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I slam my fist against his cheek so fast and hard, he falls sideways, and blood explodes on his face.
My ribs ache, and I can feel my own blood decorating my features, but I manage to stagger to my feet in the midst of roaring cheers.
“King! King! King!”
I kick Nikolai in the ribs before he manages to get to his knees, then I jerk him up by a fistful of his hair and whisper in his ear, “This is your first and last warning. Keep your fucking eyes off my brother or I will claw them the fuck out.”
He kicks me back, but I dodge at the last minute, letting the hit fall to the edge of my leg. Then I jump out of the ring.
Fuck the fight.
Fuck the lot of the Heathens. I’m going to set their lives on fire before they get another one of my siblings. I’m not even over the fact that my sister defected to Killian, and now, this fucker thinks he can set his sights on my brother.
Remi and Bran rush toward me and I grab my brother by the collar and drag him out while Remi dabs at my lip and tries to stop the bleeding.
“What did you say to him?” Bran asks, not bothering to fight my grip.
“None of your fucking business.”
“It is if it was about me.”
I stop in the middle of the tunnel that leads to the changing rooms. “Do you want it to be about you, Bran? Is that it?”
This time, he pushes me away and stands toe to toe with me. “I didn’t say that.”
“You don’t have to for me to get the message. What’s with you lately?”
“As you so eloquently said earlier, none of your business.”
“Now, now.” Remi steps between us. “No need to fight when my lordship is here. Drinks on me?”
“Take him.” I flick my finger in my brother’s general direction. “He’s obviously in desperate need of a wake-up call.”
“And you’re not?” Bran gently pushes Remi away and gets in my face. “What Nikolai did just now will look like a warm-up once he finds out about your recent fixation on his sister.”
“His sister?” Remi asks, sounding as lost as a lamb. “Mia?”
I grin, purposefully putting my bloodied teeth on display.
Naturally, when I found her having fun with Bran and Remi, I was under the obligation to set the record straight and hint, not so subtly, that she was off-limits.
Bran shares my genes and, therefore, is intelligent enough to put certain pieces together. But Remi seems to have perfected the fool’s image, even though it’s mostly that—an image. Now, however, he’s connected the dots and looks at me as if I’ve completely lost my marbles and will actively cause a third world war.
“He won’t be able to hurt me in this lifetime. I, on the other hand…” My voice drops. “Can finish what I started with his meaningless life.”
“At the expense of losing Mia for good?” Bran delivers the question with disturbing calm.
“Utter nonsense. If anything, she should kiss my feet for taking on the tedious task of removing the unnecessary oaf from her life.”
“Just because you think so little of your own siblings doesn’t mean everyone else shares your sentiments.” He jams his index finger against my shoulder. “If you cared to know more about Mia, you would’ve found out that she loves and, more importantly,respectsboth her siblings. They have a tight relationship, ask about one another all the time, and make sure to meet several times a week. But then again, you’ve always faked your way through those feelings, so of course you wouldn’t know what they mean, even if they were to splash your precious car’s windshield. So, by all means, attack her brother and cousins. Burn down their mansion and sabotage their existence. Destroy whatever saving grace she sees in you so she’ll send you packing. The way I see it, you don’t deserve her and never will.”
“If you’re done preaching like a hypocritical pastor…” I push past him and control the limp in my step.
I’m nothing less than the personification of physical perfection, and the world won’t see anything else, not even if I’m drowning in my own blood.
Bran’s words keep ringing in my ears like an unholy prayer. Or maybe it’s holy, because the more I think about it, the more pissed off I get.
After washing up in the locker room and changing into casual trousers and a hoodie, I head to the half-deserted car park.
