Page 162 of The Lands Defying
My eyes move to Kade as Darius comes at my back, an arm wrapping around my waist. “What was that about?” I ask him tentatively.
“He wanted me to hit him, little wolf,” Darius says into my hair. “But you should know, kid, if you want me to hit you, just ask, I have no problem doing so, but watch your mouth.” His voice is cold as he scolds Kade, and an unwanted shiver runs through me.
“No.” My own voice is hard.
“That is not up to you,” Darius tells me.
“Darius, no.” I try to spin in his arms, the grip he has across my waist doesn’t let me. “You will not hurt him.”
“He isn’t a little pup, Rhea, stop treating him like one. I’d rather it be me than something else. Be it wolf, creature or rogure,” he says, and the thought stops me dead. Looking at Kade, I wish for him to tell me he wouldn’t, but he just stares at me, eyes so full of pain that I know he would.
A furious rumble starts in Darius’s chest. “You don’t have to lash out to get your ass beat, kid, and don’t shout in front of Rhea,” he warns him, and Kade nods his head before it lowers, chin to chest. Darius lets me go and walks to him, as a panicked noise gets lodged in my throat. “I’m not going to hurt him again, little wolf.” I move to the side, keeping an eye on them as Darius stops in front of him. “I did whip her,” he admits, and Kade’s head snaps up to him. “It is my worst regret, my greatest shame, and something so unforgivable that I shouldn’t be breathing.” He takes a deep breath. “But Rhea has not killed me, and until she does, I will spend all my time with the impossible task of making it up to her. To give her happiness she has always deserved, to make sure she is safe and content.”
I look down at his words, rubbing my chest.
I feel the conviction in his tone, the vow and determination that he would absolutely spend the rest of his days doing just that, for me.
“The reason you are still breathing and not dead for the hurt you’ve caused her, is because she would hate me for it.” He slams a heavy hand on his shoulder and brings himself down to eye-level. “So, you will make up for the hurt you’ve caused, whether your fault or not, the hurt happened, and you will spar with me to take out your own self-loathing, otherwise you will cause Rhea to worry. I will not have her worry about that, understood?” Kade nods his head, his eyes flicking to mine. “You are a man now. Act like the son she sees you as.”
Darius stands and turns, walking right over to me.
“I will be right outside the door if you need me.” He bends to rub his nose with mine and then the door is shutting.
His steps aren’t heard walking away, so I know he is literally right outside of the door, and I sigh, scrubbing my hands down my face.
“Gods.”
A chuckle brings my attention back to Kade, the sound so unexpected that my mouth drops open. “I guess a lot has happened since I have been gone.”
“Yeah.” I go toward him, wiping the blood he missed from his face. “Don’t get yourself hurt,” I whisper to him, but he says nothing. I run my hand down his arm and lift it. My fingers trail the scar from his severed bloodlink, and it makes me feel that emptiness inside my mind.
“I want a new one.”
My head lifts. “We can do that.” I want nothing more than to repair what was broken.
“Will you stay for a while?” he asks.
“We are going home, Kade.”
“Do we even have a home anymore?”
I nod. “It is a little broken and needs some care. Some time to be repaired the best it can be, so at least the walls still stand.”
“What if they don’t stand?” he says quietly, and I know he isn’t talking about the homes anymore.
“Then you can have others help hold them up, all you need to do is ask.” I hold him to me. “Arbiel canna. Always.”
He hugs me back. “Arbiel canna.”
Forty Seven
Rhea
As soon as we port in, we make our way up the path to my home, Darius at my side, while Josh and Kade walk behind us.
“I’m not sure how to make it feel like a home anymore,” I tell Darius, looking at the windows that have now been replaced. “Did you do this?” I ask him as Kade and Josh move around us to go inside.
The last time I was here, everything was trashed, and broken.
