Chapter 33 #3
Knowing my brother well enough, I let go of Elly.
She gets the hint and quickly moves away from me.
It isn’t a second too soon. Yblis has his wings out and comes charging at me.
His magic is bloodred in his right hand, molded to resemble a flamberge sword, the wavy blade designed to absorb the power of any parried attack.
I catch the blade with my arm. It should have severed the limb, but thankfully it didn’t. “Holding your punches, brother? I won’t return the gesture.”
My other hand reaches for the blade, but Yblis yanks it out before I can grab it, leaving a cut to the bone that spills blood on the marble floor.
Even though she stands still at the sidelines, Elly’s magic buzzes nervously against my skin.
We’re doing exactly what Désirée asked her to prevent, and her magic tells me it puts her on edge.
I want to turn and reassure her, but I can’t afford to take my eyes off the man in front of me.
Instead, I send some of my own magic to her, hoping it will help her feel at least somewhat at ease.
Yblis spins around when he frees the sword, and his wings hit me full in the face. They leave nasty cuts on my skin and neck, ripping the collar of my shirt and jacket. Looks like he made them sharper somehow, turning them into weapons as well.
How I wish to destroy his wings like he did mine.
Maybe I should.
My blood magic shoots out to him, grabbing his wings and binding them while slightly pulling at the feathers at the same time. Not enough to rip them from his shoulders, but enough to hurt.
Elly’s magic returns in an attempt to temper my rage.
Somewhat. With Yblis incapacitated for the moment, I quickly glance at her.
She stands near the door, nervously biting her lip, and I know she wants to come between us to make us stop fighting.
But we need to do this and finally get it all out.
And it looks like she reluctantly understands this.
“And still,” Yblis snarls at me, his voice full of frustration at being unable to shake off my magic, “you do.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I turn back to face him. “You want me to rip them out?” I tighten my magic, pulling harder on his wings. Yblis cringes under the pain.
“You called me a monster once,” I snarl at him as the cuts he inflicted on me heal themselves. “But at least I won’t stoop so low as to take your wings from you.”
“I did what needed to be done,” he spits back. He manages a burst of energy, the binding loosening as he charges me again with his sword. I raise a protective barrier, and the magical blade bounces off.
“You did what you thought was the easiest solution.”
My magic twists his wings backward while simultaneously ripping at his legs. Seeing the strain this causes in the feathers makes my anger boil over. “You took my fucking wings!”
I deserved being put in that prison for my transgressions, but my wings… They were my most prized possession. Taking them was crossing a line that I’ll never be able to forgive him for.
My outburst makes Yblis stumble before he swings at me and plants his sword in my side.
I curse as the blade digs deep into my skin, and I fall to my knees.
It breaks my focus and my anger for a moment, but a moment is all he needs to break the chains binding his wings.
My magic shatters when he spreads them wide, swiftly disappearing back into his shoulders.
Elly makes a rush for me, but I have my magic stop her. She doesn’t need to get involved in this. Her eyes widen, but she steps back again.
“I did what was best for everyone,” Yblis retorts, as if he doesn’t even care. “You were out of control.”
He frees the sword from my side, the same side that was hurt not long ago, and takes a step back.
“Please.” I roll my eyes and hiss as I get back to my feet, my breathing heavy, the cut stinging. “You were just pissed because I slept with Nahesa. In case you didn’t know—she slept with everyone.”
Not to mention I didn’t have a choice in the matter; the woman’s a snake through and through. Perhaps it’s stupid, but my pride won’t let me admit it out loud—especially not since he’s considered me to be the villain for our entire lives.
He didn’t need to say it out loud; I knew it by the way he acted around me and how he looked at me.
I was the troublemaker, the brother he felt the least connected with, and the one that annoyed him the most. I always did something wrong in his eyes, and this was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back.
It didn’t matter to him what really happened.
He never stopped to consider that perhaps I had been played like a fool.
Yblis lowers his sword, and I swear, if looks could kill, I’d be dead. No matter, since it gives me time to set a quick healing spell on the wound.
“You think I was unaware of her transgressions? Oh, I was very much aware.” He looks at me with such hatred, and for a moment, I’m not sure if it’s directed at me.
“She told me about them. Every. Single. Time. She wouldn’t let me touch her, but she always bragged about all the men and women she spent her nights with. ”
I freeze for a moment when hearing this. I knew she was horrible, but this? Well, shit. No wonder he snapped.
“Somehow, I managed to deal with it,” Yblis continues. “Until she told me about you. About the night she spent with my brother. How he had ravaged her and how much she loved it.”
I swallow when I see it in his eyes—the hurt, the betrayal, the pain he suffered. How I crossed a line and how he crossed one in turn to get back at me.
“I expected better from you, brother. I could take it from anyone, but not from you,” Yblis snarls at me, baring his teeth. “And then she told me she was pregnant with your child.”
His words are like ice water dumped over my head. I release my magic and look at him with a deep scowl. “Wait,” I interrupt. “You knew?”
“Of course I fucking knew, Malakai! Her sole purpose in life was to make me miserable. To her, this was the cherry on top.”
“I’m sorry? You knew?” I repeat, my voice full of anger. “And you didn’t think to tell me? You just locked me up and threw away the key?”
I’m in front of him in a few strides, grabbing Yblis by the collar of his perfect suit.
I pull him so close I’m literally snarling in his face.
“You didn’t stop to think I’d like to know I knocked her up?
To be given the chance to atone for that, to make it right?
” And for sleeping with her in the first place.
“You didn’t know?” Yblis’s eyes widen in shock. His magic retreats, and his whole posture deflates.
“I didn’t,” I snarl and push him away. “I only just found out, you asshat.”
He stumbles backward, clumsily regaining his footing. His sword disappears, taking the remnants of his magic with it. “I, I thought you knew. She told me you knew.”
“Fuck, Yblis, do you really think the child would have lived if I’d known? I would have cut it out of her womb and offered it up to you on a golden platter. You know my opinion on children.”
He knows very well that I never wanted any, that I was very careful to make sure I didn’t get anyone pregnant.
The one time I slipped up and it did happen, well, that’s how the family came into existence.
My magic made sure it never happened again.
Which means I don’t understand how Nahesa was able to carry my child because if there’s one thing I’m absolutely certain of, it’s that it’s fucking impossible.
Yblis drops onto the steps from the dais and buries his face in his hands, all fight draining from him. “She told me she was going to leave me for you. That you would raise the child together. Those were all lies?”
“They were. Brother”—he looks up at me—“I swear it.”
I take a seat next to him, feeling my anger slowly dissipate. Even if he should have known that’s not like me. Me leaving with some woman to raise our child? I’d rather die.
I throw a sideways glance at Elly. She nods and quietly slips out the door, back outside.
“I’m not going to deny that I bedded her—because I did.
But I did not know she was pregnant. I truly wouldn’t have allowed her to keep the child if I’d known.
Please, Brother, you know how I am.” Yblis cringes, then a chuckle spills from his lips, because yes, he knows very well, and I don’t know how he forgot.
“I refuse to share my bloodline unless I know it will benefit me. And pureblood demon offspring are far too unpredictable.”
He laughs fully then. “Is that why you chose that human for your so-called family?”
“Of course,” I easily agree. “Humans are stupid—way easier to mold and control.”
Yblis thinks about this for a moment. “And her?” He nods to the door through which Elly stepped out.
“She’s…” I hesitate, unsure how to describe what’s between us.
Yblis chuckles. “I see.”
“You and that bounty hunter?”
“Complicated. Very complicated.” He sighs, and I can sense there’s something still wearing him down. When he finally speaks again, his voice comes out broken. “Why her?”
Yblis looks at me with pain in his eyes. “Out of all the women you could have, why her?”
My shoulders slump in defeat, despite being glad that he’s finally asking me this. “She drugged me.” Finally saying the words out loud is like a stab through the heart. I’ve kept this bottled up inside me for so long…
Yblis’s hackles rise at this, his nostrils flaring as a renewed bout of anger surges through him. “What the f—” he starts, clearly not believing it.
“How do you think she managed to get so many into her bed?” I snap at him.
“Most of us were too afraid of your wrath to even look at her, let alone sleep with her. She took those who were willing, and she drugged those who weren’t.
Why do you think everyone calls her a snake? Just because of the scales?”
My laugh is sharp and bitter before it cuts off abruptly as memories of that night come rushing back, making my stomach turn.
“I was already slightly intoxicated when I ran into her when I came home that evening,” I start, and I feel my brother go eerily still next to me.
“She started to flirt with me, tried to get me into her room, and when I refused, she bit me. I blacked out, and the next thing I know, I wake up with her riding me.”
“Mal—” Yblis starts, but I don’t let him finish.
“I was too fucking weak to stop her, and didn’t know what to do with myself after.” A shuddering breath leaves me, my chest constricting painfully, and I run my hands over my face. “When I finally found the courage to man up and tell you, you already got her side of the story.”
I look at him and the pain, the regret, on his face now that he finally knows my side.
“You had me locked up, broke my wings, and every ounce of regret I felt about what I had done—what she had done to me—turned into anger.” Averting my gaze, I ball my hands into fists, my nails digging painfully into my skin.
“And then I found out that I sired a son that ended up doing the exact same thing to my wife.”
“Is…” Yblis falters for a moment, his uncertainty palpable. “Is that why you’re here?”
“For years, I had nothing left inside of me but anger. Until I found her…” I absentmindedly rub my sternum, that whispering pull right there. “So I have to do what I can do to do right by her. And he’s part of that, so yes, he’s why I’m here.”
I glance at Yblis, hoping for his understanding, though I won’t blame him if there’s none to be found.
“We’re looking for him, but we need Nahesa’s help for that.”
He gives me a long, hard look, and I can practically see the wheels turning in his head. “Why should I help you?”
My eyes widen at this. Is he for real? I get that he’s hurt, but seriously? “I don’t know, because I’m your brother? Out of the goodness of your heart? Because I deserve to rip the motherfucking piece of shit to pieces with my bare hands? I’ll take whatever you can give me.”
“And why wouldn’t I just lock you up again?” I look at him in disgust, and he shakes his head, sighing as he averts his gaze. “I was going to let you out, you know?”
“That’s easy to say now,” I reply dryly, my anger simmering right under my skin, unable to believe I just told him what happened, and he’s right back to spinning this around on me. What kind of glorified image does he have of Nahesa that he can’t even consider my side of the story to be the truth?
“True,” Yblis admits. “But why do you think I let you be after you managed to escape? I could have been at your door seconds after your return.”
I frown at him. “You knew that early on?”
He scoffs. “Malakai, please, I’ve known about your little trips from the first toe you stepped outside that prison. I knew it was only a matter of time before you were truly free again.”
“Then why keep pretending? And why send your bounty hunter after Elly?”
“Because you were still being punished. I was simply curious to see if you would find a way out—especially after she came into the picture.” He gives me a pointed look.
“The reason I sent Azraella after her was that I needed to know if she would be a problem. But then again, knowing she’s your wife should have cued me in. ”
He regards me for a moment, ignoring the appalled look I give him. “I’ll let Nahesa know you wish to speak with her, but I can’t make any promises beyond that,” he finally says as he stands up.
“And Malakai”—he stares down at me—“rest assured that I’ll look into it. If what you told me is true…” He averts his eyes, unable to look at me a moment longer. “There will be consequences.”
A weight lifts from my shoulders at this, knowing that at least part of him believes me. I stand up as well, feeling slightly relieved that I was finally able to open up to him and that I’m not being completely disregarded for it. “Thank you, Brother.”