Page 7 of The Last Heir of Elsewhere

Scion ignored me, instead focusing on Bael. “Have you lost your mind? What the fuck are you doing?”

Bael looked entirely too unfazed. He ran a hand through his ruffled hair, and smiled impishly at his cousin. “I would have thought that was obvious.”

“Let us pretend it is not,” Scion said, every word sounding like it pained him. “Since I would not have imagined you to be this stupid.”

“Oh?” Bael quipped, still sounding far too calm. “And I wouldn’t have imagined you to be so transparently jealous, but here we are.”

Scion spluttered, seeming too angry for words. My stomach turned over uncomfortably, and I closed my eyes. I could hardly stand to listen to this.

Only last week, Scion had seemed different—less abrasive, and helpful at times. For the briefest moment, I’d even thought he might have feelings for me. Unfortunately, it seemed like that version of Scion had been the false one, and the cruel, mocking prince had returned with full force.

“Take a breath, Sci.” Bael said. “I was merely trying to teach Lonnie to shadow walk.”

“That’s an inventive teaching method you’ve devised.” Scion threw the pair of us a scathing look. “You’re going to kill us all. Is it worth it?”

My heartbeat pounded too hard against my ribs, and a fresh wave of guilt crashed over me.

Scion was right. We were playing with fire, Bael and I, and if something went wrong then it wouldn’t be merely we who got burned. The entire Everlast family, Scion included, were at risk of paying the price for our mistakes.

The Everlast family was cursed, so that they could never experience true happiness. The moment any one of them did, anyone who shared their blood would die. This meant that while Bael had known for some time that we were true mates, and I’d finally been sure of it when I couldn’t bear the thought of losing him during the battle, we couldn’t complete our bond. There was too great a risk that he might experience real joy for the first time, and doom his entire family in the process. It was a miserable curse, in more ways than one.

I glanced up at Bael, and gestured vaguely toward Scion. “Perhaps he’s right.”

“No,” Bael snapped, finally seeming annoyed. “He’s not. No one is dying today.”

“You’re so sure that you’re willing to bet your life on it?” Scion sneered, “How’s your control today? Do we need to start looking for another cage?”

“Alright, that’s enough,” I said. “Maybe we should just?—”

“You want to talk about control?” Bael took a step forward, reaching for me. Whatever I’d meant to say flew from my mind, as he gripped my hair and pulled my head to the side, just hard enough to expose my neck to the room. “What about your control?” he demanded of Scion. “I didn’t mark her,youdid that.”

A ringing silence filled the room, and I shifted to extricate myself from Bael’s grip. When I stood straight again, it was to find Scion looking resolutely away from me.

“She’s not my mate,” Scion ground out after a long, tense moment. “It’s different.”

“Like hell it is.” Bael let out an exasperated sigh. “Part of me would welcome death, if only to spend eternity reminding your immortal soul what a fucking idiot you were.”

I stiffened. If they argued—truly argued—I didn’t know what I would do. For that matter, I didn’t know if we would all survive the carnage. “Stop!” I said, unsure which of them I was speaking to—perhaps both. Bael let go of me, and I turned to Scion. “Is this really why you came all the way up here?”

Begrudgingly, and perhaps looking a bit embarrassed, Scion shook his head. “No.”

I sighed. “Then what are you doing here?”

The prince took a deep breath through his nose and seemed to struggle to control his anger, before replying calmly. “You are late. Extremely so, in fact.”

Bael rolled his eyes. “I told you, I was teaching her?—”

Scion’s silver eyes flashed, a bit of his rage leaking out. “Teach her to appear downstairs then,quickly, because we’re all growing fucking old waiting for?—”

Scion broke off, coughing, and it took me a beat to realize why. The Fae could not lie—ever. To do so would result in extreme pain, like flames searing one’s throat. Because of this, they made games out of being misleading, while speaking only technical truths, and took great enjoyment out of tricking others into believing a misdirection. But Scion had just lied casually, as if by accident. Looking furious with himself, and still clearing his throat, the prince disappeared.

Baffled, I turned to Bael, “What just happened?”

To my surprise, he grinned in satisfaction at the spot where his cousin had stood a split second before. “Nothing gives me greater satisfaction than when he gets so angry he lies by mistake. It’s hyperbole to the point of insanity.”

I shook my head, trying not to smile. “You would enjoy that, because you’re already insane.”

“Trust me, little monster.” Bael wrapped his arms around me, and pressed his face into my hair, breathing in, as if not ready to let me go just yet. “You don’t know Scion like I do. I would actually call this outburst progress.”

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