between them.
“You don’t need to run from me, Brea. I won’t hurt you.”
“But you would abduct me—again—and take me to your queen.”
His silence told her that was exactly what he wanted to do.
“Let me ask again, what the heck do you want from me?”
He studied her for a long moment. “You aren’t safe here.”
“Of course, I am,” she scoffed. “Queen Regan is family.”
“That woman…” he pointed to the door, “…is not your family.”
“You think you know me because you picked me up off the floor of a jail cell. You think I owe you?”
“Brea—”
“No, you can’t pull your intimidating crap on me. I have spent my life in and out of mental institutions for delinquents. You don’t scare me.” Okay, he kind of did. “Don’t barge into my room thinking I’m going to fall at your feet.”
“That’s not why I—”
“Stop lying to me!”
Lochlan crossed the room, stopping in front of her. His jaw tensed as he looked down into her eyes. “I am not your enemy.”
“Any enemy of my aunt’s is an enemy of mine.”
“You barely know your aunt.” He dipped his head to look at her more closely. “My brother is the one you really trust, isn’t he?”
“He has given me no reason not to.”
“He’s lying to you. You’re not safe here, Brea.”
“I don’t believe you.” How could a palace like this be unsafe with all its fortifications and guards? “Are you done?”
“I came to deliver a warning. It is up to you what you do with it.” He tore his eyes from her with a growl and turned on his heel, pausing before he reached the door. “If you need help, trust Neeve. No one else.”
“Neeve?” Was she betraying Brea’s aunt? “How do you know I won’t betray her?”
He was quiet for a long moment. “Because I have been watching you for a long time, Brea Robinson, and that is not who you are.”
“Watching me?” Creepy much? “What does that even mean?”
A knock sounded on the door before Griff’s voice filtered through. “Brea, you in there?”
She considered calling out, telling him to come save her from the man standing with his back to her, his muscles bunched.
Something held her back.
Lochlan glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes finding hers. “There’s one more thing.”
“What is it?” Brea sighed, wanting this night to end. The sooner Lochlan was gone, the better.
“Myles.”
The name on his lips caused her heart to skip a beat. “Wha—”
“He’s alive.”
Without another word, he pulled open the door and found Griff leaning against the wall, waiting.
Griff kicked off the wall, anger overtaking his features. “What are you doing with her?” His face reddened.
Lochlan flashed him a tense smile. “Having a chat.”
“You have no right.”
“And you do?” Lochlan towered over Griff, using his height to intimidate his brother.
Griff didn’t back down. “She belongs here.”
Brea backed away from them but the vitriol poured from the two beautiful boys. Brothers, yet enemies. And they both wanted her for some reason she couldn’t explain.
They continued to argue, but their angry words blurred together as her heart pounded against her ribs. She turned around, pulling at the loose shirt that suddenly felt too tight, too warm.
Alive. Alive.
Was Myles really alive or was it another trick?
Could she trust anything in this world?
Alive.
Flashes of that day she’d tried to suppress ran through her mind. Myles hitting the ground. Waking up to find him gone. What did the paramedic say to her before she was arrested? She pulled at her hair and collapsed back onto her bed, the hammering of her pulse drowning out the angry words ricocheting around the room like ping pong balls.
“I’d be surprised if he made it to the hospital.”
Those were the words, and no one had refuted her thought that he was dead. Not the police or her therapist. Not Lochlan when he first abducted her or Griff since.
It didn’t mean Lochlan was telling the truth. She knew that, but the hope expanded within her, pulsing like energy beneath her skin. She needed to know, for someone to be honest with her.
The tingling she recognized now as her magic built up.
“Stop!” she yelled. Glass shattered, spraying shards across the room as every window, every piece of china broke into a thousand tiny pieces.
Pain nicked her cheek, and she wiped away a bead of blood, her chest heaving.
Lifting her head, she found Lochlan and Griff on the ground where they’d dropped to avoid the glass. It settled around them like a blanket just as dangerous as they were.
“Lochlan,” she growled, darkness