Page 91 of The Heart of a Villain

For the crimes he has committed, even this punishment will not be enough.

I’m about to accelerate even more, when I see a dark figure standing by the gates, swinging something in his hands back and forth.

By his posture and aura alone that charges the air with his presence, I know who he is.

And what he has come to collect.

“Oh shit,” Rafael mutters as I stop the car, the seat belt the only thing saving him from hitting his head, and he innately gets out. “I’m going to talk to him.”

“No.” I get out, and our eyes meet over the roof of the car while thousands of emotions play on his face, from anger to pleading for me to stay out of what he considers a dangerous situation. “It’s between me and him.” I throw a second gun at him. “Help everyone inside. Make sure Lavender is safe. George and William too.” I don’t ask him to watch over Aileen because Lachlan wouldn’t be standing here awaiting me if his daughter were in danger.

Despite all this, Rafael addresses him. “I’m on my brother’s side. Always.” After this announcement, he races inside the castle he hasn’t stepped foot in for almost three decades.

As I forbade him from entering it once we got our island back. And doesn’t that make me an even bigger asshole?

A lifetime might not be long enough to mend our relationship. And that would be if I had a life to speak of.

Closing the car door, I go to Lachlan, who draws something on the ground with what I recognize now are two swords inside scabbards.

These must be the expensive ones, the sharpest steel blades one could find in the world.

The thunder shakes the sky so hard it almost hurts my ears while little droplets of rain start to fall on us, and finally, he looks at me.

And I straighten under the pure disappointment and rage in his blue eyes. “I will take your crown,” he repeats the words I threw his way more than a decade ago in a video. “You dreamed about dethroning me, while you can’t even take care of your own kingdom.” He motions with his head toward the burning mansion. “Is this your victory, Rush?”

“Lachlan.” For the first time, I’m ready to talk to him, to listen to him, and to discuss what happened.

Or rather, I understand who the enemy is now, but at the same time, I know I crossed a line when I took Aileen.

Lachlan doesn’t forgive, forget, nor give second chances.

If you cross a line… you’re dead to him, and right now, for him, I’m a walking corpse.

Besides, him not being guilty of the crimes I accused him of doesn’t make me clean by default.

“Silence!” he orders, fully turning to face me. “You know the truth now.”

“I have more questions than anything else.” Part of me, the vicious and hungry-for-vengeance side, understands that the only reason I’m so willing to believe—without any real proof—in what Rafael implied is because I don’t want to kill Lachlan.

For the death of a king would mean forever giving up on the princess, and I cannot do that.

I’m too afraid of facing him. My hesitation comes from the fact that I will hurt him, and that will be unforgivable in Aileen’s eyes as well.

“Lachlan—”

“No.” Lightning graces the sky, brightening up his face that promises me no mercy. “You’ve had twelve years.” He must guess my train of thought. “I’ve given you twelve years to doubt his words, to come to me and ask me what happened.” Although his voice stays even, I don’t miss the traces of such fury it’s a wonder it doesn’t kill me. “I raised you.” His bitter laughter pulls at the strings of consciousness I thought I’d lost. “And this is how you repaid me? By kidnapping my child?” Disgust crosses his face. “With this, you proved you’re definitely his nephew. Because I raised you better than that.”

Shame fills me at his words, but I hold my head up, even though right at this moment, I’m no longer a man on the path of revenge.

I’m a man who stands in front of his mentor, knowing all my actions brought me to this moment from which there is no going back.

“Until my or your death, right? Those were the last words you spoke to me when you sent your last message all those years ago.” He grins. “Well, Rush, your wish is finally granted.” All these years, I’ve wondered why he gave me so many opportunities to strike and never really came after me. I was always aloof, expecting him to change his mind swiftly and stop playing games in order to catch me.

I forgot one crucial thing.

Lachlan fights fair with those he deems worthy of it, and I was worthy of it until I did something he thought I’d never do.

He throws one of the swords my way, and I catch it easily while simultaneously snatching the gun from the back of my jeans and throwing it away.

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