Page 41 of Blood

“But, Violet—”

“We don’t have a choice. Either we attempt this spell and free the Fomorians...or we’ll all die under Zeus’s reign.”

CHAPTER 15

HUX

I don’t consider myself a masochist, but I love pain, especially when it means getting to my precious treasure.

So as Balor works his magic on me, his slimy power infiltrating my defenses and seeping through my veins like a poison, I don’t allow a single shred of my discomfort to show on my face.

What do you think she’s doing right now? Jack’s timid voice draws my attention to where he rests inside of me, overlooking the scene but not currently interfering. My brother knows me too damn well—I’ll never sit idly by while my precious treasure is away from me. Is she safe?

She better be safe, I growl internally as another javelin of pain pierces my chest. I bite down on my lower lip to keep from crying out. Or I’ll fuck the necromancer so damn hard.

Jack sighs heavily. I really wish you would stop saying that.

I don’t understand what’s wrong with it! I mentally throw my hands up in exasperation. Do you not want me to fuck Alex? Because I swear to all that is holy, I’ll fuck him right up the ass if he allows Violet to be hurt.

There’s a beat of silence, and then, Do you really not hear yourself right now?

Whatever do you mean?

I...errr...nothing. A comfortable silence settles between the two of us. Conversing with my brother like this allows me to forget the pain rampaging through me, if only for a moment. My nerve endings are no longer alight and in danger of bursting into flames.

Is that what Balor’s doing? Killing us? Jack questions.

For my precious treasure, I’ll go willingly into the abyss.

It’s a visceral kind of pain to love someone so fiercely, yet fear you’ll never see her again. I’m desperate to set eyes upon the woman who claimed my heart, body, and soul. All it took was one chocolate bar.

Do you still have the chocolate bar? Jack muses, obviously picking up on my wayward thoughts.

I scoff. Of course. I keep it in my most sacred of tombs in a vault that no one knows the combination to.

Is the combination one, two, three, four? Jack questions.

I hesitate. No.

Hux...

Magician! How did you uncover it? Did I not shield my thoughts well enough?

I’d been so careful not to choose a combination that had any meaning to me. I wanted to use Violet’s birthday before realizing that would be the first thing people guessed. No one with half a brain would believe I would use the combination one, two, three, four. What meaning do those numbers hold for me? None.

Jack must be a wizard.

Another stab of pain has me jerking back in the chair. In the real world, I can see Balor bent in front of me, his fingers hovering over the strange rune on my skin.

My raw, unbridled hatred for Zeus threatens to strangle me like a noose. How dare he brand my flesh with a rune designed to hurt my mate?! If I’m ever going to have permanent markings on my skin, then it’ll be Violet’s name on the bottom of my back, directly above my ass crack.

A tramp stamp? Jack asks, incredulous.

It’s a declaration of love to have your lover’s name there, I protest immediately. Mason told me.

Of course, he did.

Another silence descends between us, but this one is heavy and forlorn. I can practically taste Jack’s grief intermingling with my own. It settles on my tongue like burnt embers and flaky ash.

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