Whatever it was, I didn’t allow him to see it. I simply stared at him with an arched brow.
“She didn’t feel it,” he finally informed me. “I asked her to come with me to meet you outside and snapped her neck the moment she moved through the door. Then I let her fall to the ground. Her head will be fine when she wakes up.”
I made a show of checking her hair, pretending as though I were searching for any potential wounds that might have damaged the part of her I needed most.
The action afforded me the precious seconds I required to rein in my temper.
Because all I wanted to do was punch my asshole of a brother in the fucking face.
But doing that would guarantee retaliation.
Alas, I couldn’t afford that at the moment. Not with Ismerelda unconscious. And not without some answers.
Oh, I could phase her away and make a run for the airport. However, my brother was nearly as powerful as me. He also apparently owned this compound. Who knew what surprises he had waiting for me if I chose to attack him?
Another weapon?
Lycans and vampires?
Fellow royals?
Some other kind of immortal pet?
Whatever it was, I intended to find out. “I need a safe place to set her down,” I told him. “Then we can talk.”
He nodded. “Of course. Follow me.”
Michael stood waiting inside, his head bowed.It would look much better on the floor and removed from his neck, I thought darkly, envisioning the scene.Once my lioness wakes up, I’ll ensure that image comes to life in a very vivid way.
Followed perhaps by my brother’s head, too.
“I simply snapped her neck,”he’d said.
How about I simply snapyourneck, hmm?
It took serious effort to maintain a bored expression as I followed him down the hallway to a doorway that led to the room I’d seen in Ismerelda’s mind.
“This is part of my personal compound here,” my brother explained to me. “If it meets your approval, you can make this suite yours until you pick your own building within the city walls.”
“An upgrade from the quarters you keep your lab experiments in?” I asked, referring to my old suite underground.
His lips curled. “This is the building I had renovated for my allies. Ten suites, all equipped with every luxury imaginable.” He gestured down the corridor to a set of ornate stairs. “Plus there’s direct access to the immortal toys below. Perhaps we’ll take a tour after you dispose of your baggage.”
I hummed noncommittally and entered the suite instead. “There are answers I’d like to hear before I agree to a tour.”
“Such as why I fried your memories?”
“That would be a good start,” I replied as I laid Ismerelda on the bed. I took great care with her head, mostly because I wanted to ensure her neck was aligned for the best possible healing position.
Then I faced my brother and arched a brow, telling him without words to start talking.
Because this wasn’t a fucking reunion or a happy family moment.
This was a test of my own, a way of determining if I could allow my brother to continue existing or not.
Oh, I might not kill him outright. I might just bury him alive for a century and see if that fixed his humanity problem or made it worse.
And then I might end him.
