Page 2 of Blood of Two Crowns

Dread tightened my chest as I took in the sight of the obliterated door and my boots crunched against shards of clay pots. “What the hells happened?”

“Keres happened,” he called back as he turned down a hallway.

Mors’ sister?

Sunshine poured into the floor to ceiling, darkly wood framed windows lining the left wall of the hallway to reveal a spectacular view of the fields and mountains in the distance. Elaborate tapestries and paintings hung from the opposite wall between doors. The male disappeared, stepping into a room atthe end of the hall. As I stepped inside, he turned to face me from the center of the large, spare bedroom decorated in neutral tones of linen and terracotta.

There was a stillness to the house and a distinct lack of energy that told me something was wrong.

“Where is Mors?”

The male’s face became stricken with emotion as he gestured vaguely at the bed, the covers already peeled back. “Gone.”

My heart stalled in my chest as I carefully laid Mareina on the bed. “Gone as in… Busy with work? On vacation? Or…”

“As in Keres murdered Soteira, somehow persuaded Mors to drink from The River Oblivion, and dumped him on some beach in the Bellorum realm.Nippies Piss Thilisor something like that.”

What in the fuck.

“Do you meanNissi Tis Pillis?”

The male waved an unconcerned hand again as he scrubbed the other down his face, emotion welling in his eyes.

“That.”

“And who are you, exactly?”

The male drew in a shuddering breath, his palm still covering his face, voice cracking with barely restrained emotion.

“Lathrimos.”

I tucked Mareina beneath the covers as he sidled next to me to stare down at her.“Somnus already told me you might be coming.”

“… Mors’ brother?”

Lathrimos’ lip quivered as he nodded in affirmation.

“Is he here?”

Lathrimos shook his head, taking shaky breaths to calm himself.

Fuck me.

I wasn’t the best at handling emotional upset. Unless it was for Mareina. I’d had my fair share of mental breakdowns, but it had always, thankfully, been in private.Or with Mareina.

Tension knotted in my chest as I deliberated whether or not to try and soothe the male. I settled for clapping him on the back.

“Well, he’s not dead, at least.”

A choked sob broke free, and Lathrimos threw his arms around me, crushing me against his chest. It was a bizarre and highly emasculating sensation.

“There, there…,” I managed awkwardly, whilst patting him on the back as I settled in to hug him.

“He was my best friend,”Lathrimos sobbed, hiccuping.

“… He’ll be back. Nissi Tis Pillis isn’t that far from Atratus. Maybe I can find him and bring him back.”

Lathrimos heaved a shuddering sigh as he finally straightened, swiping away the evidence of his emotion.

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