Page 62 of Little Wing
Fucking fuck! Think, Silas. Think!
“She’s done nothing wrong, Luca,” I seethed, doing everything I could to keep my rage in check. It did get his attention.
“Did she not tell you about Wesley? How she slurped up his blood like a vicious little cat?” He cocked a brow.
“H-h-he,” Lotus stammered, trying to catch a breath. I could hear her teeth chattering from where I stood, ready to run to her the moment I’d find an opening. “He knows… everything!”
“Right…” Luca hummed, tracing his bony finger along her alabaster skin.
I needed to figure this out quickly. My eyes darted around the room, seeking a solution to this madness until my eyes found Lotus's. Despite tears rolling down her cheeks, her eyes never left me. I hated how paralyzed she looked. I hated that I didn’t keep her behind me the entire time. Better yet—I regret not forcing her out of the apartment completely for me to deal with this psychopath on my own.
Just hold on a little longer, Lotus. Just hold on…
“I think she needs a reminder of who she belongs to, don’t you?” Luca grinned wickedly before pressing his lips against her neck. “That’ll teach you not to run again. After all the kindness I showed since creating you.”
All I recalled seeing was the way her eyes bulged as he sank his fangs into her neck, just barely a few inches from where he left his mark on her years ago. He inhaled deeply, clutching her tightly against his body as he lapped up the black blood that dripped down her exposed skin. After a few gulps, he pulled away and pushed her down to her knees. And unlucky for him, because in that moment I saw nothing but red. While he was busy licking up his sister’s blood from his hands, I rushed at him, pounding my fist into his jaw. The loud crack fueled the rage boiling inside me.
As he stumbled back with his hand over his mouth, I moved quickly to help Lotus up to her feet. When she was far away enough from the stumbling idiot, I turned back around and gave my hand a quick shake.
New rage burned in his eyes, but this time I was ready. As Luca growled curses and swung his fist, I met him hit-for-hit before slamming him down to the ground. But before I could give into the rage that begged me to pummel him beyond recognition, I heard Lotus’s pained cries cut through the mess of growls and labored panting. Luca remained pinned down on the ground with my forearm against his throat.
The shadow of the woman I loved approached us. She made no effort to cover her wound and allowed for her blood to splatter on the floor. Over my shoulder, I could see her eyes were red from crying. Black blood slithered down her neck and into the valley between her breasts.
Then, she spoke.
“You think this has been a kindness?” she hissed.
Before me, pinned to the ground, was the true monster. I barely felt the thick tears roll down my cheeks as I spat down at him with words laced with rage and betrayal.
“You think this has been a kindness?”
I watched Luca writhe beneath Silas’s weight, but his eyes remained steady on mine. Not a single hint of remorse could be found anywhere in his orbs.
“Oh, please,” he managed a cackle even as Silas pressed harder against his throat.
I stepped close enough to look down upon his wretched face. My blood, like spilled ink, dripped beside him. “You truly believe you showed me love? The scars on my body certainly paint a different picture.”
What remained of the sweet young man I once called my brother, my best friend, was lost to time and his treachery. The man who once protected me from creatures in the forest as well as the young men who had less than chivalrous ideas involving me. But now? I could no longer see that man.
For years I wondered what it would be like to see him again. I wondered if I would cower beneath his power over me. Would I lethim drag me back like a disobedient child? Perhaps had it been years prior when I was still settling in, but not now. Never again.
“What, Lotus?” Luca continued to strain beneath Silas. “You spread your legs for someone new and you forget all I’ve done for you? All I covered up for you?”
“Enough!” Silas snarled, gripping Luca by his throat as he slammed his head hard against the floor.
I barely winced at the sound.
“The last time you showed me any true kindness, your blood still ran red.”
As the words left my mouth, I bowed my head at the memory that continued to haunt me each time that I closed my eyes. The sight and sound of Luca kicking Wesley’s limp body like trash for me to pick up. Had it not been for Luca’s involvement, perhaps Wesley could have lived a long life. Perhaps with a lovely young wife and children.
No. Enough.
I would not carry this as my guilt when it was my brother's fault. It was because of Luca that I lost someone precious. It was his fault that I lost control and suffered. I should have died. All those years ago, Luca should have let me die, but instead I now stood towering over him. With my eyes finally peeled away from him, I asked Silas to move Luca off the ground.
That, of course, did not go without Luca attempting to headbutt Silas.
“You’re a fucking prick, you know that?” Silas groaned, spitting black blood onto Luca’s face. He gave him a swift whack to the head, effectively knocking him out.
