I couldn't stop the growl that rumbled in my throat, black and red stars filling my vision with my towering rage as he mentioned my Quarter—my mate.
“That's the Kyle I know,” he beamed.
“They aren’t going to let you take them down. They’ll rip you to shreds before you’re even able to touch them.”
His expression darkened, and I knew I had hit a nerve. I supposed it had been a while since anyone spoke against him.
“You know, Asher and Mason had that same smart mouth in the end, too. Is it something you all do to distract yourselves from the fact that you’re about to die?”
I stilled at the mention of the Graves. I hadn’t lied when I told Blaire that my hatred for him started when he took them away from me—long before he even managed to take their lives. To hear their names on his tongue was like a spoke to my burning rage. It only reminded me why I was standing here in the first place.
“I do wish you could have heard them beg me for mercy in their final moments,” he goaded, noticing my restrained reaction. I wasn’t aware he was there when they died.
My rage simmered beneath my skin, a monster begging to be released from its cage. But I kept it at bay, conserving its power for when I truly needed it.
When I continued refusing to give him the response he wanted, he clicked his tongue and moved through the clearing toward Ma and Millie, his dark trench coat trailing in the wind behind him like a cape.
“I wonder if you’ll have more to say when you’re forced to watch me kill your family right in front of you.”
“I'm just not playing these games with you. I told you years ago, before any of this began, that it was a bad idea to go against the Quarters. You'll lose every time.”
His hands flexed at his sides, the irritation at my words a palpable thing. That ego was going to be the thing that got him killed. I only hoped I could be there when it happened.
“Enough talking, then. Let me just show you the power that now courses through my veins. How easy it will be for me to gut you like a fish. Shall I demonstrate on Mother Dearest first?”
I jumped forward as he lifted his arm and eight long, black arms extended behind his back. Demonic tentacles. The source he was using for his power was taking over his entire body and he was so caught up in the intensity of it, he didn’t even care.
He pointed a finger at Ma, and her body jerked as if it were being electrocuted. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. Millie writhed around beside her with blood-curdling screams, as if whatever magic he had just used on Ma had bounced over to her as well. I shouted for Rayner to stop, but he ignored me. Amusement danced along his wrinkled face as he watched Ma's body flail around, bones breaking with the sheer force of power he was using against her.
Like a cat playing with a mouse.
He didn't stop until her body was mangled and broken, hanging limply in the air as all the life had drained from it. Then, he threw her off to the side and directed his attention toward Millie.
I stepped between them before he could begin the same assault on her, and he smiled in acceptance.