breaks my fucking heart.
I stand where I am, but I drop my hand to my side and offer it to Lachlan so he can help lift himself up. I’m proud as fuck that I’m able to support his weight and mine as Lachlan has to practically crawl up my body in order to stand.
“Is there something you wanted, or can we go back to the dungeons?”
“Careful, Sentinel,” he warns. “I rule here. Not you.”
“Take this collar off, and we’ll see how long it stays that way,” I challenge, and Adriel narrows his eyes at me.
“Bring the other one,” he commands, and it’s followed by hurried footsteps, shutting doors, and Lachlan tensing behind me.
“I’ve waited a very long time for you, Vinna. I’ve patiently removed the obstacles in my way one by one, and finally here you are. We both know that I won’t kill you, but what you may not know is there are things that I can do to you that are worse than death. So be careful, little one, this can be as sweet or as bitter as you make it.”
I fucking hate that this arrogant piece of shit has stripped me of my magic. I hate that I can’t walk right up to him in that gaudy, ugly ass chair and rip his power-hungry head off. But what I love right now in this moment is that I know I’m more than just my magic. I’m capable and smart, and I will find a way to kill this asshole regardless of this collar. I just have to figure out how. “He likes to talk,” Siah’s voice echoes in my mind, and I decide to start there.
“Why am I here?” I ask, as if no one has ever explained anything to me.
Adriel smiles at me and leans forward. “You’re here to learn that you and I were meant to rule the world,” he tells me with a singsong voice, and I try very fucking hard not to scoff.
“Oookayyy then, and why would I want to rule the world? Better yet, why do you want to? In my experience, there’s really no way to make everyone happy, and as ruler of the world, you’d be constantly dealing with people and their expectations. That seems like a lot of fucking work,” I babble like a young dumb kid, and I can practically see frustration-tinged steam seeping out of his ears.
“It’s our rightful place,” Adriel growls out at me.
I tilt my head and let my gaze go vacant. “But who decided that?”
“I did,” he challenges.
“Why?” I ask doing my best impersonation of a curious three-year-old with never-ending questions.
“Because he shouldn’t have been Chosen; it should have been me!” Adriel’s features go from frustrated to manic, and I press to keep him talking.
“Who shouldn’t have been Chosen?” I ask and try to keep the interest in my tone hidden under confusion.
“Sauriel, my brother,” he supplies, and he leans back in the chair, his features turning hard.
Doors open somewhere behind me, and Adriel’s focus moves from me to whoever is entering the room. I take a minute to file away what I just learned. His brother was Chosen by a Sentinel, and this fucker is jealous. Is that really the foundation of every fucked up thing Adriel has done? All of this shit traces back to jealousy and some bullshit sibling rivalry?
“Where is your brother?” I ask, but before I can get an answer, a body is thrown to the ground on my right, and Lachlan gasps and lunges for it.
Adriel does nothing to stop Lachlan from wrapping his arms around Keegan. Keegan looks stunned and confused. Lachlan kneels down next to him and pulls him into a hug, and Keegan seems to suddenly recognize who he is and immediately wraps his arms around Lachlan too. Tears stream down both of their faces, and they whisper reassurances to each other as they wipe the sadness away from each other’s cheeks.
Their reunion is beautiful and intimate, and it feels wrong to be some uninvited bystander peeking in at their love, at their bond. My throat grows tight, and I try to blink my vision clear of the emotion that wells up in my eyes. Keegan is in a similar state as Lachlan, skinny, malnourished, suffering, and I’m once again completely baffled by how they’re this bad off in such a short amount of time.
“Awww,” Adriel coos loudly. “Isn’t it just lovely to witness? The love, the devotion. Did you know, pet, that they both