Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
Titus
The passion in Selene’s eyes heats my cheeks, but her fury crumbles. It turns into an anxiety so bottomless it leaps into my eyes, tangling my thoughts. I scratch and tug at my roots.
Get out!
My nails dig deep; her dread slithers deeper. Coiling around my bones, capturing my muscles, inching into all the crevasses.
Being used. That’s how Selene described what Sable would do to me.
And her point? It was a good one. Yes, Selene wants to kill me, but I can justify her reasons. I’d hunt down the person who killed my brother.
Sable, on the other hand, is the wild card. What are her intentions besides pushing the arrow meant for me into Selene’s heart?
Fucking insane! That’s what they all are.
I look at Sable, who’s clueless. I could tell her. It would shift my odds.
For better or worse, I have no idea.
I turn, acknowledging Sable’s murderous glare. The fear Selene thrust into my soul takes root because, in Sable’s eyes, there is no passion.
There’s nothing. It’s like looking into uncharted waters in the middle of the night; even if the waves are churning with murderous intensity, I can’t see them. It’s all hidden under her dark intentions.
I force a swallow down, nearly choking on it.
There’s too much at risk, not just my life and Everett’s magic, but my family.
I know Selene cared about her brother. Does Sable care?
The only way to know what’s in the murky, dark waters is to go fishing and see what I find.
“Everett thanked me when I killed him.” Saying the lie hurts. “He was tired of putting up with the two of you. I understand now.” I step to the back, watching the twins. Selene is shocked, enraged by my words, but there’s a tear in her eyes.
Sable’s eyes shift off her sister, pinning me down.
Good, she took the bait; I can practically see the hook in her jaw.
“I should thank you for ridding us of Everett. Could you do me another favor and kill her? I promise I won’t tell a soul. It’s in your right after she tried to kill you last night.” Sable smirks.
Sable’s a creature so grotesque, she should never breach the surface.
I don’t care what transgressions have passed; I could never kill my brother.
Never.
I step between them again. It might not be the best idea to give Selene my back, but I’d rather the monster I semi-know than the twin, who has a serpent smile and usurper mindset. “You need to leave,” I order Sable.
“Leave?” Her lips pull taut, like a fishing line. She’s swimming, trying to run, but my hook is in, and I know who she is. “And I thought we could be friends,” she croons.
Coating her poisonous words in honey doesn’t mask the flavor. I know what she is trying to do.
“I don’t need friends,” I grunt.
“Oh, you poor fool. Without friends, you’ll never survive this court.”
“The people you spread your legs for are not your friends, Sable,” Selene jabs, but hidden under her sharp tongue is a new tone, a warning laced with care.
“Jealous I get to open my legs for others? It must be boring to fuck the same man, knowing that man is fucking so many others.” Sable’s face glows like a rising sun.
“I don’t fuck a man,” Selene responds with no sign of insult. “Galen is a king, and he comes to my bed.”
I cast my eyes down, but all I see are symbols of King Galen. I kick a vine with my boot. Anything can crumble: a marriage, a king, a peace treaty.
I feel bad for the queen, but it’s the price of the crown, this castle, and the room she gets to live in.
Was it her choice? No.
That’s the cost of fate. Some are born poppers, and others are royalty. But we all die the same; the breath leaves our lungs, our skin rots, and our bones decay all the same.
Better trapped in a gilded cage than a barren one.
“You two are worse than pups fighting for the nip. Leave, Sable!” I snap.
“He barks, but does he bite?” Sable steps closer and, in a patronizing manner, pats my chest. Her fingers might be smooth, but even velvet can hide a razor blade. Eventually, she will strike.
“I’m not scared of teeth, Titus; this is a vampire kingdom, after all.”
“You threaten the queen; your crimes will be reported to King Galen. Leave before I make you,” I command.
“Make me?” Sable’s face gleams with twisted satisfaction. “I would love to have your hands on my body.”
“I killed your brother,” I snarl. How low can she go?
“Then I should thank you. Tell me how. I don’t mind getting on my knees,” she croons.
There is no pole long enough I’d touch her with. “Now I know why you are not the queen.”
Before Sable drops her hands from my chest, she presses her fingers deep. The tips of her fingers blanch red and white, like the sclera of an angry god that now has its sights set on me.
“There’s your first mistake, Titus. Insulting me.
I wonder how much it will cost you?” Sable chuckles as she steps back.
“Oh, there it is, a little drop of regret in your eyes. Don’t worry, I accept apologies.
I might let this pass. I know the adjustment to court life is hard, but if you think Selene will help you, think again.
She failed last night, but she will try again. ”
Selene comes to my side. A strange warmth stirs in my belly. Comfort I haven’t felt in years.
“Don’t worry, we’re leaving, Titus,” Selene announces. “Sable feels more at home surrounded by discarded waste and trash.” She glances around the room at the burnt vines strewn across the floor. “Isn’t that right, Sable?”
“I will kill you,” Sable confirms, voice like pure death.
“Upset your leash was shortened?” Selene crosses her arms. “I’d tell you to go run to Father, but you burned that bridge a long time ago.
Yet again, your feet stand in ashes. One might think it’s a most fitting end for you, to be left alone, surrounded by ash and dust until you wither away and join it. ”
“You might’ve had Everett’s favor, but he would have traded it, killed you himself, to have what I do.” Sable’s golden skin practically glows.
Selene’s posture relaxes, as if this back-and-forth were as serene as birds chirping. Maybe it is for them; as for me, I feel the need to purge my ears. “You have nothing but favors that will eventually run out.” Selene’s exhale is a ship that survived a storm, steady and calm.
Sable’s brows raise slowly, like a feline pulling back her lips to expose sharp teeth. “It’s funny how quickly nothing can turn into something. Value is like worth. It all depends on how you market it, and I, dear sister, have something that will bring you to your knees.”
Selene rebuts as if this is a practiced game she’s an expert in. “It will be an interesting and new viewpoint since I haven’t sunk to my knees in order to find that worth you talk about.”
Shit! Selene is good. Wicked but good.
A warm hand slips into mine. “Come, Titus, I have lots to show you if you are to make a good personal guard.”
“Personal guard?” Sable’s lip twitches. A rare sign she is caught off guard. Noted.
“Yes.”
“I know what you are doing.” Sable crosses her arms. “You’re trying to make Galen think this is not a punishment.
No matter what you do, it will be. Trapped with the man who killed your precious Everett.
What did Galen leverage over your head to keep Titus alive?
Is it your pretty neck? You kill Titus, his war hero, and he kills you. ”
“Maybe it was you?”
Sable hesitates for a fraction of a second. “No, he’d be dead already.”
“Would he be?” Selene steals that sly smile off her twin’s face and wears it. “Wasn’t it you who mentioned, just hours ago, that I would be the one to kill you, only to bring you back? Maybe I am biding my time until I can kill two birds,” Selene looks at me, then at Sable, “with one stone.”
How can I keep up with the debauchery of the threats they sling at each other?
“Now, if you'll excuse me.” Selene raises her chin. “I have a crown I need to put on my head.” She shoves her shoulder into Sable’s as she passes. “Come along, Titus, you can polish it while I brush my hair,” Selene purrs, gracefully walking over the rubble and exiting her room.
Don’t look. Why did you look? My eyes find Sable. Did I put my trust in the wrong twin? Each requires a mage to mend their twisted minds.
Sable’s lips part. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Is that another threat or words of wisdom I should heed?