowl even more as her brow furrows and her gray gaze sparks with indignation. “You don’t get a choice in this. I have to go. I’ve been summoned by my guild.”

My eyes shoot to her fist. Was that what the note had contained? A summons? I look back at her face. She is not one that can be summoned, and yet … the brimstone in her flesh tells a different story.

Ten years, she had said. That’s how long it’s been sitting inside her, slowly poisoning her blood, leaking away her Divinity. She has no idea. If she did, then she would not act so calm to reveal that little piece of information to us.

“You just left this morning,” Ruen snarls. “Surely, it cannot be that important—”

“The man Regis and I have been waiting for is here,” she interrupts him. “I have to go.” The unspoken warning lingers in the air. She has to go or … else whatever mortal spell—certainly a stronger blood contract than the one she holds with the three of us—will punish her.

I reject the idea of letting her go alone with my entire being. Already, I wish to bend her over the couch, brush away her hair, and rip that blasted shard from her skin. Any screams or cries of pain would fade the moment I pull it free. In fact, nothing will matter if I just remove it now. I step closer, debating on doing just that, calculating how fast I could reach her and overpower her. Blood spells are strong, though, when held with Divine blood. Even if her Master is not of Divine origin, she is. If it’s ripped free without knowing the details of whatever deal she’s made that allows that stone to stay inside her, the consequences could be dire.

Seething, I blow out a long breath. “You cannot go alone,” I snap.

Ruen looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind. I have, but it was so long ago that I don’t miss it anymore.

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