Empire of Lies and Flames (Ruins of Power #1)

Chapter 16

JAVIER

When Renée called me her boyfriend, a strange, unexpected warmth flickered through me, almost giddy. The feeling had caught me off guard—enough that I barely kept a grin in check, which twisted into a smirk instead. But I wasn’t about to let her see that.

Sitting in the back of her family’s limousine, I could feel her brothers’ eyes on me, assessing, their silence thick with suspicion. Across from us, Hael and Ezio traded looks that said they’d already made up their minds about me, and it wasn’t in my favor. But it was Kian who set my instincts on high alert, the brother whose gaze felt more like a blade pressing into my back, the kind of guy who’d shoot first, and ask questions later.

Renée turned to me, eyes narrowed as if my smirk was personally offending her. “What?” she demanded; her voice tight with frustration.

I leaned in, keeping my voice low. “Boyfriend, huh?” I let the words roll off my tongue, a quiet challenge.

Siena rolled her eyes so hard I was surprised they didn’t get stuck somewhere in the back. “It was the best I could come up with, alright? What’d you expect me to say with all eyes on us?”

“Right.” I said, “I’m sure you don’t have any other agenda.”

She snapped at me, dropping her voice to a furious whisper. “Would you have preferred my brother toss you over the balcony? Cause that’s exactly what was about to happen if I didn’t think of something. And it wouldn’t have stopped there! Kian would have gone down, checked your pulse, and shot you a hundred times just to be sure.”

For a split second, my smirk faltered.

“So, yeah, you’re alive and breathing thanks to my ‘boyfriend’ lie,” Renée huffed looking away. “Maybe a little gratitude wouldn’t hurt, you know?”

Renée’s words weren’t empty threats; her brothers weren’t playing games and every damn bone in my body was telling me to keep my guard up. But apart from that, all I could think about was her frustration, her protectiveness—and that one word, boyfriend , a single word that made me want to throw my feet up in the air and giggle.

The tension thickened between us, settling in as we rode to... where? I don’t know. I didn’t like not knowing, and her family was doing nothing to make me feel like this was a welcome visit. Still, Renée sat close enough that I could feel her warmth against me, grounding me in a way I didn’t want to admit.

My mind kept circling back to that moment she’d stood in front of her brothers, daring to protect me, a man she barely knew, with a word that could’ve cost her more than she knew. That alone had sparked a fierce sort of admiration in me, one I hadn’t felt in... hell, I didn’t even know how long. But I’d be damned if I let it show in front of her brothers. Hael and Ezio already looked ready to start something and Kian? He had made it clear that one wrong look in his direction, and he’d take it as a declaration of war.

I kept my eyes on Hael and Ezio, reading them like a fighter sizing up opponents. Ezio’s build was similar to mine—lean but solid, though he carried a little less bulk. At first glance, he seemed harmless, the kind of guy you’d dismiss in a crowd. But his hands told a different story. His knuckles bore the unmistakable marks of someone who’d spent years training, and fighting. I knew those bruises, those scars. They came from experience—boxing, and martial arts. It was the kind of damage you only recognized if you’d earned a few of your own.

Then there was Hael. Built like a tank, broad shoulders stretching the seams of his shirt. He shifted slightly, adjusting his collar, and something caught my eye. A tattoo, ink curling up his neck, half-hidden but enough to set off alarms in the back of my mind.

It wasn’t just the ink—it was familiar . I’d seen it before, but where? The thought teased the edges of my memory, just out of reach.

Before I could pin it down, the car rolled to a stop, snapping me back to the moment.

We pulled up to a hotel—one of those places where even the air felt like it was laced with money. One by one, we got out. The valet greeted us with a polished smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes.

“Welcome, Mr. d’Aarle,” the valet said, bowing slightly as Hael walked into the hotel. The valet nodded at Ezio as strolled in after him.

Aarle. The name hit me like a cold gust of wind, and the hairs on the back of my neck bristled. Fate really had a twisted sense of humor. Years—hell, years —of trying to keep tabs on this family, and now? Now I was tangled up in one of them, both in my bed and my damn head. Renée was the storm Jackdaw warned me about, and I’d walked straight into it unknowingly.

Before I could dwell on that thought, we reached the penthouse—a monument to excess. Everything about it screamed power, but it was cold, and lifeless, like a museum exhibit designed to intimidate.

Aeros greeted us at the door, his smile all teeth but no warmth, before leading us into the living room. I glanced around, instinctively assessing exits and possible threats until my gaze landed on Kian, who stood with his back to us, his presence looming as if he’d filled the entire room himself.

“Sit,” Kian commanded, his eyes not even bothering to meet mine.

Renée dropped onto the couch with a dramatic huff that I knew was more for show than anything. I followed, sitting beside her, but kept my posture guarded. No way was I about to roll my eyes at this guy. Testing Kian’s patience wasn’t on the agenda.

When Kian finally turned, his piercing brown eyes settled on me, and the weight of his gaze made the hair on the back of my neck rise. He looked at me like he was seeing through every pretense, past the image I let people see. “How did you two meet?” he asked, his tone deceptively calm.

Without missing a beat, Renée jumped in. “Oh, we met at the office. Instant spark, love at first sight—”

“Didn’t ask you, Bijou.” Kian’s voice cut through her words, his focus laser-sharp on me.

“I asked the boyfriend. So, Javier,” he said, practically spitting the word “boyfriend” like it tasted sour, “How did you meet my Jewel? And more importantly... what exactly are your intentions?”

Kian’s eyes bore into me, daring me to mess up. There was a quiet danger in his stare, a flicker that crawled under my skin like an old scar itching. I could feel all four sets of eyes boring hole through my skull.

All these, the three brothers standing around the room, and Kian reminded me of a past I’d buried, one I was hell-bent on keeping six feet under. My jaw tensed as I kept my cool, knowing that one wrong word would rip through the lie hanging between us. And the brothers would tear me apart.

“It wasn’t love at first sight,” I started. I felt Renée’s eyes on me, waiting, but I didn’t meet her gaze. I kept it on Kian. “Far from it, actually. Renée…” Her name slipped out like something I couldn’t control, raw and exposed. “She made me feel things I didn’t understand. I hated it. Hell, I hated her for it.”

Renée tilted her head slightly, intrigued but silent. She was waiting, too. And I couldn’t stop. The words clawed out, pulling memories I’d buried.

“I hated how she got under my skin,” I continued, my gaze sliding into that distance where memory lives. “Every time she was around something in me… changed. She made me feel things I had never before. It was maddening. Confusing. I didn’t know what I was feeling, and that made me hate her even more. At least,” I paused, a ghost of a smile pulling at my mouth, “I thought it was hate.”

Kian’s eyes narrowed slightly, sharp with curiosity and suspicion, but I didn’t flinch. If anything, his scrutiny pushed me further.

“It wasn’t really hate, though,” I admitted, my voice quieter now, the words pulled from a place I’d rather not touch. “It was something else. Something I couldn’t name at first. It was like an obsession. An addiction, almost. I couldn’t stand it when she wasn’t near me when I couldn’t see her, but I hated it even more when she looked at me. Because every time she did, my world just… stopped.”

I risked a glance at her, the smallest connection, and in that second, the truth pressed down on me, hard and unforgiving. “I kept telling myself I wasn’t supposed to want her. But I couldn’t stop. Every argument, every look… it was like gravity, pulling me in closer. She’s the last person I should fall for. And yet, here I am.”

My eyes found hers again. “One night, I stopped fighting it. Stopped lying to myself. And that was it. I knew I’d fallen for her. Fully. Hopelessly.”

She blinked, and for a second, she looked vulnerable, caught in my words. But I wasn’t about to let Kian—or anyone—mistake my honesty for weakness. I turned to him, my gaze sharpening, the edge in my voice cold, unforgiving.

“If anyone here even thinks they can take her from me, they’re welcome to try,” I said, my tone icy and unforgiving. “But it won’t end well. Not for me. And definitely not for them.”

Even as the words left my mouth, I surprised myself. Threatening the Aarles— really ? If that wasn’t a death wish, I didn’t know what was.

But then I glanced at Renée, and I knew—I was already ruined. She didn’t need to destroy me. She already owned every broken, reckless piece of me.

I relaxed my tone and continued. “I met your sister in a situation that forced us together. And my intentions?” I allowed myself a half-smile, almost daring him to push further. “They’re exactly what they need to be to keep her safe.”

RENéE

The weight of Javier’s words settled into my chest like stones, leaving me hollow, and dizzy. Every syllable, each twisted memory he’d shared out loud in front of Kian, all of it echoed in my mind, taunting me. It was impossible to read him, impossible to know if any of it was real—or if he was just that good at lying. God, how could he look at me like that and say those things with such conviction?

I stole a glance at him, half-hoping, half-dreading to catch some sign of deceit, a flicker in his gaze, or a crack in his mask. But Javier sat there, every bit as calm as he’d been when he’d started. The confidence radiated off him like heat, making me feel somehow exposed, and vulnerable. He didn’t seem bothered by the stakes of his words. It was like he’d simply confessed a truth that he had been carrying for a long time.

My heart twisted. Did he mean any of it?

But no—there was no way.

Javier’s eyes slid over to meet mine, and he gave me a smile, a smile so soft it shattered me like we were the only two people in the room. As if he could see right through me, past all the walls I’d put up. It was infuriating—infuriating because it was so perfect, so convincing. The kind of smile that made me want to believe him, even though I knew better.

It amazed me—infuriated me—that someone—something—a feeling could be so dangerous and yet so captivating

“It amazes me how effortlessly you can lie,” I muttered later as Javier followed me into the bedroom, his presence filling every corner, thickening the air with that same intensity. I tossed my bag onto the bed, ignoring the ache in my voice. “But then again, that’s what you do best, isn’t it?”

Javier’s expression didn’t waver. He closed the door behind him, the click sending a small shiver down my spine. “It wasn’t a lie,” he said.

I scoffed, trying to mask the sting his words had left behind.

My hands reached up to unclasp my necklace, “Right, the first part wasn’t, at least.”

I let the necklace drop onto the dresser with a soft clink, my back to him, bracing myself against the rawness in my own voice. “You hated me. From the very beginning.”

He stared at me, his gray eyes stormy with something—something that made my stomach twist.

“Don’t look at me like that, Javier. You’re dangerous enough without those eyes making promises I know you won’t keep.” I breathed out before turning away.

In the mirror’s reflection, I saw him approach, each step slow, calculated. His face was unreadable, but his eyes—they were blazing, dark. I turned around, heart pounding, just as his hand reached out, fingers tilting my chin up, forcing me to face him.

“You’re right,” he murmured, his face so close I could feel his breath on my skin, his touch grounding and electric all at once. His gaze held mine, unflinching, intense. “It wasn’t a lie. What I feel for you? It’s hatred. Pure, absolute, utter hatred.”

The words struck like a blow, but his eyes—they told a different story. There was something there, a flicker, a tension in his jaw, and for a heartbeat, I thought I saw pain. But it was gone just as quickly as it came, replaced by that dark fire, something fierce and consuming that left me unable to pull away. I felt my breath catch, a shiver racing through me as the intensity in his gaze held me captive. I couldn’t tear my eyes from his, couldn’t even move.

“And I keep every damn promise I make.” He released my chin and turned, stepping back.

My heart hammered against my ribs as I watched him, feeling both relief and an unbearable sense of loss in his absence.

“You should get some sleep,” he said, his tone cold again, distant. “I’ll take the couch.”

I swallowed hard, trying to gather the pieces of myself he’d just broken apart.

“Stay,” I found myself saying, the word escaping before I could reel it back. My voice was softer than I intended, raw. Javier stopped, turning back with a guarded expression, like he was trying to read me now.

I straightened, trying to compose myself as heat spread over my cheeks. “I don’t want my brothers to see you there,” I added, quickly, my tone harsher, brisker than I meant it to be.

I turned my back on him again, reaching for the zipper of my dress and tugging it down. The fabric slipped off my shoulders, pooling at my feet as I stepped out of it. I could feel his gaze on me, heavy and relentless, the tension between us so thick it felt like the air had turned to something I could almost touch.

I grabbed a towel and headed for the bathroom, refusing to look back at him. But I knew, even without seeing it—I could feel his eyes following me every step of the way, burning into my skin, leaving me more confused, more vulnerable than I ever wanted to be.