Page 174 of House of Lilith

And I want to fucking scream, but instead, I just nod, I leave him standing there and I start marching over to the Junkyard.

What I see when I get there, the fake moonlight shedding more light than needed over crumbling statues and needle-littered grass, it’s not just the usual stoned faces of students of all bloodlines.

It makes me stop midstep, near the center of the courtyard, and grit my teeth, when my eyes land on him.

Shirtless, with his suspenders down, floating in the air in the Zero Gravity Pocket, as the students like to call it, the side-effect of some long-forgotten magic that was cast within this courtyard.

And he’s gotten himself quite a little audience, kids snickering as they watch him try to put his mouth around one of the floating drops of alcohol he’s spilled inside the Pocket.

“Look, another one,” he yells out as he finally gets it.

And the little crowd breaks out into cheering.

But then one of his admirers spots me, sees the fury in my eyes and waves a hand to get his attention with a scared look on his face.

And they all turn to look at me, my brother’s grin sliding off his face, but I’m already marching straight towards him, the crowd parting as I go.

“Oh, what?” Nikolay yells out. “Come to tell me I’m being stupid? Huh? Seems to be all you can do.”

I don’t say anything. I just reach into the Pocket, and despite the resistance of zero gravity, I grab him by the hand and I yank him out, making him come crashing to the ground with a loud groan.

“Nyx,” he calls out as I turn on my heel and start marching back, the little crowd having completely dispersed.

I feel him grab me by the hand and I stop, turning to look at him.

It makes my eyebrows pull down, when I see the change in his expression. He’s drunk, his shoulders are slumping and he has this desperate, pitiful look in his eyes.

“Nyx, everything’s so messed up,” he whispers.

“No shit,” I snap at him. And I move to walk away again.

“I need your help, sis,” he urges as he rushes after me.

Once again, I stop and I turn to face him, throwing daggers at him. “And what is itnow?” I ask through gritted teeth. “Want your ass wiped?”

His eyebrows shoot up. “What’s gotten intoyou?”

“Oh sorry,” I say mockingly, “are you noticing some kind of malfunction? Your sister’s not working properly? You can’t just push a button and make her do whatever you want?”

“When have I ever asked anything ofyou?”

It takes me a second to fight off a sudden, violent rush of anger. I’m forcing myself to breathe as I drawl, “Just now?” I let out a frustrated breath and continue through gritted teeth, “Asking things of me, it’s all youeverdo, Nikolay.”

He narrows his eyes at me and says, angrily, “You know, Nyx, I don’t know what your problem is and I don’t care, but right now, bloodyRickyis being a better sibling than you are.”

“Well, glad you’ve found a replacement,” I snap at him. “I hope it works out for you. With some luck, you’ll be able to grow old together, spending your days playing video games while raging at the world for not giving you what you want.”

For a second, he just looks at me, this coldness flashing through his eyes. “You think because Father left you the land, that you’re so important, do you?” he demands.

“So, we’ve finally come to the root of the problem, haven’t we?” I let out a scoff. “Your fucking ego.”

“It’s the bloody respect you should be giving me,” he snaps as he gets in my face. “Zerorespect you’ve given me, all my life, you and Father. And I’m sick of it, I’m bloody sick of it.”

I don’t take a step back, I take one forward, making him double back and shooting him a nasty little look. “You know what, Nikolay?” I drawl through gritted teeth, “I know this little playground mommy built for you has made you believe you deserve respect by default. But let me tell you something about therealworld. Respect is earned. Instead of crying about not having it, fuckingearnit already, you fucking moron.”

By the time I’m done, I’m practically yelling, finding myself turning my back to him and storming off.

“Yeah?” he yells after me. “Oh you’ll see. I’llmakeyou respect me. You hear me? And you’re no longer my sister, just so you know.”

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