Chapter 52 Ezekial
I’ve never feared my darkness.
Not when it twisted into immortality, tearing me apart from the inside out. Not when it crawled into minds and left them hollowed. But I feared it then.
When Jasmine vanished.
Julien said to be patient, Sai tried to distract me, Kane nearly lost control. And I—I don’t remember breathing.
Now I’m here, in the Council building, and the second I feel her—Kane’s fist connects with my jaw in a sharp, punishing hook.
“Fucker,” I grunt, stumbling back. My fingers find my lip, split and bloody.
His mouth twitches. He knows it was a cheap shot, he felt her too. So I smile back.
We hadn’t sparred like this since Jasmine arrived. There hadn’t been time, or a need.
But after she flitted this morning, and we both lost ourselves, almost levelling the district in our urgency to find her… it became painfully clear to everyone—Sai especially—that we needed a release. Something to bleed the dark from our bones.
Julien finding her, hearing her voice, it eased some of the madness. But the damage had already been done, and we’re still too tightly strung to see her.
The need to touch, to hold, to claim—
I shake my head.
Sai dragged us here, to the desolate enforcer gym that hadn’t been touched in weeks. A vast, echoing chamber of reinforced obsidian stone, ringed with weapon racks and training platforms. Half-lit, half-shadowed. Like everything here.
Like us.
For the past few hours, we’ve been beating the restraint back into each other. Taming our darkness.
But now… she’s in the building. The one laced with my darkness and light, and the pull of her hums beneath my skin, louder with every breath.
I turn to the door—
“No,” Kane says, already reading me.
I scowl. “I’m not one of your trainees, brother.”
“You hit like one.”
I swing—exactly like he wanted, proving that I’m not ready to see our bond just yet.
We last another hour. By the end, we’re drenched in sweat, bruised and bloody, our darkness surging to heal and keep us upright. But even while we fight, she’s always there. A whisper beneath my ribs.
“Feeling grounded now, boys?” Sai cuts through the silence, smug and far too amused. “Back on your leashes?”
He’s sprawled on a bench by the wall, legs wide, chewing one of those shit protein bars he bullies the trainees into eating, watching us like we’re here for his amusement.
“No longer want to destroy the district?” he asks, so condescendingly my teeth ache. “Have the doggies finally calmed down?”
“We’re good,” I mutter, jaw tight as I glance at Kane, who gives a brief nod.
Sai rips another bite from his snack, grinning. “You sure? Maybe keep swinging till one of you drops? Finally prove who’s the better brother.”
Kane doesn’t answer. I roll my eyes, and Sai raises his brows in menace while he chews.
Then Julien strolls in from the shadows of the room. His gaze sweeps over us, studying our trembling and bloodied forms, but makes no comment.
“What happened?” I ask, wiping sweat from my brow. “How is she?”
“We talked,” he says calmly, folding his arms. “She was worried about her past, about who she used to be.”
“And?” I push, a little sharp.
“I reminded her that who she is now matters more,” he replies slowly. “I’m hopeful it helped.”
I nod, the tension in my shoulders loosening, but not entirely.
Julien watches me, calm with no judgement. I breathe out, realising just how short I’ve been with him, the one person I should be thanking. If anyone could talk Jasmine down from an existential ledge, it’s Julien. A man who’s lived through plenty.
“Thanks, man. If anyone could help her, it’s you.”
A small smile graces his face. “I promised her we’d find answers.”
“We will,” Kane snaps sharply, resolute. Pure conviction.
“Maybe those fuckers from the club know more?” Sai offers, finishing his snack with one hard gulp. “We could snatch them up when they cross the barrier, let me drag them to the Pit...”
“I already proposed something similar,” Kane says.
I blink, turning to him. “When the fuck did that happen?”
“She declined.”
I stare at my brother, murmuring in a dry tone, “I wonder why.”
Kane’s glare sharpens, I meet it with my own, and Sai’s markings flare, that feral gleam back in his eyes at the prospect of another round.
But then—Goddesses—I feel her again. The bond humming under my skin like fire and light. I close my eyes, letting it roll through me.
“She feels… so much stronger,” I breathe, indulging in the sensation.
“So we’re thinking every time we… y’know…” I glare at Sai as he makes an unhelpful gesture. “Engage, more of the rune breaks?”
Kane nods.
“She wants it gone.” All eyes snap to Julien just as he shares the memory of her saying those exact words.
We all fall silent, thinking the same thing—that her making that choice is both exhilarating… and fucking terrifying. Because it means she wants this. Us. To strip the rune away, to feel the bond in full. And if it makes her immortal, then it means always.
“I guess we really need to talk about Kane’s new thing then?” Sai grins. “Daddy Feels-A-Lot. Mr. Mine. Possessive Papi.”
Despite Sai being the one speaking, Kane stares straight at me, as though it’s my responsibility to shut him up.
“Brother, we do need to speak about it,” I say, his stare only hardens. “She wants the rune gone, and now you can feel all our emotions more intently, what if that happens again? Especially when we—when all of us—get closer.”
He says nothing, but that just isn’t good enough.
I step closer to him. “When Jasmine wants us, all of us, you can’t—”
“I won’t.” His voice is almost a growl.
I grit my jaw, and he scowls back, just as resolute.
My fist clenches, stubborn bastard—
“My friends,” Julien smoothly cuts in, “shall we pause the conversation here, and reconvene this evening?” He nods encouragingly, waiting until my fingers unclench before speaking again. “Sai and I will continue with the house until then.”
“Damn it, Jules,” Sai mutters with a smirk. “They were just about to go for round ten.”
Julien chuckles with the shake of his head, then grabs Sai by the back of his shirt, flitting them both from the room.
The bond quietens, and I turn to my brother, not quite finished. “But how do you know?”
He doesn’t answer, because he can’t. Because he doesn’t know. He has absolutely no idea how he’ll react, because we’ve never shared anyone before.
“Watching isn’t the same, brother.” It’s not meant to be a jab, but he takes it like one. His gaze darkens.
Kane’s trauma is complex. While he repelled any form of physical touch for decades, I craved it. Starved of those types of touches, of affection and pleasure, of anything that soothed instead of hurt—I wanted to drown in it.
Fighting. Food. Rest. Sex. Those were the only things that ever silenced my darkness.
Kane denied himself all of it. I overindulged.
He’d seen me with women many times. It was never embarrassing, not for me. I trusted Kane with everything.
Usually, he left. Once, he stayed. That night, we both realised we enjoyed being watched.
We never talked about it. Never picked at the why. But I think, deep down… I only ever slept with people when I knew Kane was nearby, because he made me feel safe.
And I don’t think Kane liked the thought of being alone either. Not in that vulnerable state, not when he couldn’t control the outcome.
He liked me there, liked that he could watch and dictate. I liked it too.
When he wanted more, we’d switch roles. But he never let anyone touch him. Ever.
I’m desperate to know if Jasmine changed that. So desperate to know how he was with her.
I never thought their night would end in sex, never believed he was capable without me there. But I’d underestimated my brother.
Yet, when the time came to share, I needed to know he could handle it.
“Don’t go anywhere today where I can’t reach you.” At my soft order, his eyes narrow. “When the time’s right, I’ll need you.”
He doesn’t agree, but he doesn’t refuse, which is a step forwards.
Once I’ve showered and changed into a suit, Kane leaves to speak with the Lead Commanders.
He lets us all hear his briefing to them—cooldown protocols, scheduled leave, the barrier’s removal, and everything that comes after—all delivered in the sharp, blunt manner that makes him perfect for the role.
I let his voice trail out as I flit to my office.
With the lockdown barrier in place, and no influx of new beings, crime in the district has plummeted.
Enforcers handle most day-to-day problems. If it escalates, it goes to the Leads. If it really escalates, it comes to us. Knowing Enforcer Kane Nimur could be arriving at your crime scene was enough to deter most beings altogether.
But lately, even that has quietened.
The Cloaks that we know of are gone, and for the first time that I can remember, the district is still. Still enough to think.
And I realise… I just don’t care about this anymore. This role. This title. Lord. Council Member.
I’ve always been good at it because command comes easily to me. Too easily, sometimes.
Being a leader gave me focus and routine, so when Delphine suggested I apply, it felt like an honour I’d earned.
And my unit is exceptional.
They’re strong, respected, feared.
Each of them a force, commanding awe and discipline in every recruit who had the honour of being trained by them.
But now… it all feels so far beneath what matters. Pointless.
I can reduce our priorities to three things.
Jasmine.
Our unit.
Revenge.
None of them include this organisation and strangely, that doesn’t stir guilt, or grief. Only calm.
I gave it everything, and once, it gave something back—structure, order, control.
But I don’t need it anymore, because I have her.
She is what matters now. Her safety. Her future. Her mind.
When we told Jasmine her age, she spiralled, understandably. Her lost memories haunt her, and while Julien may have talked her down... it won’t be enough, it wouldn’t be for anyone. She’ll still be wondering who she was.
Although we can’t give her answers, not yet, I can give her something else.
Distraction. Grounding. A reminder of who she is now.
And if that means putting her on my desk and worshipping every inch of her until the only thing she remembers is my name, so be it.
My desktop screen blinks on, revealing the atrium from various angles and—my fingers curl into fists. All the calm Kane beat into me, shatters.
I lean forwards, gaze locked on my bond through the camera feed, scaling her body. Her bare legs.
I pick up my phone, don’t even glance at it as I dial. “Be ready.”