Page 76 of Vicious Kings
"You're not!" Locke's sword moves so fast it's almost a blur, and I catch the shimmer of flame dancing along the blade. He's pissed enough to be using his magic this early on, which is not a great sign. "She's a security threat, not an omega for you to fucking court!"
"She's an omega who was abandoned by her family and thrown to our mercy." Corvinus blocks, but barely. "Treating her like a prisoner isn't going to earn her trust."
"And treating her like a prize you're trying to win will?" Locke forces him back another three steps. "She rejected you, Corvinus.Publicly. That should tell you everything you need to know about her intentions."
"It tells me she has pride." Corvinus's smile is sharp despite his obvious disadvantage. "I can respect that."
"You can't respect a knife between your ribs!" The fire along Locke's blade flares brighter. "Which is exactly what she's planning!"
"You don't know that. If she wanted to kill me, why would she turn down the chance at being my pet?"
"Perhaps she knows what an arrogant fool you are and thought it was the best route to manipulate you," he challenges.
"Fair point, Cor," I call, earning a filthy gesture and a murderous glare even though he's mid-combat.
Aw. Makes me feel special.
"I know hunters!" Locke's next strike sends Corvinus's sword flying across the gym. Before the prince can recover, Locke hashim pinned against the wall, blade pressed to his throat. "I know they don't do anything without purpose. I know they're trained from birth to see us as targets. And I know that girl is here for blood, not books and a fucking collar!"
The room goes silent except for their heavy breathing. Corvinus doesn't struggle, doesn't try to escape. He meets Locke's dark gaze, and even though they're both not speaking, that doesn't mean the argument is over.
"You're not invincible," Locke says quietly, and there's genuine fear underneath the anger. "Your title won't protect you if this hunter gets close enough. Your guards won't save you if she catches you alone. And your arrogance will be the death of all of us if you don't start taking this seriously."
"I am taking it seriously." Corvinus's voice is steady despite the blade at his throat. "Just not in the way you want me to."
"Then explain it to me." Locke doesn't lower the sword. "Explain how giving a potential assassin access to restricted information, to your personal schedule, toyouis anything other than suicidal stupidity."
"She won't trust me if I treat her like a prisoner."
"She's not here to trust you! She's here to kill you!"
"We don't know that."
"Yes, we do!" Locke finally steps back, lowering his blade. "Eight years ago. A hunter from the same clan as Billie broke into the royal palace and made an attempt on your life. Do you remember her name?"
Corvinus's brow furrows, clearly caught off guard by the shift in subject. That makes two of us.
"You never told me a hunter tried to kill you," I say, unable to help feeling slighted. I'm his familiar. He tells me everything. Things I absolutely donotwant to hear included, but he didn't tell methat?"
"That's because it never happened, idiot," Corvinus snaps without taking his eyes off Locke. "There was no hunter."
"Precisely," Locke says through his teeth. "And yet, there is a record of your attempted murder sitting in the archives. One your half-brother stolemycredentials to access just the other night."
Corvinus's eyes narrow. Caelyx is always a touchy subject. So is this omega hunter, apparently. "Caelyx was in the archives?"
"Shocking, I know," Locke says, his voice dripping with condescension. "And apparently, you're not the only one who's taken an interest in the hunter."
That does it. Corvinus's eyes get a shade colder. It doesn't last, but it's impossible to miss.
He's jealous. Jealous over a girl he barely knows. One who was probably sent here to kill him.
No, actually, that checks out. That's the Corvinus I know, the man my soul is contractually bound to.
Fuck me.
"Why?" he grits out. "What does Caelyx have to do with any of this?"
"I don't know," Locke says, his words drawn out. Those tendrils of smoke and chaos magic have retreated back beneath his shell of control, but they're still there. Always there, waiting to be unleashed. Hopefully on our enemies, but sometimes on his own triad.
