24
KERADOC
Brother…
Evander of Autumshire…
He’s your brother…
Brother…
Brother…
Elian, he’s your brother. He’s Evander of Autumnshire…
Her gentle words were a dim echo in the recesses of my mind, but I couldn’t make sense of them. Couldn’t acknowledge the dawning realization that’d been dancing on a razor-thin wire in my mind ever since my guards had dropped the vampire-fae on his knees in the throne room the night of the Feast, staked and bleeding, and through his agony he’d gazed upon me as if I were a benevolent god come to deliver him from death.
Because now, in this moment, therewasno vampire-fae. No brother. No murky, forgotten childhood I couldn’t recall even if I forced myself to try.
No. Right now, there wasn’t even a weakened, broken body drained of blood and very near collapse after a vampire bite, a warlord who hadn’t even tried to defend his own life.
There was only Haley Barnes, my witch. My weapon. My feisty, fiery little thief with her wild eyes and soft, expressive mouth and tossed hair and—an unbearable sight that gripped me in a rage so sudden and violent, everything else vanished in its stark presence—a series of dark, angry bruises blackening her beautiful face and neck.
I reached for her, my hand shaking as I brushed a gentle thumb across her cheekbone.
She winced at my touch, then lowered her eyes, cheeks darkening as if she were ashamed to be seen in such a state.
A fury like the end of the world ripped through my chest, making me tremble.
“You’re… wounded,” I gritted out.
“I’ll survive,” she said softly. “Elian healed the worst of it already—no permanent damage.”
Emotion swelled inside, but I slammed the gates down on it. There was no room for emotion now. Only action. Swift, resolute action.
I lowered my hand, fisting it to stem the uncontrollable quake. Turning away from her, I looked at the man she claimed was my brother, then at the one-eyed demon who’d followed her into my library.
When I finally found the will to speak, I couldn’t keep the tremor from my voice. “Who. Did. This?”
The demon scoffed. “Nowyou care what happens to her?”
“Answer me!” I roared, the words scraping my throat raw, making the puncture wounds in my neck throb—wounds my so-called brother had made. Blood trickled down my throat and soaked into my shirt, but I was beyond caring. Beyond all reasonable thought. Beyond anything but the sudden need to vanquish the vile creatures who’ddaredto bruise her.
Again, the silver-eyed fae drew close to me, nose-to-nose, the ghost of Devil’s Dream sweet on his breath. “You left her alone on that wall with a fuckingmercenaryafter warning her for weeks that your enemies could hurt her. And shedidget hurt,Keradoc,” he sneered, enunciating the name as if he didn’t want to believe Haley’s proclamation any more than I did. “Barely made it out alive. But you were wrong about one thing—the attack didn’t come from your enemies. It came from your hired thugs, bought and paid for with Midnight currency.Yourcurrency.”
I opened my mouth to deny this blasphemy, but the intensity in his eyes told me he spoke the truth.
The fury in my gut simmered. My arm shot forward and I fisted his shirt, yanking him closer. “Whichhired thugs?”
He and the demon remained silent.
“They die tonight,” I vowed. “All of them.”
“Haleynearly died tonight,” the demon snapped. “Because of you.”
“Name them!”
“It was the gargoyle,” Haley finally said, wedging herself between me and the vampire-fae until I was forced to release him. Her voice was clear and commanding, her eyes blazing with righteous indignation as she glared up at me. “I asked him to bring me back to the castle, but he grabbed me and flew over the wall instead. A few other gargoyles showed up too, and I saw a wagon with two fae guards I recognized from the team that normally watches my room. The whole thing was a setup.”
