CHAPTER 28 #2
My back pressed against the rough wood as I tried to put as much space between me and the others as possible. Their eyes, hard and indifferent, followed my every move. Their tattoos were exposed enough for me to recognise. Scions.
“Why take me?” I asked, my voice steadier than I felt.
Varian dropped himself onto the sofa as if he owned the entire room, his lips curling as he caught the scent of the worn cushions.
“Because, of all the ways I could piss off my dear cousin today, you were the easiest one.” He gestured to the other end of the room.
“You should sit. It’s going to be a while. ”
I ignored the invitation, my lips pulling back in a grimace. “You kidnapped me just to irritate him? Do you honestly expect me to believe that?”
“That’s the truth,” he said. “But you’re far too simple-minded to grasp the bigger picture. Pissing him off today is just the start. And, actually, it works in Mountheim’s favour.”
Why? Because he thought he could lure Reagan here?
“So this is your plan to take Mountheim? Sabotaging him, making him angry because of me?” I asked. “You should’ve taken Cerridwen or Gwinifer. They’re his family.”
Varian’s gaze pinned me, dark humour dancing in his eyes. “Perhaps,” he mused. “But they’re also harder to capture. And . . . I still think I took what will enrage him the most.”
His words from the Rite slithered back into my mind. I moved before I thought, my fists clenched. I stalked towards him, hot anger filling me as I readied myself to swing.
But the Scions were faster.
One of them seized me by the neck, his grip firm enough to send a warning but not tight enough to cut off my breath.
The adrenaline rose too quickly. My knee shot up, slamming into his groin. His grunt of pain was satisfying enough, but I didn’t stop. As his grip faltered, I struck his throat, forcing him to release me completely.
I barely had time to recover before the second Scion moved. His hand cracked across my face, the back of it hitting with enough force to send me reeling. Stars danced in my vision as I stumbled back, catching myself against the wall.
“I didn’t say you could hit her, Caius,” Varian said sharply, his voice cutting through the chaos. His reprimand held no warmth, no concern for me—only the cold authority of someone who expected to be obeyed.
I didn’t look at him. My focus was on the searing pain in my cheek, my fingers feeling the spot where the skin had split. Blood trickled down, warm against my chilled skin.
“I thought the plan was to make him angry,” Caius said, his tone almost eager. “We should hit her everywhere.”
The words made my stomach churn. Varian’s face betrayed nothing—no anger, no shock—just the faintest curl of his lip as he regarded Caius.
“No. I won’t be a lord remembered for barbaric violence. I’ll leave that distinction to my cousin.”
A laugh slipped from me, short and bitter, before I could think better of it. “No, you just unleash Grims to attack families with children. How noble.”
Varian’s gaze swung to me. “That was a calculated risk. Mountheim is now convinced of how weak their lord truly is. They’ll thank me when they have someone stronger to lead them.”
I scowled. “Because strong rulers will put them in danger.”
“Strong rulers will make sacrifices for the good of the estate. Reagan, on the other hand, does nothing that doesn’t serve his own selfish agenda.
When the judge declared him unfit, he refused to step down.
Threw a violent tantrum in court, like a spoiled brat.
Tell me, does that sound like a ruler to you? ”
Of course he would seize on that incident. He had the audacity to claim some moral high ground about this.
“Would you leave your people to suffer under someone unfit to rule, or would you try to do something about it?” he pressed, his voice smooth, persuasive.
“I’m saving the estate. My cousin would let Mountheim fall into ruin before giving it up.
I take it you agree since you’ve stopped running your mouth. ”
The silence wasn’t agreement. It was loathing so deep I didn’t trust myself to speak.
“Are you finished?” I asked.
His eyes narrowed, a crack in his carefully constructed mask of control.
“If you actually cared about protecting Mountheim, you’d be working with him. Helping him find real solutions for the soil, for the defence.”
But Varian’s ambition was as obvious as his envy.
“I wonder,” he said, “if every citizen cursed with a freakish anomaly in their body would agree with you.”
I reminded myself that it was useless to argue with him, but something in my face drew a laugh from Varian. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of thinking he had planted a doubt.
“We don’t see any of them rallying behind you, though,” I said. “Guess they don’t think there’s anyone better.”
His grin stretched wider, as if he were savouring this. It wasn’t anger that drove him. It was something far colder, far more dangerous.
“It won’t work,” I said, the words steady despite the tremor of rage burning in my chest. “He’s not the same person who destroyed the court years ago. He’s better. And he won’t fall for this.”
The room seemed to darken, the faint light from the window dimming as if the storm clouds outside had finally swallowed the moon. A low rumble of thunder shook the cabin, and rain began to echo against the roof.
For a moment, all eyes turned to the window. Even Varian glanced outside, his gaze flickering to the storm approaching beyond the glass.
“Oh, I think he already has,” Varian said, rising to his feet and turning to the others. “Keep an eye on her. I won’t be long.”
He strolled toward the door with infuriating calm, disappearing through the other side and leaving me alone with the Scions. Their gazes settled on me, thick with disdain. All except Caius. His lips curled at the corners, something like malice flashing in his eyes.
I clenched my fists.
The moment he stepped forward, I snapped, “Stay away from me.”
Caius sneered. “Varian was right. You think far too highly of yourself for a human. Someone needs to remind you of your place.”
I squared my shoulders, forcing my breath to steady. Reagan’s protective ward was gone. My location relic was not with me. No weapon, nothing to shield myself with. Nothing except the months of training Gwinifer had drilled into me.
But then I smelled it.
Metallic. Sickly sweet.