Page 36 of A Kingdom of Death & Darkness
My wide eyes shift from Thorn’s incredibly tightly pursed lips to Rorrick, who only shrugs in confusion but also can’t seem to form a single word to save his life.
“Shit,” I hiss, and I try hard to find the messy magic that lies restless inside of myself.
I take a deep breath and shove hard at the energy in the center of my chest. It’s there, and when I finally focus on it with intent, it lifts from me with ease.
I turn to the furious Blood Prince as he takes a desperate gasp of air. His fangs part his lips now with an anger that seems barely contained.
“He was a child, Christian.” I take a step closer to him, but his manic blood-red eyes flash to Thorn once more, wasting no time now that he’s able to yap a bit more freely.
“Too weak to stop his own mother from being kidnapped?—”
“And what did you do when he slaughtered her?” Thorn growls, clearly sick of Christian’s shit. “What did you do once he drained her of her life? Did you step in? Did you stop it?”
Christian tenses, his eyes narrowing, clearly not having an answer. At some point, they’d gotten closer, and now they stand far too close to each other. Nose-to-nose, they glare at each other like polar opposites staring one another down. Christian’s shoulders vibrate with his anger, one second away from exploding and attacking Thorn, which will land them all out of the castle on their asses. Thorn looks ready to throttle Christian, his wings lifted tensely behind him. So, I do the only thing I can.
“That’s enough,” I say, stepping in between them, putting a hand on both of their chests to push them apart. “It’s new information, but we can be nice. We can handle this.” I look at both of them. “Can’t we?”
I just barely contain myself from telling them they’re family because that can’t possibly make things better right now.
Christian’s scowl gets impossibly deeper, and before I can try to calm him down, he turns and storms away, slamming out the kitchen door. Seconds later, a larger slam of doors announces he’s left the castle entirely.
And that’s a wrap, folks. This all fell apart before it even began.
I sigh and glance up at Thorn.
“Don’t look at me,” he says. “I’m behaving.
TWENTY-THREE
Thorn
She levelsher gaze at me, and I can tell I’m in for some trouble just by the way she braces her hand on her hip.
“Seriously?” she says, her eyes bright and beautiful with all the excitement. “You couldn’t reveal that sooner?”
“It wasn’t important then,” I shrug, knowing the secret I kept would have caused nothing but drama before now.
“And it was suddenly important now?” She rolls her eyes. “I think you’ve been secretly waiting to do that since the first time you faced off against Christian.”
Crymson stands before me in a short black dress made of cotton. It’s built for comfort rather than beauty, but she still looks beautiful anyways. We’ve spent the last few months practicing with her magic, and though she isn’t as well-versed in the magic as I’d like, she’s come a long way. Even now, that magic seems to sizzle under her skin even if I can’t actually see it. She’s brighter, like a literal sun illuminating this entire room, and I want to forever stay beneath her rays. As long as she keepslooking at me with all that fire, no matter in ire or delight, I’m happy.
Some people break under the hardships of life. Then there’s people like Crymson and I who somehow survive. Thrive.
The longer I stare, the more her expression softens, until she breathes out an exacerbated sigh. Somehow, while we’ve been talking, everyone else has left the room. I’ve been so focused on her, I didn’t even notice the others. That’s what she does to me. She strikes me down and spears directly into my heart every time. When she’s around, I’m in her orbit rather than her being in mine. I don’t understand how the Blood Prince can resist.
Speaking of . . .
“I’ve given you everything you’ve wanted,” I whisper, stepping closer, “and yet you still run to him the moment he arrives. Even after everything he’s done.”
Her pale cheeks flush, not in embarrassment, but something else. Something more tender. “It’s not like that.”
He claimed her in his Kingdom. He was stupid enough to let his little friends claim her too. It makes me crazy every time I think about it.
“Explain it to me,” I encourage with a slip of my hand catching hers, knowing that her answer will be sufficient to calm the jealousy in my heart. I know she cares for me. I see it every day. Our relationship has been slowly built on trust, and I won’t do anything to break that. “What is it about those vampires?”
She flounders her hands around, looking for the words. “I can’t explain it. The same way I’m drawn to you, I’m drawn to them. It’s like we were meant for each other. When I’m surrounded by all of you, I feel larger, brighter, complete. I know that doesn’t make sense, but--”
“Actually,” I interrupt, taking her chin in my fingers and tilting her head up so she meets my eyes. “It makes perfect sense.” Carefully, I lean down and press a gentle kiss to her lips,one that she seems to sink into. Her fingers curl into my sides and make me hum in pleasure as she remains fully open to me. When I pull back, I make sure I have her full attention before I say, “Whatever you decide from here on out, I’ll respect it.” My lips quirk up. “Even if I have to play nice with the Princeling and his vampires.”
