Chapter Six
Cadence
Ryker stared at Callum with a feral intensity that sucked all the air from the room. He stepped inside the chamber, slow and deliberate, like a wild animal sizing up a rival for the kill.
Callum didn’t flinch. He moved in front of me, taking up a defensive position that would have been comical if not for the dire situation unfolding. Vines crawled their way up his outstretched arm as his body coiled tight, ready to strike.
This would not end well.
“I don’t like repeating myself,” Ryker said, his voice even but menacing. “Get your fucking hands off my mate.”
Callum stiffened, turning to peer over his shoulder at me. “Did he just call you his mate?”
Dark shadows crept across the floor, and I realized too late that Ryker had unleashed his magic. The inky tendrils snaked up Callum’s legs before Ryker ripped my brother out of my grasp.
“Ryker, no!”
In a blur of movement, Ryker had Callum pressed against the wall, his shadows forming a tight rope around his neck.
“I’m going to enjoy ending your life,” he growled.
Callum smirked.
He fucking smirked, as though his life wasn’t in imminent danger.
A moment later, I understood why.
The vines running along Callum’s arms sprang forward, encircling Ryker’s throat in imitation of the shadows gripping his own.
“Not as much as I’m going to enjoy ending yours.”
The two men glared at each other, and I could feel the magic pulsing through the room, raw and volatile.
Ryker tugged on his shadows. Black tendrils hissed like serpents, constricting Callum’s airway with every breath he tried to suck in. His face turned an alarming shade of purple when he failed to draw air into his starving lungs.
Not a second later, thorny vines slithered up from between the cracks in the stone floor, wrapping around Ryker’s arms and torso, trying to crush him. A vein on the side of Ryker’s neck bulged, and blood trickled down the column of his throat as thorns tore into his flesh.
“Stop it, both of you!”
Neither of them spared me a glance. Primal rage contorted their features, and their muscles strained as each tried to overpower the other.
Ryker growled, a guttural, animalistic sound, and lifted his hand despite the vines restraining him. With a flick of his wrist, his shadows flared, not just binding Callum, but lifting him off the ground entirely. His boots kicked against the stone as he hung there, suspended in midair.
Callum’s own power surged in response. His vines bloomed with thorns as long as daggers, piercing Ryker’s side. Blood splattered across the floor, and Ryker grunted in pain.
“Let him go! You’re going to kill him!”
“That’s the plan,” Ryker bit out between clenched teeth, even as blood trickled down his side and soaked his tunic.
“He’s my brother, you idiot!” I screamed, desperation clawing at my chest.
Ryker faltered, and he dropped Callum. My brother crashed to the floor, coughing and gasping for air as he pressed a hand to his throat.
But the second Callum moved, Ryker lunged.
I made it out of the way as he slammed into Callum with the force of a battering ram. The two went down hard, crashing into the dresser with a splintering crunch. Wood exploded. A drawer flew across the chamber and shattered against the far wall.
They rolled on the floor, fists flying.
Callum struck first, fast and sharp, right to Ryker’s jaw. Ryker snarled and drove his fist into Callum’s ribs. I heard the wind leave Callum’s lungs in a choked grunt.
They fought like men possessed, as though they didn’t feel the pain, didn’t care about the blood. Their only goal was to pummel the other until they were no longer recognizable.
It was about claiming me, defending me, avenging me. Gods, I wasn’t even sure which anymore. Maybe all of it. Maybe none of it.
Magic exploded between them. Callum’s vines thrashed wildly, tearing grooves into the stone floor, while Ryker’s shadows twisted and pulsed, cracking like lightning.
“Stop!”
I screamed so loud my throat burned, but my voice was nothing compared to the roar of fury coming from them both.
Ryker picked Callum up and slammed him against the wall, pinning him there with one hand, his eyes alight with rage.
“You don’t get to come into my kingdom and threaten what’s mine!”
My brother spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor. “She’s not yours!”
Ryker drew his fist back, ready to deliver another devastating blow to Callum’s face, but I jumped between them, pushing against Ryker’s chest. His entire body trembled with the effort to restrain himself. His shadows retreated, flickering like a dying flame.
“Let him go, Ryker,” I said, softer now.
His jaw clenched, and his nostrils flared. After a long, agonizing pause, he stepped back. Callum slid down the wall, landing hard on the floor.
I invaded Ryker’s space, our chests heaving in unison. “If you ever lay a finger on my brother again, I’ll kill you myself.”
His eyes flicked to mine. There was still fury there, cold and seething, but beneath it was something more fragile.
Hurt.
Behind me, Callum groaned and staggered to his feet. “You should’ve let him hit me again,” he muttered. “I think I almost had him that time.”
I turned toward him. “You’re bleeding.”
“So is he,” he said, smirking through cracked lips.
“Are you seriously making jokes right now?”
“You’re the one who picked a psychotic princeling as a mate. I cope with humor.”
I wanted to point out that I had not, in fact, picked him, but stopped myself. That was a conversation for another time.
Ryker made a noise; part frustration, part disgust. “He’s insufferable.”
“And you’re an asshole,” Callum shot back. “So, I’d say we’re even.”
I moved to Callum’s side and pulled him into a hug. His arms wrapped around me, and he buried his face in my hair.
Behind me, Ryker snarled.
“Please don’t do anything that stupid ever again,” I whispered. “I’d die if any harm came to you.”
“Missed you too, Little Sister.”
As my arms tightened around Callum, calloused fingers gripped my elbow, pulling me out of his embrace.
“What part of don’t fucking touch her is so difficult for you to understand?” Ryker rumbled.
“And what part of he’s my brother is difficult for you to understand?”
“I do not care if he is your brother; no other man lays a finger on what belongs to me!”
“Don’t speak about her like that,” Callum said with a snarl.
“What the hell is going on in here?” a voice called from the entryway.
We all froze, then turned to face the newcomer.
Riordan stood at the threshold, dressed only in sleeping pants, his toned physique on full display and his hair perfectly tousled from sleep.
He glanced around the room, taking in the wreckage.
It appeared as though a storm had swept through. Furniture lay broken across the chamber, blood coated the walls, and Callum’s vines had torn the stone floor to pieces.
Riordan surveyed the room once more before his head whipped back to where my brother stood, bruised and bleeding.
His eyes raked over his body, from his head to his toes.
Riordan raised a clenched fist to his mouth and sank his teeth into his white knuckles as though he was trying to stop himself from speaking.
“Riordan, are you all right?” I asked, not hiding my concern.
“Uh-huh,” he managed around his fist.
Ryker snorted, which seemed to pull Riordan from whatever episode he was having. He swiped his hands down the length of his pants, took a deep breath, and then strode to Callum’s side.
“And who might you be, handsome?” he purred.
Callum’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline, and I was certain mine were no better. His gaze danced to me, pleading.
“Riordan, this is my brother, Callum,” I said by way of introduction.
Riordan groaned. “Callum,” he repeated as though he was tasting his name on his tongue.
My brother retreated a step, cleared his throat, and thrust his hand out to Riordan. “It’s nice to meet you. Riordan, was it?”
Riordan took Callum’s palm in his and raised it to his mouth, kissing it. “You can call me whatever you want, so long as you’re screaming it.”
Callum’s face drained of all color. “I… I’m flattered, but I don’t… do… men…” he trailed off, palming his nape.
“How do you know if you’ve never tried?”
“I like women.” Callum’s tone was flat, but that didn’t deter Riordan.
“So do I. Men, women, I’m not picky.” His grin was overly enthusiastic, and I struggled to conceal my own.
“Cadence!” My brother’s mouth hung open, his eyes wide with disbelief.
“Hmmm.”
He glanced toward Riordan pointedly.
“Enough,” Ryker said, breaking the tension.
He turned to me, eyes shimmering with anger. “I gave you space, let you have our quarters to yourself, but seeing as you can’t be trusted,” — his gaze flicked to Callum — “I’m moving back in. Tonight. Now.”
“No, you are not,” I said, folding my arms over my chest.
Ryker leaned in close so only I could hear him. “If you want your brother to survive until morning, I suggest you adjust your attitude.”
Heat lanced my cheeks as rage uncoiled within me. I clenched my jaw, knowing there was little I could do right now that wouldn’t risk Callum.
“Fine.”
“Excellent.” The smug grin on Ryker’s face only enhanced my rage.
Instead of leaning into my frustration, I asked, “Where will Callum sleep?”
“With me,” Riordan said, beaming. “Don’t you worry about a thing, Cadence. I’ll take good care of your brother.”
Callum made a choking sound in his throat as his eyes screamed at me to help him.
I gave him an apologetic smile as I watched Riordan whisk my brother out of sight.
Tomorrow.
We’d regroup tomorrow.