“I do believe we are now past any peaceful resolutions.”
“I cannot kill him. Penina would never forgive me.”
Ethereal sighed.“Pity.”
I watched the bastard take a silver dagger into his hand.
My father’s hand snatched his forearm. “Don’t be a fool, Bane. I won’t interfere on your behalf this time when my son comes after you.”
Bane sniffed and wrenched his hand away. “I don’t need protection from your boy, Asher. Besides, Dark wanted to play. This is a perfect way for me to assess where we need to resume her training.”
I snarled. “The two hours you trained outside wasn’t enough assessment for you, Steelhead?”
His eyes glittered back at me. “There are many ways to assess one's training.” He winked at me before pulling the blindfold down and I could still feel his mocking gaze even covered.
Tyr gripped my shoulder and pulled me away. “Fuck him, your majesty. I’m sure his old ass is too slow for Beauty anyway.”
I looked at my soulmate who watched me calculatingly.
“Make him lose, Remnant.”
Bane snickered.
She raised her brow at me. “Is that an order, your majesty?”
I shook my head. “You don’t need an order to beat that bastard. It’s merely a request from a fae that cares about you.”
A fae thatloves youI wanted to say.
She tilted her head, staring a long moment into my eyes. Something changed inside of her and she nodded quietly more to herself than at me.
Reaching the wall, she faced Bane. “Count—” Remnant’s voice cut off when Bane’s arm drew back and the silver knife flew through the air straight at her heart.
Roaring with rage, Tyr could not hold me back when I plowed into the swordmaster. My claws sinking into the back of his shoulders viciously, his face half smashed in from hitting the stone floor from my assault, blood already pooling around it.
A singular steel blue eye glared over his shoulder at me where his blindfold had been knocked off and he attempted to lift his head up.
I snarled and shoved him back down, my claws sinking more into his body. He let out a pained cry and I snapped my fangs just above his exposed artery that pulsed wildly at his neck.
Across the room I heard Penina snarl. “Idiot fossil.”
“I could end you!” I raged.
Bane groaned and then spat blood out of his mouth. A look of comprehension suddenly crossing his face. “Impossible!” He wheezed.
My growl abruptly cut short with realization. Bane had…played me.
Shaking with rage at his sick test to satisfy his theory that I was Remnant’s soulmate, I roared again, rattling the manor with my fury. Twisting my claws deeper into the swordmaster's shoulders, I reveled in the sadistic pleasure of his tendon’s shredding and the painful cries emitting from his smug face.
I leaned lower and dropped my voice so that Remnant could not hear my next words. “You thought yourself an anomaly, that you and Penina were a mistake because you are from two different courts. You rejected your bond and now you attempt to make others suffer but I won't play your fucking games anymore, Bane Steelhead.” His eyes narrowed on me and I hissed low. “Out of respect for my family, I will spare your life…again…but know this—I have no reservations about making sure your life is a nightmare full of despair and pain. You think you are familiar with that now but you have no idea how much worse I can make it for you. Consider yourself fucking warned.”
Bane gasped, spitting out more blood and with a lethal smile on his lips he whispered back to me. “Must kill you…knowing that I’m the sole reason you even found yours.”
Roaring, I dragged his body up on my claws prepared to rip his arms from his body like wings off a cooked chicken.
Then everything went black and shadows swarmed around me.
Breathing heavily, I blinked through the darkness. Bane was gone and now Remnant knelt in front of me. Her hands reached shakily for my face and pulled my eyes down to hers.
