Chapter 40
Forty
ANSEL
It’s been one week without Izzy, and I’m going insane.
I use the time to think through everything I learned from Soraya.
All I need to do is kiss Izzy.
How hard can that be?
Forgetting the fact, of course, that I’ve never kissed a girl before…
I’ve never wanted to before Izzy. School and grades consumed my every waking moment.
I was determined to be the best in all things, so girls took a back seat during that time.
Mom thought I was gay. She told me that she would still love and support me, regardless of my sexual preferences.
I told her I liked girls and just hadn’t found the right one.
Mom…
Thoughts of my mother conjure a sharp, blistering pain in the center of my chest.
How can I love someone so much, yet be so disgusted by her? She kidnapped me, for fuck’s sake. Took me away from a family who probably loved me. Not only that, but she killed people like me and Izzy, simply because we were different.
Who does that?
Monsters.
God, what kind of son am I, believing my mom is a literal monster?
I move through the covenstead in a perpetual daze, heading in the direction of the cafeteria.
I wish Izzy were here. Fuck, I know it’s only been a couple of days for her, but for me, it feels like an eternity.
If I had any doubt before, it vanishes with the realization that I can’t live without her. I don’t want to.
I’m in love with Isabella Martin.
Holy fuck.
“If I didn’t know any better, I would think you’re trying to evade me,” a voice says from behind me, full of amusement.
Dyson.
Of fucking course.
I turn, albeit unwillingly, to see the warlock leaning against a stone pillar, grinning from ear to ear.
I really, really don’t like Dyson and his sister.
Michelle was released from the infirmary a few days prior and has made it her mission to flirt with me at every opportunity. At first, I would try to politely dissuade her, but when that didn’t work, I took to ignoring her completely—the way I would before I met Izzy.
One time in the cafeteria, she purposely ran her hand over my thigh.
I made it my mission to never be alone with her after that.
I’m not that fortunate with Dyson. As my mentor, he’s stuck to me like glue, and he seems to believe being “loud” is a personality trait.
Gnawing irritation twists in my gut as I wait for him to catch up.
“Heading to the cafeteria?” Dyson asks, and without even waiting for me to respond, he continues on. “So I heard you’ve been doing good in all of your classes. That’s good.” A smirk tugs up the corners of his lips. “And it’s good because it makes me look good.”
“Yup. That’s my goal in life. To make you look good,” I deadpan, quickening my pace.
Of course he’s easily able to remain beside me.
“When is the lovely Isabella returning?” He flicks his gaze to me, his smile widening. “It’s been…quiet without her around.”
I grit my teeth to keep from saying anything I’ll regret. I know he’s merely attempting to bait me—and that I have no claim on Izzy, so shouldn’t be feeling so possessive—yet…
“I heard she’s back with her mates,” Dyson continues, either oblivious or choosing to ignore my growing anger.
“I always thought you two…” He chuckles mirthlessly.
“Well, I guess I was wrong. You can’t deny the mating bond.
” A cloying darkness descends over his features, so abrupt that I actually do a double take.
“Though you should warn her about Reid. He’s not… ”
He clenches his teeth together and gives a rueful head shake.
It takes everything within me not to scoff.
Izzy didn’t tell me the full story about what happened between Dyson and Reid—it’s not her secret to tell—but I pieced together enough. And seeing how Michelle acts with me…
“Maybe you need to get your facts straight,” I snap before my brain can catch up with my mouth.
Dyson abruptly grabs my shoulder and wheels me around to face him, his face red with rage. A vein in his temple begins to throb.
“What the fuck are you implying, Ansel?”
I’ve never heard the jovial warlock sound so…unhinged before.
Fury laces each word he says, causing his voice to rise in pitch. “Are you seriously accusing my sister of lying?” He takes a step towards me, and a tiny shock of electricity skitters down my spine from where he still touches me.
Pain blazes up me in ropes of fire.
“You’re telling me that if Izzy were to go up to you and claim a man assaulted her, you wouldn’t do anything? You wouldn’t destroy the man who did that to her?” He bares his teeth at me. “He’s lucky I didn’t kill him right then and there.”
I open my mouth but snap it shut, unsure of what to say.
He’s right, in a way. If Izzy told me someone touched her inappropriately, I would…
Well, I don’t even want to think about what I’d do.
I don’t consider myself a violent person, but I wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone who lays their hands on her.
And why would Dyson believe Reid over his own sister? It’s a he-said-she-said situation.
I don’t like to use the word “hate,” but I really, really hate that bitch.
“What the fuck is going on over here?” The clicking of Soraya’s heels precedes the woman herself appearing around the corner, dressed in a pair of leggings and a sweater.
Her red hair has been meticulously braided away from her face, not a single strand out of place.
Her eyes home in on Dyson’s hand, anger sparking in their depths. “Dyson?”
Dyson doesn’t take his glare off of me when he responds. “We were just having a conversation.”
Another shock of electricity reverberates through me, and I cry out before I can stop it, my legs buckling.
Soraya’s there in an instant, flicking her wrist and sending Dyson flying in the opposite direction. He manages to land on his feet, though I notice the material of his jeans is slightly singed.
“If you have an issue with Ansel, you can take it up with the Trinity.” Soraya moves to stand protectively in front of me. “But if you harm him again—”
“You’ll kill me?” Dyson’s laugh is low and disbelieving. He flicks his gaze to me. “Does Izzy know you’re fucking the Maiden behind her back?”
“Get the fuck out of here, Dyson!” Soraya screams, jabbing her finger at a door near the end of the hall.
Dyson continues to chuckle, the noise mirthless, and holds his hands up innocently. “Okay, okay. I’m leaving. Don’t get your panties in a twist. Unless…that’s what you two like to do in the bedroom.”
Before Soraya can snap at him, he hurries to the door and slams it shut behind him.
The Maiden instantly turns towards me, concern emanating from her eyes. She reaches for me instantly, but I stagger to my feet without her help, Dyson’s words still echoing in my mind.
Obviously I know there’s nothing going on between me and Soraya, but does Izzy? The last thing I need is a rumor spreading through the covenstead.
Her face falls before she forces a smile back on her face, the edges frayed with tension. “About what Dyson said…”
“Look, I know you said before you don’t have feelings for me,” I begin, feeling incredibly awkward. “But I just want to make it clear that I’m in love with Izzy. I don’t want to hurt you, but…”
I allow the words to taper off. I’ve seen the way Soraya watched me this past week. I could feel her eyes on my skin like a physical brand when she thought I wasn’t looking.
There’s a beat of silence, then she exhales and folds her arms over her chest.
“I don’t have a crush on you, if that’s what you think. I told you that before. For one, I don’t even like men. And for two, that would be fucking awkward, considering the fact that I think you’re my brother.”
I blink, certain I heard her wrong, my mind reeling. Oxygen wheezes out of my lungs, and my heart wedges itself in my throat.
“Wait…what?”
Her eyes go wide. “I didn’t mean— Gods.”
She runs a hand through her immaculate braid, disrupting the red strands. I’ve never seen the poised Maiden so flustered before.
“I didn’t mean to just blurt it out like that. I meant to…talk to you first. Get to know you. Build up to it.”
My stomach knots, and a high-pitched ringing sound explodes in my ears, making it hard to focus. “Soraya, what are you talking about?”
Her lips press together, and she drops her gaze to the floor.
“I know your story. Everyone knows your story. But not everyone knows my story—or, at least, my family’s.
My parents don’t mention Bram at all. They want to pretend that he never existed.
” Her gaze turns distant—trapped in a memory I can’t see.
“I think it was their way of dealing with the loss.”
“Wait. Hold on. Back up.” I raise my hands in the air as if I can somehow fend off her words and their implications. “Who the fuck is Bram?”
Her expression turns grave. “It’s the name of my baby brother, who was kidnapped seventeen years ago.”
I open my mouth to respond—though I’m not sure what I intend to say—when the stone beneath our feet gives a low, groaning sound and begins to quiver.
“What the fuck?” I rasp, struggling to remain upright.
Then the world erupts.
A deafening crack splits the ceiling above us, and a blast of air knocks dust from every crevice. The walls tremble. Crystals lining the corridor sputter and die.
“No, no, no!” Soraya grabs my wrists, her fingernails burrowing into my flesh. “We have to move! We’re under attack!”
Stone crashes behind us, huge and final. I allow her to drag me forward as if in a trance, my heart slamming against my rib cage and my mind spinning.
All I can repeat is one word over and over in my head.
Brother.
The word echoes louder than the destruction around us.