“You fucking shit!” Tobias pulled away. “You murderous, vile bastard!”
He lunged toward Kaleo but fell short; hands seized his arms, holding him back, and he struggled against their grip.
“Let go of me.” He ripped himself from Raphael’s and Flynn’s grasps only to be caught in their clutches again. “Let go of me!”
Kaleo sauntered toward him, taunting him with his wicked grin. “Is history repeating itself? I feel as though we’ve done this before.”
“You twisted fuck!”
Wembleton and his guards charged into the arena, the Sovereign leading the way. Tobias yanked himself free from Raphael and Flynn and barreled toward the man in the ruby drapes.
“Do something.” He pointed a trembling finger at Kaleo. “You’re the Sovereign. You’re supposed to do something!”
The Sovereign stared at him impassively. “The Shepherd wins the reward.”
Tobias clenched his fists. “You ass.”
Raphael pulled him back. “Tobias—”
“This is your tournament!” Tobias barked. “And you hand your blessing off to murderers. You aim for your own Daughter to marry shit.”
“You see shit,” the Sovereign said. “I see a man trying harder than any other to win the title of Champion.”
“You’re mad! You’ve lost your fucking mind!”
“Yet you’re the one subdued and screaming.”
Tobias gritted his teeth. “You’re a disgrace to the throne.”
Unmoved, the Sovereign watched Tobias pull against his comrades’ force. “From where I stood, it seemed as though the Hunter sacrificed himself for you. I imagine the guilt will swallow you whole.”
Tobias said nothing, so overwhelmed with hate the words couldn’t take form.
The Sovereign gestured toward the guards. “See them out. I’ll escort the Shepherd to his reward.”
A few guards tended to Drake, while the rest poured around Tobias, Flynn, and Raphael, separating them.
“You’re no ruler!” Tobias fought against the guards, eyes trained on the Sovereign. “You’re no man! You’re a fucking monster!”
The Sovereign disappeared from sight, and Tobias ripped free from the guards, numbing himself to the outside world. Hatred steadily built within him, filling him up until he was nearly overflowing. He charged through the courtyard and up the palace steps, his body so racked with feeling it took all of his strength just to keep from boiling over.
The palace entryway opened up around him, and he stormed through it more animal than man. Flynn hurried to his side, grabbing hold of him. “Tobias—”
“Let go of me.” He tore his arm from Flynn’s grasp.
A cluster of women stood at the side of the corridor with Delphi nestled amid their circle. “Tobias?” she said.
He walked past her, barely aware of her and Raphael speaking behind him.
“The challenge,” Raphael muttered. “Orion’s dead.”
“Oh God. Tobias?” Delphi trailed after him. “Tobias…”
He didn’t look her way, trying desperately to contain himself—fighting like hell to keep from exploding. Just when he thought he had a grip on his sanity, his fist came to life, slamming through a stained-glass window.
Delphi rushed to his side, taking his arm. “All right, that’s enough of that.”
She dragged him down the corridor, but Tobias didn’t resist. His thoughts shouted orders for action, for eruption, all of which he forced down into his chest, locking it within his ribs like a cage.
Delphi thrust open a sable door and pushed Tobias forward, sending him staggering into Leila’s darkened study. Leila spun toward them, confused.
“Handle him.” Delphi slammed the door behind her.
Leila gazed over Tobias’s stiff body, his clenched fists. “What happened?”
He tightened his jaw, barely forcing out the words. “Orion’s dead.”
“But how—”
“It was Kaleo. It’s always Kaleo.”
Leila’s face dropped. “Oh, Tobias…”
“I’m fine.”
She reached toward him. “Tobias—”
“Don’t.” He ripped his arm away.
Leila wavered, her hand still outstretched. She took a hesitant step toward him. “I won’t touch you, if that’s what you want. But I know you, and forgive me, but I don’t think you mean what you say.”
Tobias said nothing, and Leila inched closer to him. “Tobias…”
She trailed her fingertips up his arm—the lightest, most delicate touch, yet it sent him rigid.
“You carry so much pain. Enough to crush any other man, but not you. You’re always strong. Always being the man you need to be—the man everyone else needs you to be. But you don’t need to be that man right now.”
Each one of his horrid emotions brimmed at the surface, and he kept his eyes away from Leila, certain her stare would ruin him.
“That pain you carry? It’ll weaken you. Day by day, it wears you down.” She slid her fingers from his arm to his hand, holding it gently. “Release your burdens. Pour yourself out to me. If I can be nothing else, let me be