Page 60 of Devoted

My lip curled, disgust curdling my belly.

Yeah, I’d keep that a secret, too.

Blackwood’s smile turned brittle. “Lies run in our family, as you can see. If you were only a little cleverer, little bird, perhaps you wouldn’t have been made a fool of by my son.”

Heat flooded my face before something clicked.

Little bird.

Only one other person had ever called me that, a monster much like this one, carved in cruelty and arrogance. The Overseer.

“Tell me, did she climb willingly into your bed? Or did you force her?” Rage flashed across Nico’s face, and Blackwood pressed on, “Did you tell her who you were before you filled her cunt with your seed and…”

“Enough.” The word exploded from Nico with enough force that the bones of the entire temple shook, darkness surging outward in a violent wave, spilling through the containment field and across the floor, thundering up the walls, extinguishing every flame. The temple shook, but more than that, beneath my feet, this entire realm shook.

Like Nico had disturbed the very essence of this place.

That darkness had barely ebbed when I was ripped away and pinned up against Blackwood’s chest, his forearm pressed against my windpipe, cutting off my air. A strange, chemical foulness wrapped around me, burning my nose.

Nico erupted, his shadows crashing down like a tidal wave, straight over us. But they never landed because Blackwood cast his own magic, and when their magicks collided, the whole world went dark.

My ears hollowed out, chest aching in the aftermath.

Gods. If they fought like this in the real world, the results would be cataclysmic. They would level a city block with every blow.

The marble floor shattered beneath our feet, yet Blackwood didn’t flinch. He lifted his hand and sent that invisible power slamming into Nico, the impact hard enough to shatter bones, burst organs.

Nico crashed to his knees hard enough, I felt it in the soles of my feet.

I screamed his name as he tried to rise, gathering more shadows, sending them toward his father as I fought to break his chokehold.

Blackwood flicked two fingers, and Nico hit the ground again, blood splattering across the floor, the containment runes flaring crimson.

“He’s never been a true son,” Blackwood crooned in my ear. “Killing him won’t matter one way or another. But what about you, little bird? Does my lying excuse for a son mean anything to you, or were those just pretty words? I watched your fight in the Pit. Glorious, the way you tried to talk sense into him, when he was so intent on slitting your throat. You really should hate him, but they say love makes people do strange things.”

“You’re a fucking monster.” I dug my nails into his skin and ripped. He growled, tightening his grip, my vision going dark as I fought for air. “I… wouldn’t admit… I was related to you… either.”

The reality of our situation crashed into me. This was real, and we were both going to die. There would be no waking up, no second chances, no future left for any of us, and the realization chilled me to my bones.

Blackwood was going to kill us right now and end everything.

Our rebellion. The Dynasty.

Blackwood ran his nose up the side of my face, breathing deep. “Stay right here and let me show you just how much of a monster I am. I have to admit, ending him will give me a great deal of satisfaction.”

The moment the pressure let off my throat, I lunged forward, only to be frozen in place. Every muscle locked. I couldn’t even blink.

I could only watch Nico on his knees, panting, blood dribbling from his mouth into a pool on the floor.

Blackwood prowled across the circle with all the patience of a hunter who knows his quarry is trapped. Darkness swirled, then another of those wicked blades formed in his hand, made from shadow, shimmering with nightmarish intent.

Blackwood forced Nico’s head lower, the blade edge hovering just above the nape of his neck.

I couldn’t make a sound, like my voice had been stolen, but inside… inside I was screaming.

“I’d ask if there was anything you’d like to say, but….” Blackwood looked down at his son with disgust. “You were never good enough. I should have done this the day you were born and saved the world the trouble.”

Horror gripped me as the blade rose and rose, snot dripping from my nose, tears from my eyes, and I tried to move, tried to do something to stop this.