Page 98 of Legacy

I disconnected, the numbness after the incident with Eli nothing compared to the cold, ice-filled wrath surging through every one of my cells. Fury ate me from the inside out, burning out the pettier issues like heartache and confusion. Having already been torn and chewed up from the ups and downs of so many big emotions, it was time to unleash the hard, icy woman so many had labeled me.

I couldn’t break.

I had a long to-do list—killing Ozias Xenos at the top of it. The need to punish him and inflict pain filled my mind. I envisioned killing him with my bare hands, shaking the life out of him as I strangled him and watched his eyes gloss over with death. Maybe I’d play with him first, torture him, then end his life.

I now had the opportunity. With Elias’s update, I knew I could move forward. As an additional assurance, a few ofVik’s Vitalis spies, concealed among Ozias’s men, confirmed everything Elias had conveyed to me.

Ozias was under lock and key, confined and surrounded, kept like prey awaiting his fate.

Yes, I chose to believe Eli and have faith in his intentions. However, Vik was always Vik, and when it came to his girls, it was a matter of “trust but verify.” I couldn’t blame him. He had played the role of a surrogate father for most of my life, and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

A small part of me wondered why Elias hadn’t done the deed himself, but now, a dark and malicious morsel of my soul was happy he hadn’t.Iwanted to end that bastard’s existence. I wanted his blood on my hands.

No one would stop me. I could go there, open the door, and the soldiers could hold him still while I executed him however I saw fit.

But I couldn’t do it. It would be wrong. Yes, Ozias deserved to die. Ozias would die, but not right now.

My time and efforts were needed elsewhere before it was too late.

Papa and Mama would understand avenging them came second to protecting my sisters.

My sisters mattered more. They always would.

Laya paced near me, and as she spun, mumbling under her breath, I faced her and met her worried gaze.

It was also time to accept the truth and blame our current circumstances on the right person.

“It’s my fault Ozias took Cali.”

She frowned, shaking her head. “No.”

“If we’d stayed in Prague, none of this would have happened.” I hung my head for a moment. “I failed her. I failed you.”

“No!” She hurried over to me, taking hold of my upper arms. “That’s not true. That’s bullshit. All we had there was a life of looking over our shoulders and worrying while we hid. That’s not a real life. At least not according to me.”

I tugged out of her hold, unable to listen to anything else she argued.

The front door opened and shut, announcing Elias’s return. I rushed out of the kitchen and stopped in the entryway.

We stared at each other. I didn’t want to wonder or second-guess anything.

This man, my husband, vowed that he loved me. I should hate him. His father destroyed my childhood, killed my mother, and took my sister. But Eli wasn’t like Ozias.

He wanted me, not my name or what I came with, but me.

“Eli,” I whispered and ran to him.

He caught me, wrapping his arms around me and engulfing me in strength and security.

He released a deep, heartfelt sigh into my hair and pressed his face to my head. “I can’t lose you, Avra. I can’t.”

“I should have believed you. I was?—”

Eli placed a finger to my lips.

“If I heard just half of what Ozias planned, I’d question myself too.”

“I’m scared.” My admission felt like acid in my throat.

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