Page 25 of Right Hand Of The Reaper
My heart clenched because Rafe was right. I had felt like nothing when Magnus had broken my heart. It still fucking hurt now.
I couldn’t stand to listen to anymore, couldn’t stand the hurt and pain I could sense in the twins. I opened the door and found the twins just as I imagined, except Rafe had a split lip and Rayne had a black eye. Magnus looked rumpled and I understood what the Fates had meant. There had clearly been some fists flying. What I hadn’t expected, was for everyone to be standing so close. There was a pleading glint in the way Magnus was looking up at the twins and there was an air of desperation lingering between them. If I hadn’t come in when I did, would I have come into a very different scene? One that was suddenly falling into a full blown fantasy in the forefront of my mind. Mother of the Gods, the three of them would be something to watch.
“Roux,” Magnus said, his voice soft, barely above a whisper. Like he was worried I’d find out his dirty little secret.
“I think you should leave,” I said calmly with my head held high. “I think you’ve caused enough damage for one lifetime.”
He bowed his head and I watched as the fight drained out of him. His shoulders fell and his mask of indifference crumbled. He looked at me again and his ruby eyes were filled with remorse, anguish and longing. It hit me square in the chest and I instinctively reached out for him.
“Just tell me, Magnus. What’s going on?” I brushed his cheek with my fingers. He closed his eyes and whimpered, as if my touch was too much to bare. “Please. Let me help.”
“I can’t,” he replied. “Not yet. I’ll explain everything but it just isn’t time.”
I sighed and pulled my hand away. I wanted to believe him, but it was always ‘not yet’ or ‘soon’. “It never seems to be the right time for you, Magnus.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I really am. Please, if you can believe anything, believe that.” Then he took a last long glance at the twins and I before he squared his shoulders and left.
Rayne pulled me into their heat and I melted into their embrace. I took a moment to find my centre, my footing. Magnus always seemed to knock me off course, I always thought I knew where I was but then he’d pop into my life and boom, there’d be a curveball or a moment where I’d relapse and just want to hold him. He had so many secrets, so much that he wasn’t telling me and I just knew there was more to him than met the eye. I just didn’t know if I could ever forgive him for what he did to me or whatever it was he did to the twins.
I glanced up at them. “Wanna walk about it?”
“Not really,” Rayne replied gruffly.
Rafe took a deep sigh. “It was a Christmas some years ago, long before you started seeing Magnus when he approached us at a pub. He wanted punishment for something he’d done and we agreed. We connected with him in a way we’d never felt before.”
“We wanted to come to an agreement,” Rayne added.
My eyebrows shot up. Theynevermade an agreement with someone unless the connection between them all was super strong.
“We didn’t know who he was at first, or what he’d done but we punished him anyway,” Rafe said, his hand finding his twin’s.
“It wasn’t until the morning after we discovered everything.” The growl in Rayne’s voice had a shiver running down my spine, and not in a good way. “Turns out he’d murdered the royal family and took the throne. He wanted punishing for that.”
I’d heard the rumours surround Magnus’ rise to power. That he’d slain hundreds, or he’d murdered innocent vampires. But those stories had never sounded like the Magnus I knew. Perhaps I’d been gifted with seeing a side of him that no one else had. Not that it mattered anymore. He’d thrown me away like yesterday’s trash.
“We gave him that punishment,” Rafe said, venom lacing every word. “We gave himusand he rejected us and called us dogs in front of his precious vampire elders.”
My blood instantly boiled. How dare he! What kind of monster would do that to someone? That vampire had some serious explaining to do before I chopped his dick off with my scythe. I was fucking furious. Maybe I’d gouge his eyes out, no, I’d take his fingers off one by one, no — fuck. There was too much fucking choice with what I wanted to do to that vampire. But one thing was for certain, I was gonna make that asshole pay.
Chapter Ten
Magnus
Ihatedmyself.Genuinelyhated everything about me right now. Gods, the way the three of them looked at me had my stomach twisting in fucking knots. I had to believe this was all worth it, but as they stared at me with pain, anguish, and hatred in their eyes, I just felt like the worst sort of being on the planet.
I stared at my throne, a gaudy piece of furniture that had a ridiculously large back covered in gold. I hated that too, but it was necessary for the role I was playing. I had to keep reminding myself that I wanted this. That I wanted to be king. It was my right by birth, and I’d taken it back from those that had stolen it from my grandfather. The last ruling family, the Morettis, had been evil in all senses of the word. Vile and villainous with no limitations on the things they’d do. In my grandfather’s day, Lucas Moretti had been his adviser and best friend. Or so he’d thought. He’d never seen the betrayal coming until it was too late. Lucas murdered him and took the throne after the biggest coup the vampires had seen in centuries. I’d been on an assignment in Vienna, trying to expand our business ventures, when Lucas killed my grandfather, my parents and my sister. I’d come back to find that all trace of them had been wiped from the history books and I was expected to bend the fucking knee.
I made a vow in that moment. That I’d destroy the Morettis and take back what was mine. I’d do to them what they’d done to my family, but I’d make them suffer tenfold. So, for the next few decades I played the loyal soldier, doing all the lowly and degrading tasks I was set without grumbling at it. I bided my time until the moment was right, and I killed Lucas and his sons with a fucking smile on my face.
Then I’d sought out the Thornley twins to punish me because I felt a little guilty over my actions. And I needed something for me, a memory, a moment that I would carry with me to keep me from feeling completely and utterly alone.
Then I had ruined the connection I’d shared with them because I knew I needed to rule in a way that wasn’t too different from how Lucas had ruled. Vampires were fickle creatures, and the Elders were very set in their ways. If I suddenly changed everything I’d be overthrown in days. I was playing the long game here and that meant no relationships. No real connections. No love.
Roux had been an exception. She’d snuck beneath my defences and before I knew it, she’d worked her way into my heart. She’d gotten too close and I couldn’t risk losing her, so I pushed her away the same way I had the twins.
I’d made my bed, and now I had to lie in it. I just wish it wasn’t so cold and fucking empty. But I was close. I had made changes over the last few years and slowly, the vampires were coming around to a new way of thinking. The biggest change was the blood banks. I’d reduced the number of human deaths by vampires by introducing the blood banks and feeding rooms. Because of this, we were starting to be seen as people and not monsters. Vampires were becoming more widely accepted and I was in negotiations with the Guild to get a seat at the big table. We’d always been seen as too vicious and impulsive before, but now I’d brought us into the big leagues. And even the Elders couldn’t deny that was a good thing.
“Good evening, your majesty,” Cyrus said, his angular face in a pinched expression. He didn’t like me, he was a fan of the ‘old way’ of doing things but he also respected the royal line. He’d also proved useful in the last few years, advising and following orders like a good little soldier should. But that didn’t mean he was safe from death. If anything, him being wary that any moment might be his last made him more pliant. He was the walking definition of that old saying. Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer.
