Page 75 of On Wings of Blood

When my father had died, my mother had announced her intentions to retreat from the world for a time.

We hadn’t seen her since.

She’d been one of the most powerful women in Sangratha. Now she was simply...gone.

“Speaking of family loyalty, Blake,” my uncle said. “You need to get your pup on a leash.”

“He means Aenia,” Marcus said, sneering. “Get the little bitch in check or we’ll have to put her down.”

I felt myself exploding.

I couldn’t even remember moving but suddenly I was across the room with my hands around my brother’s throat.

“Don’t you ever dare threaten oursisteragain, Marcus. Don’t you dare.”

“Let him go, Blake,” my uncle commanded. “Drop him. Now.”

I dropped him just as I’d been instructed to. Marcus fell to the floor gasping.

“You bastard,” he choked out. “Fucking bastard.”

“If you harm a hair on Aenia’s head, there will be hell to pay when Mother returns,” I warned Marcus.

“Enough, Blake,” my uncle said. “You took responsibility for the girl.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” I said sourly.

“Good. Then deal with her. Before she becomes an embarrassment to our family. Or worse, a menace.”

I nodded tightly, and began to turn away.

“And as for Theo...” My uncle continued.

I stopped. “What about Theo?”

Theo Drakharrow was my aunt’s son and my closest friend.

“I’ve heard some disturbing news about your cousin,” Viktor said.

For a moment, my heart sank. Was Theo considering vying with me for the house leadership? I imagined having to kill my cousin. The thought filled me with revulsion and horror.

“I’ve heard Theo has been embarrassing House Drakharrow again. Engaging in...disturbing liaisons.”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” I exclaimed. “Marcus literally kills his own consort, but you’re worried about Theo embarrassing you because he likes to sometimes fuck other men? The other houses don’t have a stick up their ass about it so why do you?”

“The other houses might condone such unnatural liaisons. We are not the other houses,” Viktor said coldly.

“No,” I spat. “We’re certainly not.”

House Orphos mandated that their house leader take a male and a female consort. Such triads were believed to make their leader stronger. House Mortis left such decisions to the individual. I knew Catherine Mortis preferred women, but suspected she’d be forced to take at least one male consort–at the very least, for breeding purposes. Still, that didn’t mean anyone batted an eye to her penchant for running wild with women.

“Keep your cousin in line. Next thing you know he’ll be pursuing his trysts with mortals,” Viktor said coldly.

I took a deep breath, trying not to point out the miniscule distinction between the average blightborn who Viktor so evidently disdained and the dragon rider blightborn he’d so freely betrothed me to.

“Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting,” Marcus agreed, but I could see him trying to hide a nasty grin. He was baiting me, hoping I’d snap again and draw Viktor’s ire. “Absolutely no shame. No taste whatsoever.”

“House Drakharrow rises above all other houses,” Viktor lectured. “Do not forget this. We surpass them because we are more restrained. Because we are superior.”

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