Page 19 of Cursed Heirs

“You’re short-sighted and far too reactive and emotional.” She held her hand up toward me and looked to Ore. “Come on, Orpheus, that speech you made, rallying the troops, it was clearly you living up to your role as Heir to the Dark Fae Kingdom. That also involves making hard choices, in order to become worth of the title of King. This is one such choice. Plus, Alena is into all this darkness and depravity. If she wasn’t she wouldn’t be with the three of you and be loving it. Not to mention,youwouldn’t have become so drawn to her, so immersed in her. It was the darkness in her that pulled you to her, because that’s what you’re all about.”

“You don’t fucking know him, so stop pretending to. Just because you rode his cock—and badly, from what I’ve heard—doesn’t mean you have an insight into the real him.”

And I didn’t want Orpheus thinking that, his mind going there.

He was still recovering, and more susceptible to things like this. It was why, aside from when we’d been in different classes, I’d stayed right by his side, even sleeping in his room every night. All right, one of the main reasons. I’d also needed the comfort of being close to him, because I felt adrift through missing the closeness of the four of us with Alena and X gone right now.

“Don’t let her golden pussy cloud your judgment,” she pushed Ore.

“Like you’re not letting your jealously and hatred of Alena cloudyours?”I fired back.

If only it were more than metaphorical fire and actually my phoenix flames instead.

Ore’s eyes darkened even more so, until they went utterly black and he stepped forward with a heavy menacing air. “Do you really think handing over Alena will have him going quietly into the night never to be heard from again? Constantine Vale is an anarchist and a megalomaniac. He has a severe God complex. He won’t stop until he’s conquered every square inch of the supernatural world.”

“Orpheus, I—”

He cut her off harshly. “And let’s also set the record straight where Alena is concerned, shall we? She’s not our whore. She’s not our plaything. She’s one of us. How dare you come to me with this abhorrent suggestion? How dare you try to push me to accept what you want, your foolish notion?”

In the next second, his power sparked and he was choking her with it, making her gag. Her eyes went wide and she futilelyclutched at her throat as he lifted her off the ground with a single finger’s worth of purple magic. “How dare you look my way, let alone engage with me? You arenothing.Get on your knees and beg for my forgiveness.” He shoved her brutally hard to her knees with his magic and she cried out as they scraped on the ground.

“Orpheus,” I called in warning.

He completely ignored me.

Actually, I wasn’t sure he’d actually even heard me.

“I… can’t… breathe.”

“That’s the idea,” he rumbled. “Nowbeg.”

Frantically clutching at her throat, she rasped, “I’m… sorry… please…please.”

When he still wasn’t satisfied and didn’t let up, I saw her try to get her shit together and call her magic.

I was about to intervene, but Ore was already a step ahead and his magic flared on his free hand. In the next second, he snapped the wrist of her offending hand. I shuddered as her awful shriek rang in the air.

“Orpheus!”

I swung my head at the sound of the voice to see Professor Marlowe rushing over.

Shit.

Orpheus reacted impressively fast and spun, his left palm aflame, while the other continued choking Isabella out. “Interference not warrantedorappreciated.”

Marlowe conjured a luminous green shield. “This approach isn’t the way. It’s not how you’ll beat him.”

“It’s theonlyway.” He scoffed. “You’re just afraid of my power potential, that you’ll have another Saryan Hart on your hands.”

“Becoming him is not the way. Yourfatherdoesn’t want that.”

Ore faltered, his fire sputtering briefly.

“Why do you presume to know what my father wants?”

“Because he told me. Because I wasn’t cast out as Commander of the Dark Fae Army, nor did I quit. Because hesentme here, Orpheus. To keep an eye on you, to help ensure that youdidn’tbecome like him, that you were taught and guided in another direction to that which he’d taken at your age.”

“That’s… some hardcore manipulation.”

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