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Trin tossed the scrap of cloth to the floor, his eyes on the sword. “Mn. Yes. Lovely,” he mumbled. He lowered the sword with a sharp swipe that sliced through the air and narrowed his gaze on his half brother. “However, we both know that our people pay more attention to blood than words. Besides, there’s something else that you said not all that long ago that has stuck with me.” The elf with the long, dark hair smiled as he shoved Kai’s sword into a sheath on his hip, drawing a low growl out of Xiang’s lover.
This was not going well at all. The death of Queen Belladonna was a plus, though Xiang would have loved to have killed the woman himself. Or at the very least, allowed Rei and Kai to have a go at ripping her apart for all the pain she caused them. Yet, by the same token, it appeared her illegitimate son had more than a few grievances as well. It was simply a matter of him getting to her first.
But now the threats had shifted to Rei, and Trin didn’t seem to have any interest in giving up the sword, which was a big problem for him and Kai.
Rei dropped his hands to his sides and retreated a step so that he was standing with Yichen yet again. “You’ll have to be more specific. You know how I love to run my mouth.”
“It was something to the extent that you would burn the Dawn and Twilight Thrones and replace them with the Onyx Throne. You would eliminate the Silver Court and raise up a new Blood Court. You would run the Black Dogs and the Dark Hunt ragged, chasing anyone who dared to mutter a word against you,” Trin recited.
Yichen’s head turned to gape at his mate. “Seriously? You said that?”
Rei winced, raising his shoulders up to his pointed ears. “Maybe. I was being dramatic. You know how my mouth gets away from me. I said that I’d do that if you were killed in a battle with my parents.” The elf paused for a heartbeat and straightened. “I think I’d still do that if something were to happen to you, though.”
“Rei, I don’t know whether to be horrified or touched,” Yichen murmured.
“I think you’re both fucking touched in the head,” Xiang grumbled. A soft gasp jerked Xiang’s gaze over his shoulder to see Kai staring at him with big, wounded eyes and a pouty bottom lip as if to say, “You wouldn’t burn down the world for me?”
Okay, I get it.
Yes, he would incinerate the world and destroy any number of governments to get revenge for someone hurting his mate. He was already standing in the fae stronghold, contemplating how he could take apart Rei’s brother just because he was holding Kai’s sword. Destroying the world wasn’t all that far off.
“As I was saying…” Trin raised his voice above their burble of conversation, reminding them he was supposed to be the center of attention. “You had part of a good idea, and I think I’m going to steal it, along with a few other things.”
The dark elf walked over to what had to be the Twilight Throne and kicked it off the side of the dais. The tremendous clatter of wood and ting of gems filled the throne room as the chair crashed to the marble floor. Silence filled the room for a breath before the main doors at the front of the throne room burst open. A cluster of eight guards carried in a giant black throne that appeared to be made of onyx rather than wood. The Onyx Throne.
“You came prepared for today,” Rei murmured as the men mounted the stairs and put the throne where the other had sat.
With a smirk, Trin drew the crystal sword from its sheath as he sat. He placed his elbows on his knees and held the sword with both hands as he set its tip to the blood-smeared marble floor, balanced between him and the clan as if in a dare.
“This isn’t the only option, Trin,” Rei reminded him. For the first time, the elf’s voice had lost all of its mocking, becoming deadly serious as he spoke. “If you lead the fae people through the door and close it, I’ll remain here. No one is going to question your claim to the throne. To our world, I’ll be dead and gone. The human realm will be forgotten for another hundred years.”
Trin nodded once. “Some of our peoples have gone through the door already, fleeing our mother and her madness. They’re happy to stay there, turning a blind eye to the human realm and the destruction they create every day. And I am content to let them live their insignificant lives there, so long as they never attempt to leave again.” Trin paused, and the smile disappeared from his lips. “But not all of mother’s ideas were bad. Controlling a dragon was a ridiculous and useless idea. If she’d not stolen from the dragon and decided to make it her slave, that dragon would have remained out of our affairs, allowing us to take over.”
“Then return the sword to its rightful owner!” Kai shouted. Xiang glanced over to see that his tall frame was vibrating with rage.
Trin stared at him, blinked once, and answered, “No.” His gaze moved to Rei as if Kai didn’t mean a thing to him, and that was a huge mistake. Trin continued, his hands tightening on the sword. “I might have no desire to control the dragon, but I’ve grown fond of the sword. It’s a pleasant reminder of this momentous day.”
Kai sneered, “It will be a dark omen if you do not release it.”
Xiang slid a step to his left, moving in front of Kai, as the dragon started toward the throne. Right now, Trin didn’t seem to realize that Kai was the dragon in question, which was strange since Rei had taken one look at Kai and known.
Except when Kai had come to the Zhang home, he hadn’t been suppressing his magic. A little giggle bubbled up in Xiang’s throat, and he almost choked on it. Trin was in for a hell of a surprise very soon.
“But aside from the dragon, mother’s plan to kill the humans, destroy their cities, and replenish the natural world so we can take over is a good one.”
A low, soft sigh slipped from Rei’s lips, but he still drew his two short swords from their sheaths on his back as he took a step forward. “That, I can’t allow you to do. The humans need to be left alone. This is their world to do with as they see fit. You want a perfect world where nature thrives, then go home.”
Trin lunged from his throne and stomped to the edge of the dais as he glared at his brother. “Aren’t you tired of seeing the mess they’ve made? Of watching this world die? It’s time to take away what they don’t deserve to have!”
“It’s not our place! We have the fae realm, which you are choosing to abandon, just like our mother!”
The fledgling king opened his mouth, looking as if he were preparing to shout something more at Rei, but he caught himself before the words could leave his lips and he beamed at them. He even retreated a step and lowered the sword he raised at Rei. “I knew you’d feel that way. That’s why I’ve struck up a new alliance. Taken on an advisor of sorts, seeing as we can help each other.”
As he finished speaking, a black slit opened up in the air a meter away from where Trin stood on the dais and all the air left Xiang’s lungs in a rush and frost bit into his bones. He’d seen that kind of magic in the past. Not just from Winter Varik, but someone else from a darker part of his past.
A tall, willowy figure with waist-length black hair and almost black eyes stepped out of the opening that closed again the moment he was clear.
“Jiang Chong!” Xiao Dan gasped while the rest of them seemed to have been rendered mute by the shock. Their old master. The vampire who’d changed every member of the Zhang clan who hadn’t died in the initial slaughter.
