I couldn’t believe what was happening. No one could. The entire tent was speechless, the silence erie. Sie was on his knees, his head resting in his hands. Blood soaking into his dark hair through his knuckles. I hadn’t seen someone break into a protective shield like that before.
“Umm, guys…” Wells said, breaking the silence. I turned to look at him as he stared wide-eyed at the computer he was using. His glasses were almost falling off his nose, but he didn’t bother fixing them.
“What is it?” Dovelyn asked, sweat dripping from her brow.
“The broadcast is still airing, but look,” he said as he pointed to something in his view. “They shut it off to Tennebris and Lux. This is only playing for us now.”
“How’s that possible?” Dovelyn asked at the same time Savannah said, “What does that mean?”
“It means the Lux King knows we’re watching.”
I looked back at the screen. Mass numbers of Luxian soldiers were escorting everyone out of their seats. They were all armed to the teeth and looked more ready to harm them than help them. The King was looking directly at the cameras, a coy smile peppering his lips.
“He’s waiting until everyone leaves,” I said, realizing what was happening. “He isn’t finished yet.” My eyes darted back to Scotlind. She was still standing there, but with Athler now preoccupied talking to Synder, her true emotions were slowly coming back. It looked like she was screaming, but she wasn’t making a sound.
“I know you’re listening, Sie,” the Lux King said after everyone cleared out. “If you don’t hand yourself over, your mother will be joining your father by the end of the week. Andafter that, your brother will be next, and I’ll make certain his death takes the longest.” He paused long enough to smile, before adding, “And although Greyland Noren is ratherenjoyableto torture, I’m sure you don’t want it to get to that.”
Sie was fuming.
“And Tezya and Dovelyn. I know you’re with the convict.” As he was talking, Athler pushed Scottie closer to the King. “Don’t think for one second you won’t be punished when you return to me, which I know you both will. It’s only a matter of time, but what I’ll do in the interim as I wait for you…” His fingers wrapped around Scottie’s bare thigh through one of the high slits of her gown. She flinched just as the connection went out.
“Bring it back,” I yelled, my body instantly taking a step toward the screen. I needed to see her. My rage was boiling at everything the King had done, at how easily he killed them, at how the broadcast ended with more threats I knew he’d act on, and the King’s hand around her, the fucking possessiveness he was showing.
If he touched her—
Distantly, I heard Wells typing frantically on his computer. “I can’t,” he said, stunned. “They wiped my connection.” More frantic typing sounded before Wells swore. “Shit. That took me months to set up…”
Did the Lux King know the man he just killed was my mother’s former lover? Did he know he was my father? That I was the chosen one the prophecy claimed, the child he always feared, always hunted? Because I could feel it now. I knew it in my bones. The fire inside me heated, boiling my core, calling me toward him, to kill him. I wanted to fucking murder him for everything he’s ever done, for everything he still planned to do.
I turned to Sie. He was still on the ground. His chest rising and falling rapidly as he stared at the blank monitor in shock. I was about to say something to him when Dovelyn gasped, “Brock.”
Everyone turned toward the opening of the tent. My friend was leaning heavily against the post holding up the structure. He was panting, his entire body drenched in sweat, and I realized he was shaking uncontrollably. It was his first time out of the healer’s tent. Hell, I think it was his first time awake. I couldn’t tell if he could see us, but I immediately knew what he was doing. I was wondering why I didn’t lose my shit. Why neither of us did because they fucked Sie in that broadcast. But Brock was taking away some of our anger, not all of it, but tampering it down so we were calm enough to get through the worst of the airing.
My sister rushed to his side, attempting to wrap her arm around his waist, but he was too large. “Brock, stop. You’re too weak.” He looked down at Dovelyn, and the moment he did, his concentration broke, stopping him from using his ability. My emotions came flooding back to me in full force, feeling like I was hit with every brick in the world. My quiet rage before was nothing compared to this. An insatiable need for vengeance was blazing into my core, becoming my very essence.
I was about to fucking destroy everything in my path, but before I so much as blinked, Sie fucking lost it.
FORTY
SIE
I couldn’t breathe.I couldn’t see, couldn’t think. I had to move, had to hit something, had to let my anger out some way, or I was going to combust. It was too much. This was too much. Everything was too fucking much.
Moli was dead.
My father was dead.
And now they had Greyland and my mother.
I couldn’t let the King kill them too.
I heard people shouting my name. I felt hands on me, trying to calm me down, urging me to stop, but my rage was all consuming. Now that it was coming to the surface, nothing could tamper it down.
All I kept seeing was my brother chained and beaten.
A flash of lavender whipped before me, and I saw her eyes right before I slammed into the table. Savannah was standing directly in front of me, breathless and gasping for air. Her back was pressed against the edge of wood. My hands were gripping either side of her, caging her in. I was seconds away from either flipping the table, with her in tow, or splitting the wood rightdown the middle. I couldn’t decide what would be more satisfying, probably both.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I panted, trying my damn best to collect myself. Red was still peppering my vision, and she just fucking stepped in front of me like it was nothing. I thought of all the times I’d blacked out before in a manic state, how I lost control of myself and didn’t come back from it until it was too late. The damage I could’ve caused her body—I would’ve killed her. I didn’t move, didn’t trust myself to. I just stood there with my arms bracing either side of her, leaning into her space.
