Page 187 of House of Lilith

Pure rage starting to consume me, it takes all I have to calm the fuck down and say, “Alright.”

*

I see Ricky’s lips curl into a smile.

But I don’t wait for him to start yet another little monologue. I take a step closer and I force myself to remember this is my friend standing right in front of me.

“Listen to me, Ricky,” I urge him, feeling Romanov’s eyes on me. “Remember what I said last night, about the two of us not being family?”

He shakes his head, still smiling, but I feel the need to keep going. “I wasn’t being myself, mate. Youaremy family. You always will be.” I take another step closer and I hold my hand out, making my voice even softer. “And what I want you to do now is give me the Box and go have a nice little chat with me, just to see where we’re at and what we can do to fix things.”

It’s the creature that responds by getting a little closer, making me snatch my hand away and let out an angry breath.

But Ricky just smiles. “That’s one of the things that made me chooseyou, Dahrian,” he says. “You’re a rare combination of a fighter and a diplomat. But I’ve already told you exactly what we’ll do to fix things.”

“Come on, Ricky, chasing revenge? I thought you were smarter than that.”

“Justice, not revenge,” he spits out, his face twisting in anger. “Goddamn justice that’s a hundred and fifty six years overdue.”

My ears prick up even before I hear Romanov ask him, “Does this have to do with your parents’ death?”

I throw her a look over my shoulder, wondering how she knows about that.

But the next thing I know, Ricky is moving towards her and I’m pushing myself between the two of them as he leans to the side to spit out, “No, it’s you, you goddamn Grimms.”

And it’s a look filled with hate, that he’s throwing her, making me ball my hands into fists and snarl at him, “Ricky, I’mwarningyou, mate.”

He turns to me, taking a step back with this feverish look in his eyes. “They destroyed my family’s dynasty in the Umbrage,” he says through gritted teeth, raising his voice. “They destroyed our chances for survival, and because of that, one hundred and thirty seven years later, my parents were killed by the Heart’s Magic, the very thing that was supposed to protect them.”

Fucking hell, I think as it starts hitting me, how much I really don’t know him. For a second, I just keep looking at him. Then I muster the strength to give it just one more try.

“Hey, just listen to me, please,” I urge as I get a little closer, keeping one corner of my eye on the creature. “I won’t pretend I know what you’re going through, but if you let me, I’ll doeverythingin my power to understand and to help you get through it.”

“You know what you can do to help?” he snaps. “Agree to becoming my right hand. I’ll be the new Archon, Dahrian.” He pauses to look deeper into my eyes. “I’ll be the only one standing between your family and a happy future.”

It makes me grit my fucking teeth so hard, it hurts.

But he’s already lifting the Box up again. “You have thirty seconds to make up your mind before I open this. Once I do, trust me, it’ll be too late.”

I sense Romanov tense up behind me and it makes me fucking snap, the situation he’s put us all in.

It’s then that I decide I’ve had enough.

All my muscles clenching, I lift my hands up and I slam my palms together, making my tattoos glow and the walls all around us start to make a deafening noise as I work on releasing the stone from within.

With a loud and sudden groaning sound, a bunch of rocks fly out and come to hover around Ricky. “This is your last chance. Let go of the fucking Box,now.”

But instead of listening, he just smiles and starts opening it.

The next thing I know, he’s grimacing, his hand flying to wrap itself around his throat. He grabs the Box tighter with his other hand.

I don’t have to even glance at her, I know it’s Romanov using her Blood Magic on him.

“You really should listen to him,” I hear her tell him in a voice that sends shivers down my spine.

But instead of doing as she says, Ricky smiles with a cough and starts trying to use the one hand to open the Box.

At that, she makes his entire body fly up, slamming into the ceiling with a sickening sound.

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