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27JAIDE
“Why are you doing this?”There was more strength in my voice than I actually felt. Strength drawn from anger, disappointment. I didn't want to be wrong about him. I didn't want to be wrong about us. But the proof was in front of me, in the way he gazed at me through empty eyes. The way it didn't bother him that I was being held in place while everything around us burned.
“You haven't heard?” Even his voice sounded different. Flat, cold. “I would’ve thought you'd gotten word by now.”
“I want to hear it from you,” I growled, glaring at him. “Are you afraid to say it yourself?”
“Afraid?” His laughter sent fear slithering down my spine. Fear and revulsion. “What would I have to be afraid of? With my power?”
“Then say it!” I demanded.
Tears welled up in my eyes, but they weren't tears of sadness or heartbreak. It was rage. I had so much of it, growing inside me and building up, until I was sure it would suffocate me.
“Very well.” He folded his hands in front of himself, standing with his feet shoulder width, looking me straight in the eye. “I'm going to kill you.”
“You bastard!” From the corner of my eye I caught sight of a struggling Garret.
He was tied up, too, thrown on the ground alongside Parris, who'd been dragged from the tent and left in the dirt. Elliot, meanwhile, stood between a pair of Synians who held blades to his throat. Did my brother have enough magic to cast a block on him? He must have, since there wasn't much that could hold Elliot in place if he didn't feel like being restrained.
If I was going to do this, I would have to do it alone.
Jett laughed at Garret's outburst. “I think we all know that isn't true. I am no bastard. I know who my father is. Our father.”
“That's right, our father. Ours. You're my brother!” It was like talking to a wall for all the good it did. “Don't you remember?”
“What I remember is that you are in my way. That's the only truth I need to know.”
“In your way? In the way of what? What am I holding you back from?”
“The throne, of course. Xerai. I'm going to take it, I'm going to sit on the throne, and it will all be mine. I will take what is mine by right, by blood. But I can't have usurpers lurking in the shadows. Waiting for their chance to take what belongs to me.” His voice rang out, cold and clear, but it didn't make me shiver.
It made me burn.
“I don't want your throne,” I spat. “The Jett I used to know would know that. I don't want to rule. And I'm not going to be let around by some stupid prophecy made thousands of years ago. I can make my own choices. You used to believe that, too.”
“I never had a choice.” He snarled, the first time he showed any depth of feeling since I'd set eyes on him. “You took my choice away. You're not holding me back anymore.”
“That's what I'm trying to tell you. I don't want to hold you back. If you want the throne, take it,” I said.
“It will never really be mine so long as you breathe. That's what you refuse to understand, Sister.” He spat the word like it was something ugly, sour. “I can never come into my full power so long as you live. If anything, this is all for the best. The longer I go without fulfilling the prophecy, the greater the risk of instability. Uprisings.”
Maybe he didn't know he was doing it, but I spotted it right away. His twitching. Was he fighting against it, trying to hide it? No doubt. He didn't want anybody to see how much of a wreck he was, but he couldn't fool me.
“Jett, you’re sick,” I said with a sigh. “It doesn't have to be this way. Let me help you. End all of this, now, and we’ll get you healthy.”
“Enough!” he snapped. He looked over my shoulder to the siren still holding me tight. “Release her.”
This was it. It was really happening. I shot a panicked look at my mates, but they were helpless against whatever was holding them back. Not that I expected them to be able to help. I knew this had to be between the two of us.
“Stay back,” Jett called out to the Synians now beginning to move toward me.
So many of them. His army? Where had he found them? Why did they follow him? I would never get an answer to my questions, I knew that much, but it didn't stop me from wanting to know in these last, panicked moments before my brother—my twin—took a step he could never take back.
“This is between us,” he announced with a wicked grin. “Are you ready?”
Pride made me want to fire off a sarcastic little quip, but I didn't have it in me. “It doesn't have to be this way.”
“Just like I thought. You are weak.” Before I could react he flung an arm, causing a gust of hurricane strength wind to knock me flat on my back.
