Page 148 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
“Auslin,” Maseo gasped, relief and pain mingling in that single word.
The auramancer rushed to position himself between Maseo and Kio. “You don’t get to hurt him anymore.”
Kio staggered to his feet, his yellow eyes wide with madness and fury. Blood trickled from a cut on his temple where he had struck the wall, but the injury seemed only to enrage him further. His gaze fixed on Auslin with murderous intent. “Why do you always ruin everything by interfering where you don’t belong?”
“Stay back,” Auslin warned, summoning more magic to his hands. “Don’t come any closer.”
Kio scoffed. “Or what? You’ll heal me to death?” He stepped forward, drawing Auslin’s attention to his prominent arousal. “What do you even want with him? He’s damaged goods at best.”
“Maseo’s worth a thousand of you.”
“Is that what you tell yourself?” Kio’s smile revealed teeth stained with rot from months in the dungeon. “That he’s somehow special? Ha! He’s nothing but a half-breed whore who spreads his legs for anyone who shows him the slightest bit of attention. He’s always been desperate like that.”
Something snapped inside Auslin at those words. Years of enduring Kio’s cruelty and manipulation came rushing to the surface in a torrent of white-hot fury.
“You don’t get to speak about him that way,” Auslin said. “Not anymore.”
“I’ll say whatever I want,” Kio spat, taking another step forward. “Both of you are mine.”
Auslin stood his ground as Kio advanced. “People aren’t possessions. They can’t be owned or claimed. But you’ve never known what it means to care for someone.”
Kio spat on the floor. “Caring is weakness. Power is all that matters. And I had both of you under my control until my asshole half brother interfered.”
The accusation made Auslin’s temper flare. “Kitsuki didn’t interfere. He showed us what genuine love looks like and taught us we deserved better than your cruelty.”
Kio’s laugh was bitter and cold. “Is that what you think the icicle dick king feels for you? For this pathetic halfling? Kitsuki is using you both, the same way I did. The only difference is that he wraps it in pretty words to make you feel special.”
“You’re wrong.”
A dangerous light flickered in Kio’s yellow eyes. “And what about you two? Was Maseo telling the truth that you love him?”
“Yes,” Auslin replied, although it stunned him that Maseo had said such a thing to Kio.
Kio took another step forward, drawing a dagger from behind his back. “Then I’ll enjoy making you watch as I break him to remind him who he belongs to. And then I’m going to do the same to you, just like I used to. Remember how you used to cry, Auslin?”
“I’m done crying. I carried that shame for too many years, believing I somehow deserved your cruelty.”
“You didn’t deserve what little attention I gave you,” Kio sneered. “I have the blood of the Ariake family in my veins. What are you? A common-born mage with delusions of grandeur because you spread your legs for a king?”
“Is that how you think of yourself?” Auslin asked, pity coloring his tone. “That your worth comes from the family that disavowed you? No wonder you feel so empty inside.”
“I’ll cut out your heart and feed it to you!” He lunged forward, dagger raised, aiming for Auslin’s throat.
Auslin raised a barrier that Kio crashed into. The impact sent him staggering backward, but he regained his footing, circling to the side seeking an opening.
“You can’t keep that up forever,” Kio taunted. “When your magic falters, I’ll make you beg for death before I’m done.”
“Why can’t you move on with your life instead of obsessing over hurting us? It’s over, Kio.”
“Because you’re mine!” Kio shouted, spittle flying from his lips. “Everything I’ve ever wanted has been taken from me. Myparents. My birthright. My home. And now you two, the only things that ever truly belonged to me.”
He feinted to the left before darting right, trying to get around the protective barrier. Auslin pivoted, erecting another ward that caught Kio mid-stride, sending him crashing to the floor.
“You won’t touch him,” Auslin warned. “You won’t touch either of us ever again.”
Kio scrambled to his feet, his face a mask of hatred. “You think you can stop me? You? The most pathetic excuse for a mage I’ve ever seen?” He laughed, the sound unhinged and dangerous. “You forget I’ve had you crying and begging before. I know how weak you are.”
Auslin held his head high. “Unlike you, I’ve changed, because I learned what actual strength is.”
