Page 114 of Diamond Kisses

I ran faster, lumbering, swaying.

White spots blinded my eyesight as my heart thudded with exhaustion.

Q gave chase.

The hair on the back of my neck rose as he hunted.

I tried to wring out the rest of my power. I lurched forward—

Q kicked the back of my legs, sending me careening onto my face.

I tried to stop my fall, but my arms were done. My bones were on fire. My muscles utterly useless. Blood gushed from my nose as I ploughed up the grass with my chin. Gasping, I rolled onto my side, only for Q to kick me in the ribs. The same cracked ribs that’d only just healed.

I bellowed as sickness splashed sour and tangy on my tongue.

Consciousness threatened to snuff out.

Victor squirmed away, managing to tongue the sock-gag out of his mouth. “Oh, thank goodness you’re here!” He sobbed, sounding exactly like all the tortured jewels he’d maimed. “He cut me. He’s going to kill me. He’s deranged!”

I had no strength to fight back as Q grabbed my hair, yanked me onto my knees, and pressed the gun against my forehead. Ignoring Victor, he hissed, “You put my son in danger. You put my life in danger. You put mywife’slife in danger.” Grinding the muzzle of his pistol against my skin, he snarled, “You’re no kin of mine. You’rehim.You’re exactly like our father, just as I suspected. And I’m going to do to you what I did to him.”

Victor simpered and kept squirming away. “Kill him.Please.He’s hurt so many. He’s a monster!”

I opened my mouth to tell Q his greatest enemy was right there. Bleeding and broken but still far too cunning.

But Q pulled back, fisted the gun with both hands, and hovered his fingers over the trigger. “Goodbye, broth—”

“Wait!” Ben and Stewart slammed to a stop in front of me. “Don’t!”

“Get out of the motherfucking way!” Q roared.

“I was the one who called you,” Stewart spat. “You’re here because of us. You’re walking in at the end of this war because ofhim.” Pointing at me on the ground, he added, “He helped us. He almost died to save the jewels. Can’t you see that? Open your damn eyes!”

Ben flung his arms at the castle. Something crashed inside, chewed apart by hungry flames. “This happened because we fought together.” Pointing at my golden collar and cuffs, he said, “He’s been a prisoner for months. He’s been tortured formonths. By him.” He pointed at Victor. Marching toward the true monster, he kicked Victor’s shot shoulder and stomped on his lower back.

Victor howled, then turned manic. He fought upright, managing to shove Ben’s foot off him. “Don’t listen to them! They’re just as bad as Henri! All these men are. The guards! They’re in on it!Help me.”

The bald guard crossed his arms and muttered, “That’s Victor Grand, and you’d be wise not to trust a word out of his mouth.”

Q went deathly still. His eyes snapped to Victor.

Victor shuffled backward, dragging his useless legs across the manicured lawn, turning green into glistening red. He shook his head. “They’re lying. They’re all lying. I’m—”

“I admit it’s been a while since I saw a picture of you.” Q smirked and stepped toward him. His pistol swung to point at Victor’s face instead of mine. “But itisyou. I never forget the eyes of evil.” Cocking his head like a vulture, he sniffed. “You know what? A bullet is far too good for you.” Shifting back to me, he snatched up my discarded knife. “I made a vow to my wife once upon a time to see if men like you have hearts.” He launched at Victor and landed on his knees, either side of the Master Jeweler’s chest. “Let’s find out, shall we?”

Victor screamed as Q brought the knife down.

“STOP!” I used every last droplet of aliveness to throw myself at my brother and shove him off Victor. The knife caught me in the side. Only shallow. Just a nick. But it added another creep of pain that I could no longer block out.

“His death isn’t yours!” I snarled and coughed and gasped. “Peter! Paavak! Get your ass out here!”

Q shoved me off him as if I weighed nothing.

I struggled onto my hands and knees, hacking up a glob of blood.

I couldn’t catch a proper breath anymore.

I shivered with a bone-arctic chill.

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