Chapter 38 Not when it’s her
Not when it’s her
KADE
“Why didn’t you tell me that Zara’s a fucking enchantress?”
Darius whitens. Unnaturally so. The pale shroud of death clings to him and he remains alive because his stubborn heart refuses to still and I need answers. Damn good ones. And I need them fucking fast.
My hands tighten around my brother’s throat, and he claws at me. He’s pathetic now I’ve overpowered him. Even Zara puts up more fight than this and she’s a fucking girl.
“I didn’t…”
The arch of my eyebrow silences him, and my hands feel him swallow down his words.
“Galen told me not to,” he manages, stuttering out his words in the hope that they won’t be his last.
My teeth grind together and my grip loosens enough to let Darius inhale half a breath.
“Galen persuaded me it was in your best interests, Kade. I never thought he’d go this far.”
I shove my brother back, making sure he collides with the wall with a force that will hurt.
Darius crumples and I throw a punch into his gut, making damn sure I’ve winded the fucker.
He might be my brother, but he’s been a complete and utter cunt, and he’s got this and a fuck load more coming to him.
“We don’t have time for this,” he rasps.
I beg to differ and make sure my fist connects with his jaw. Something cracks and blood spills from his mouth, and its crimson is a reminder of what might come to pass. Its warning is well-timed, and I might do better to keep Darius alive, if only to use him as fodder against Galen.
I pace the length of the room like a caged animal, fists clenched and teeth grinding together as Darius sputters and struggles to push himself upright.
His blood stains the floor where I sent him sprawling, but I can’t find it in myself to care.
The air is thick with rage, my own magic sparking at the edges of my control, aching to be unleashed.
And why the fuck shouldn’t it be?
Galen’s been scheming.
His name alone makes my stomach churn with fury. The manipulative cunt’s been pulling strings behind the scenes, and Darius has been dancing to his tune like a goddamned puppet. Who knows how long it’s been going on for, or how long Galen’s been manipulating me.
“An enchantress?” I snap, spinning on Darius. “Do you even understand what that means, or are you as blind as you are fucking stupid?”
Darius groans, dragging himself up against the wall until he’s sitting, his back braced for the next blow. He spits blood onto the floor and glares at me, though his expression is a pathetic mix of defiance and shame.
“I know what it means,” he says, voice hoarse. “More than you do.”
My hand twitches with the urge to hit him again. “Then why the hell didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you fucking warn me?”
“Galen convinced me it was safer that way,” Darius snaps, his words coming fast now, like he’s desperate to justify himself. “He said if you knew, you’d lose control, that you’d draw too much attention, that it would put her at risk.”
I laugh, sharp and humorless. “Oh, so you thought keeping me in the dark, letting me walk into this mess blind, was protecting her? News flash, Darius: it’s not your job to make decisions for me. Or for Zara.”
He flinches at her name, and I seize the moment, leaning in close enough to see the panic flickering in his eyes.
I narrow my eyes, my voice dropping to a dangerous growl.
“What aren’t you telling me? You’re not this much of an idiot, Darius. You’ve always been soft, but this—” I gesture to his bloodied face, the wreck of him, “—this is something else. You’ve been hiding more than just the truth about Zara, haven’t you?”
Darius doesn’t answer. He drags his hand across his mouth, wiping away blood and trembling like a man caught in a snare. The silence stretches too long, and my patience snaps.
“You’re not protecting me,” I roar, slamming my fist into the wall beside his head. The crack of stone splitting reverberates through the room. “You’re not protecting her either. Are you still protecting him?”
Darius flinches but doesn’t deny it. That hesitation, the flicker of guilt in his eyes tells me everything I need to know.
He knew. Maybe not the whole picture, but enough.
Enough to make a choice, and he chose wrong.
The guilt and fear are written all over him, and he’s the shadow of a man caught in a web too big for him to unravel.
My stomach twists. For all his faults, Darius was supposed to be loyal.
To me. To our family. And yet here he is, bloodied, broken, and complicit.
“Galen,” I hiss, the name venomous on my tongue. “What’s he done, Darius? What the fuck is he planning?”
“He’s... he’s working with Malric,” Darius mutters, the words tumbling out in a rush as though saying them faster will lessen the impact.
“They’ve been planning this for years. Galen wants control, Kade.
Of the council, the warlock factions. Of everything.
He said the Senior Council’s too weak to survive, and that we need someone stronger, someone like—”
“Him?” I cut him off, my voice rising. “You’re telling me Galen thinks he’s the answer to our weakness? And you just stood by and let him scheme?”
I pause, my chest heaving as the pieces slot together in my mind.
Galen, Malric, the Council—this isn’t just about power.
It’s about rewriting the entire fabric of our world.
My jaw tightens, a bitter taste flooding my mouth.
I trusted Galen and was blind to the scheming cunt.
I wonder how many decisions he’s shaped under the guise of loyalty, and how many times Darius has stood by and let him.
Darius has always been the weakest of us, but this is more than stupidity.
This is betrayal. On a scale that burns in my veins like a poison that will never fade.
Darius shakes his head frantically.
“I didn’t know the full extent until recently. I swear, Kade. I thought he’d just take power and we’d be fine. I thought…” Darius pales again and his eyes screw shut. “They’ve been plotting for years. Planning to consolidate power.”
It’s my turn to screw my eyes closed and see the moves that Galen’s been making on the chessboard. Fuck, I’ve been blind. I’ve played into his hands. He’s played me for a fool and he didn’t even have to lie to me.
“He was the warlock Zara’s coven sold her to, wasn’t he?”
Darius drags a hand through his hair, trying to ground himself as my rising tide of rage threatens to consume us both. He nods deliberately and I lose my goddamn shit.
The magic bursts out of me like a dam breaking, an explosion that reminds me of the way my power used to feel.
The air thickens, crackling with a charge that tastes like metal on the tongue.
Shadows spill from the corners of the room, curling and writhing as though alive, hungry for destruction.
The ground trembles beneath my feet, fine cracks spider webbing across the floor.
Dark tendrils of magic lash out, slamming into the walls and leaving scorched, jagged streaks in their wake.
Glass shatters behind me, shards suspended in midair for a breathless moment before crashing to the ground like a symphony of chaos.
The flames in the lamps flicker wildly, shrinking to smoldering embers before surging higher, blackening the ceiling with soot.
I don’t even notice the roar that rips from my throat until my voice cracks, my chest heaving with the effort. The world feels like it’s tilting on its axis, the very fabric of reality bending under the weight of my fury.
Darius stumbles back, his face pale as sweat beads on his forehead.
“I didn’t think it would go this far. I thought Galen just wanted to replace the Council and make us stronger. I didn’t know about Malric until a few weeks ago.”
“Bullshit,” I snap, the venom in my voice making him flinch. “You don’t get to play the ‘I’ve been played’ card now, Darius. You knew enough to see the danger and you did nothing. Or maybe you thought you’d get a seat at the table when he tore everything down.”
Darius shakes his head furiously, desperation etched into his features.
“No, Kade! I swear, I never wanted this. Galen said it was about saving us, saving the warlock world from itself. I thought it was for the best. For both of us. And when I found out about you and Zara, I thought the blood weave would consume you.”
“And Malric?” I demand, my voice a razor’s edge. “What the fuck does a cunt like him have to do with saving us?”
“You went to him yourself, Kade,” Darius snaps back before he silences himself, his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air.
I pace the room, my mind racing. Malric doesn’t work with anyone unless there’s something in it for him.
Power. Influence. Destruction. Galen and Malric working together means this is worse than I dared imagine.
They don’t want to save the warlock world; they want to burn it to the ground and rebuild it in their own image.
And Zara’s an enchantress.
She isn’t just collateral damage in this twisted scheme.
Fuck, she’s the keystone. An enchantress, powerful enough to tip the scales, to weave magic strong enough to rewrite the rules of our world.
A weapon they can use to annihilate anyone or anything that stands in their path, if they can control her. If they can break her.
“They can’t win without Zara,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper, but it carries the weight of certainty.
Darius looks up, his face stricken. “Kade, I didn’t know—”
“Save it,” I growl, cutting him off. “We need to get her out of there before they break her. Before they destroy the blood weave and harness her magic for themselves. They’ll destroy everything, Darius.
Witches and warlocks, even magic as we know it.
The bloodlines will vanish. Our entire fucking existence will be erased in a matter of minutes. ”
The words hang in the air, heavy and suffocating.