Page 48 of Until the Stars Fall

“And maybe her family has nothing to do with these attacks.”

Matthias shrugged lazily and muttered, “And maybe they do. You could at least talk to her?”

“I’ll think about it,” I said. He wasn’t wrong. I did need to consider the possibility, especially given how much time Lieke had been spending with Brennan. Maybe there was more than just her idiotic love for my brother at play here.

We continued on in silence for a bit, but my mind was in chaos. Someone, or something, was helping the humans elude us, keeping us from tracking them down despite our natural advantages.

But what if the rebels weren’t humans?

What if we were chasing the wrong adversary?

I was about to pose these questions to Matthias when we entered the courtyard and someone shouted my name. Lieke sprinted out of the palace’s front entrance toward us, her dark blue eyes lit with panic. I dismounted quickly and threw my reins to Matthias before I rushed to meet her.

“What is it?” I asked. My hands gripped her arms as I searched her wild expression for any answers. Had Griffin come here? Had he tried to attack her again?

“It’s Brennan,” she said breathlessly. “The king…”

Shit.

My heart plummeted into my stomach, and I pushed her aside as I ran.

No, no, no. I should have been here.

My mind repeated the words with each step I took up the stairs and down the hallway.

And then I stopped.

A pair of guards stood outside my father’s study.

He never placed guards here.

Never.

Then I heard it.

The sounds that haunted my memories, echoed in my mind, tormented me.

The steady voice counting.

The fists hitting flesh between each word.

The groans and whimpers and hisses of pain.

It should have been me.

I should have been here.

I had promised our mother I’d be here.

I ran for the door.

The guards tried to stop me, but I elbowed one in the face and slammed a fist into the stomach of the other. And then I was inside.

Whether my shouts were only in my head or managed to escape my mouth, I didn’t know, but my teeth slammed together at the sight of my brother slumped in a chair, his face battered and beaten. Our father stood in front of him, rubbing his bloodied knuckles.

The king turned to look at me, but I couldn’t move.

All I could do was stare.

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