Page 88 of This Dark Descent
“We’d moved into all of House Kelbra’s territories by then. Verillion, racing, enchanted horses. My father sought to take pieces of everything Eradas owned, and he succeeded. We possess nearly thirty percent of verillion-growing land in Enderlain now, and it’s well known that our enchant lines are superior, our tracks more lucrative.” Damien’s voice grew tight, the only indication the story was becoming more difficult to tell. She slid her hand to his, their fingers intertwining.
“Rezek thought if he ruined us, the source of his father’s greatest shame, he might win.” A muscle flexed in his jaw. “And to do that, he killed my mother.”
Her breath caught, and he continued, “I found her dying. Have you ever sat and watched someone’s chest for every breath? Begging it to go up just one more time. Bargaining with any god that will listen. You’ll do anything they want, if only they save them. Do you know what that’s like?”
Even as he asked it, Ari could tell that he already knew the answer. He’d guessed, because things like that never slipped by him.
“Yes.” It was all she could bring herself to say.
“It was only afterward that I discovered my brother hiding in the other room.” His voice roughened, the only sign of his anger. “He watched Rezek stab her and did nothing. Once, I would have done anything to earn his approval. But after that night, I promised myself I would become the next head of the family.”
His gaze found hers as he said, “My mother is dead because of the Kelbras. The Illinir is only the beginning of what I will take from them.”
This was why he’d made that bargain with Rezek: not only to win his family’s Ascension, but for revenge against the boy who’d killed his mother. And now his brother, a man whose respect he’d sought his entire life, was colluding with his enemy.
“The thing no one really talks about with grief is the anger,” he continued. “At what happened, at whoever did it. At yourself for not stopping it. At the world or your gods, whether you believe or not. You’ve been hurt, and you want to tear the world apart in return.”
Every word he spoke was stark with familiarity. She knew these feelings, these thoughts. She held them close to her fragile heart.
“But no matter what you do, it doesn’t help. Because you’re nothing in the face of tragedy. You have no control, and that realization, that understanding, it breaks you. And you don’t ever come back from that. Not really.” He ran the fingers of his free hand along one of her curls, the tips brushing along her jaw.
Silently, he slid from his seat to kneel before her, her hands caught inside his own. “I will never tell you not to be angry. When the world has taken so much from you, sometimes anger is all you have left. But if you do nothing with it, it will consume you.”
His eyes were bright with firelight as he said, “So be angry, my lion, and let the world tremble in your wake.”
It was as though he spoke a spell. A promise that wound its way through her and around them both, binding tight. She leaned toward him, her fingers sliding into his hair. This time when she kissed him, she wasn’t gentle.
CHAPTER 31
MIKIRA
THE KELBRA BALLROOMwas exactly as Mikira remembered it.
Hung with enchanted chandeliers laced with diamonds and swathed in artwork wrapped in gilded frames, the room was draped in wealth and bright as a sparkling gem. There were enchantments of every kind, from the golden birds suspended on invisible wires that flew with the grace of their living counterparts to the changing scenes on the countless skylights, shifting from snowcapped mountains to sapphire seas.
She’d been here, once, a long time ago. Eradas Kelbra had wanted a Rusel enchant to compete with the Adairs, but her father had refused him. The Kelbras’ horses had a history of meeting early graves. Mikira remembered that night with stark clarity. The way Eradas had tried first to bribe her father, then to threaten him. He’d promised to destroy the Rusel business, to see her father imprisoned, to take everything. And her father had merely smiled, asked High Lord Kelbra if that was all, then seen himself out. Eradas had never followed through on his threats—but Rezek had.
What a poor legacy Mikira made. One threat, and she caved.
“Are you okay?” Ari asked as they entered. “You’ve been acting strange all week.”
“I’m fine.” She flinched at the bite in her words. This was why she’d avoided being around the others as much as possible the last few days. Shecouldn’t lie to their faces. Couldn’t look at them without thinking about her meeting with Rezek and the truth of what burned inside her boot. The ring was warm against her skin, where she’d kept it safe, afraid of what might happen if one of her sisters found it.
It was only a matter of time before Damien saw through her, and she had no doubt what Damien Adair did to threats.
Ari hooked their arms together in response, which only made Mikira feel worse. “I’m sorry,” she said as they navigated the swirling crowd in search of Reid and Damien. The boys had come ahead on their own when Ari insisted on weaving Mikira’s hair into a braided updo that felt like a crown.
Armor, she’d called it, to face Rezek with.
She tightened her arm on Ari’s. “It’s just… I’m worried about Damien.”
Ari slowed, pulling Mikira around to face her. “Worried how?”
Hells, how did she explain this right? She trusted Ari not to go to Damien with her suspicions, but she also knew the girl cared for him and had just as much riding on their success. She didn’t want to drive a wedge between them with unfounded accusations.
“What if he’s dangerous, Ari?” she asked quietly.
“He is,” she replied instantly. “But so am I.”
