Page 5 of Goldflame

I watch a tear fall from Aurelia’s eye, leaving a clean trail through the smudge of blood on her cheek. Something inside me fractures at the sight. Part of me wants to wipe that tear away, to pull her close and breathe her in until this nightmare makes sense.

But Adrian’s blood is on her hands. Literally.

And my mother trembles against me, her slim fingers digging into my shirt as she whimpers. The sound grates against my nerves, reminding me of all those nights I heard her cry behind closed doors while Lucian…

No. I won’t letanyonehurt her again. Not even Aurelia.

“Don’t move,” I warn as Aurelia takes another small step to leave. The word comes out rough, like it’s beendragged over broken glass—there’s no way she gets to kill my brother and then escape without punishment.

Her green eyes flash with desperation, maybe determination. It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. She’s coiled tight, ready to spring. Ready to fight or flee or… fuck, I don’t know anymore.

Movement near Adrian’s body snaps my attention away from her. Valentine motions to the guards as he finishes securing the sheet over my brother. The white fabric settles with a finality that makes my stomach heave.

Valentine orders two guards to help carry Adrian. Then he tells me, “We’ll handle this.”

The fuck?

Handle this? Like Adrian is nothing more than a fucking mess to clean up?

“Don’t touch him,” I growl. When the guards hesitate, reaching for Adrian anyway, something inside me snaps. “I said don’t fucking touch him! I’ll carry my brother. You have no right.”

The guards freeze, eyes darting to Valentine. The room goes still except for my ragged breathing and my mother’s quiet sobs.

A tidal wave of emotions crashes over me—shock that numbs my senses, grief that claws at my insides, and betrayal that stings like an open wound. My mind whirls, struggling to process the overwhelming onslaught of raw feelings.

I’m lost, trying to cling to anything that makes sense. But one thing is clear—Aurelia is responsible for this chaos. She’s the source of this agony.

A single thought emerges: I need to act.

Justice... it’s all I can cling to. It becomes my sanity. My hope. The idea of hurting Aurelia, making her pay for what she’s done… It’s not just retribution; it’s survival. Because right now, doing something—anything—is better than succumbing to this crippling despair.

“This is your fault.” I turn on Aurelia, my voice rising with each word. “You did this. You’re like a plague on my life.” My voice cracks. “My fucking brother?—”

She opens her mouth to speak, to vomit more lies, but I don’t let her. I don’t give her the chance to spout more bullshit.

My vision blurs, rage pulsing through me like molten lava. Before I know what I’m doing, I’ve crossed the empty space between us and my knee lashes out. It connects with Aurelia’s side, the impact reverberating up my leg. She crumples, a strangled gasp escaping her pink lips as she hits the floor.

I’m on her in an instant, my larger frame pinning her to the ground. I lean in close enough to feel her fear, to see the terror in her eyes. “You think you know pain? You think your mother’s death even comes close?”

My hands find her throat, fingers digging into the soft flesh. Her pulse races beneath my palms, frantic and alive while my brother’s is silent.

Her legs kick out in futile attempts to escape my iron grip. “S… St—” she tries to choke out.

“This,” I hiss, my face so close to hers that our noses almost touch, “this is pain.”

The pressure on her neck increases, and I watch her eyes bulge. Her nails rake across my arms, drawingblood, but I barely feel it. All I can focus on is the pressure building in my chest, threatening to tear me apart from the inside. Grief and rage are at war, leaving a void of numb emptiness in their wake.

But this—feeling Aurelia struggle beneath me, watching the light in her eyes flicker as she gasps for air—this makes me feel something. It’s sick and twisted, but it’s better than the hollow ache threatening to consume me.

“You took him from me,” I snarl, tasting the tiny wisps of air escaping her lips. Her red hair has broken free of her bun so it fans out around her head like a halo. “He was my brother. My flesh and blood. And you—” My voice breaks again. “Youmurderedhim. For what fucking reason?”

Aurelia’s eyes are wide. Her lips move, forming words I won’t—can’t—hear. All I can think about is Adrian’s body, covered in that white sheet. All I can hear is my mother’s quiet sobs.

Valentine’s voice booms behind me, “Julian! Enough!”

But fuck him. My hands shake as I maintain my grip. Part of me screams to stop, horrified by what I’m doing. But a darker part revels in this control, in making Aurelia feel even a fraction of the pain tearing through me.

“Get him off her!” Valentine shouts to the guards.

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