Page 43 of A Hint of Delirium

“He had an encounter with your brother.”

I sighed. “How many times have I told him to leave him alone?”

“Why?”

“Because he and his goons are no match for Ansel,” I said quickly before she could question my allegiance. “Fighting Ansel is just setting themselves up to get killed. It’s better to leave him to the professionals. Tous.”

Sage smirked. “True. They don’t stand a chance against Ansel.” She paused, tapping her plump bottom lip with a painted fingertip. “Caeldidsay something interesting, though.”

My curiosity was piqued. “And what was that?”

“He thinks Ansel already has the orb.”

My gaze snapped in her direction. “Impossible. He wouldn’t still be here if he had it in his possession.”

“Are you sure about that?”

I could tell she was studying every inch of my face, trying to find a lie. “I’m positive. My brother is a rule follower. He wouldn’t disobey the Queen, much less our father,” I said matter-of-factly.

“You better hope so.” Sage prowled toward me, her long red nail gliding down my chest, stopping at the waist band of my pants. “For your brother’s sake, that is. He won’t just have the Unseelie after him, but the Seelie as well.”

* * *

After another rompwhere I proved I had certainly not lost my touch, Sage and I went our separate ways. She left to scour public records for the last remaining relative of Marisol Santos, the last name on the registry, while I went in search of my brother.

If what Cael said was true … No. It couldn’t be. I knew Ansel better than anyone.

I knew Ansel wouldn’t be in his apartment at this time of day, so I decided to search his usual haunts. I checked Luka’s bar first, the most obvious of places, but he wasn’t there. I spent most of the day portaling around New York City until I caught sight of him down the street from his apartment, heading towards the piano bar where Vi worked. I grabbed him and hauled him into the nearest alleyway.

“What the hell?” he exclaimed, deflating when he saw who it was. “Son of a bitch, Alec.” He shrugged me off and I released him.

“Where have you been all day?” Normally I would’ve been able to follow his trail, but not today. It was maddening.

“Around,” he replied dryly as he straightened the nonexistent wrinkles from his clothing.

I smirked. “Right. And now that the work day is over, you’re off to see your girlfriend.”

Ansel gritted his teeth. “Watch what you say.”

My grin widened. “Or what, little brother? What will you do?” Ansel tried to push past me, but I grabbed his arm and slammed him against the brick wall again. “How about I just grab Vi now and we’ll play a little game? I wonder how she’ll look with half her face burned off.”

Ansel’s green eyes were wild as they flicked to mine. He gave a guttural yell the instant before he raised his hands and flung them toward me. The bricks from the wall behind him shot out like bullets, headed straight for my face. I ducked and swerved, feeling the sharp tang of pain when several careened off my chest and arm. Luckily, it wasn’t enough to do any serious damage.

“I guess I struck a nerve, huh?” I laughed.

“Don’t you dare touch Vi,” he growled. “You do, and I’ll kill you. And this time, I won’t hold back.”

My grin twitched a bit at the memory. I was never meant to be Unseelie, a fact he never let me forget. I willfully betrayed my family once I became of age and could choose my allegiance. That was the end of the brotherly bond Ansel and I once shared, and the beginning of our bitter feud. He tried to kill me once, but he couldn’t go through with it because at the end of the day, I was still his older brother.

I wondered if I would’ve been as charitable. Maybe, maybe not. I was too far gone at this point to quibble over fratricide.

My smile widened with delight as I watched Ansel’s anger grow. “I wouldn’t expect anything less,” I said. “I hope you have as much passion for finding the orb as you do for Vi. The Seelie Queen will be sorely disappointed if you betray her trust.”

Ansel tensed, and I watched his green eyes shift. “Don’t worry, I know how to do my job,” he bit out.

Oh, no, brother. You didn’t.

Cael wasn’t lying. My brother had found the orb and hadn’t brought it to the Seelie Queen. A willful violation of his duty to his queen.

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