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“I can’t help it.”
“You need to focus on keeping him talking. Distract him while I figure out how to get those ropes off their necks.”
“What do you want, Jeremiah?” Kingston asked as he shifted a few steps away from Autumn, trying to keep his brother’s attention on him. “What was the point of all of this?”
“Winning, of course. It’s as simple as that. You and Wes always thought you were competing to be the best, but I proved you wrong. I beat both of you.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you? This wasn’t a competition.”
“Life is a game. Didn’t you know?” Jeremiah had the damn nerve to actually sound perplexed. “If anything, I did you a favor, King. You were always the heir apparent, Mom and Dad’s golden boy, our grandparents’ clear favorite, Wesley’s obsession, and my idol, but you appreciatednothing. None of it. I watched you take everything you had for granted.”
“You’re saying you destroyed my life as a favor to me?” Kingston asked incredulously.
“Youneededto fail to finally see that you can’t be the best unless you actually try and put some effort into it. You need to value life, or it doesn’t mean anything.”
“So, if life is so precious to you, why do you have Grandfather and Wes tied up like that? Why threaten to kill them?”
“I didn’t say I valued their lives, at least not more than my own,” he said slyly. “Besides, they were trying to stop me. I won. I deserve everything I have now, but you are all trying to stop me. And you cheated by coming back.”
“Oh, boy. He is totally nuts. Like certifiably,”Autumn muttered.
“It’s not just that. His mind has been twisted by dark magic. I’m not saying that to excuse what he’s done, but all of those powerful spells he’s been using have corrupted him. All dark magic isn’t inherently evil, but it requires careful planning and preparation to ensure it doesn’t rebound on the person who is casting. He skipped all of that in order to get ahead.”
“So, that makes him even more dangerous. There is no reasoning with this kind of evil.”
Kingston tilted his head to the side as he studied his youngest brother. “I wasn’t going to come back and take the family business from you. I started a new life, Jeremiah.”
“Yeah, without us,” Jeremiah said bitterly. He’d finally lost the smile and some of the insanity was showing in his expression. “I tried so hard. Sacrificed everything to learn enough magic to be the best, and then you come back and are instantly made into a god? It’s not fair, damn it! But then, we learned that life isn’t fair back when our parents died, didn’t we?”
“I tried to teleport your grandfather and Wesley out of here, but there seems to be some sort of shield around them,” Autumn reported.“I think we need to break through to get them out of there.”
“I don’t want you anywhere near that psycho,”Kingston protested. Then something clicked in his head. Perhaps it was the way Jeremiah had mentioned their parents, or maybe it was just something he sensed.“Fuck, Tumi. I don’t think he was planning on getting away.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think he was waiting here for us and he has something planned. My parents died in a bomb with no warning.”
“But why…you think he is going to try to kill us? Why would he risk his own life?”
“It’s the only way he wins,”he said simply.
“Right, well, that’s not happening. If you can subdue Jeremiah, I can get your grandfather and other brother out.”
He immediately sensed her plan through their connection. It was risky, but he agreed it was the only way.“On three. One…two…three!”
They teleported together.
Kingston reappeared behind Jeremiah, holding his brother’s arms in place so he couldn’t use the magical ropes on his victims, while Autumn appeared directly in front of Harrison and Wesley. She slammed her palms down on both males’ shoulders and teleported them out of the room, leaving Jeremiah and Kingston alone in the great hall.
“No!” Jeremiah screamed. “No! Where are they? You ruined everything!”
Kingston allowed his brother to tear himself from his grasp. Panting, Jeremiah looked around the room as if he didn’t know where he was for a moment, then he began to laugh.
“We were all supposed to go together.” Jeremiah grinned evilly. “But I guess I’ll just have to be satisfied with taking you with me.”
He lifted his arms and started murmuring a spell. Flames burst to life, blocking all the exits in the room. His body was then consumed by a ball of fire that slowly pulsed out and grew bigger by the second.
“No,” Kingston said softly. “You won’t.”
