Page 153 of Lethal King

“Wait, how many times have you been captured or nearly killed again? Is it more than me? I think it’s more than me.”

I can’t help but let out a broken giggle at his inappropriate confidence.

“It hasn’t been from a lack of trying,” I sigh. For a split second, I almost feel the kind of warmth I imagine Kaja is feeling right now. For all of our troubles, Tytus has always been there for me.

But the same could have been said about Gabriel—then he abandoned the both of us.

Taking a deep breath, I force a temporary calm over my tired body. It takes a moment to take hold, and I struggle to find any good thoughts to anchor it with.

But then a recent memory pops into my head, and a new warmth fills me from the inside out.

Rian said he was lucky to have me…

The warmth spreads.

“If only you knew the half of it,” Tytus chuckles, seemingly unbothered. “Hell, I nearly joined you in a Kilpatrick cage when I returned that painting the other night.”

My heart skips a beat.

“You what?”

“I might have been a little worried about you,” he says, eyeing the mark around my throat. “I thought you might be treated better if I listened to that Irish bastard’s least consequential demand.”

I can hardly believe my ears. That doesn’t sound like Tytus at all. Is he fucking with me?

“Where did you drop it off? Who did you give the painting to?”

An uncontrollable smile lifts my adoptive brother’s strong cheekbones.

“I brought it right into the belly of the beast,” he smirks, stroking his chin.

“Rian’s place?”

Tytus nods.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I whisper, slightly irked that we gave up anything, even if it was something so utterly inconsequential. “Fuck. You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t do it completely out of the goodness of my own heart,” Tytus plays. “It’s all part of a bigger plan. Hopefully, that sister of—”

“…. Dragomir?”

Babcia’s creaky voice cuts through our conversation like a serrated blade. Tytus and I are immediately done with our conversation. All attention turns towards Babcia.

“No,” Tytus says, reaching out for Babcia’s hand. “It’s Roz and me.”

“That monster is gone,” I add.

Kaja is back up on her feet. The kitten licks Babcia’s chin as the old lady slowly flutters awake.

Her hazy eyes search for something that isn’t there, and when they don’t find it, a momentary sadness takes over her.

It makes my heart contract.

Has Drago managed to fool Babcia too?

Maybe Tytus is right about him, after all…

“Where am I?” Babcia asks, trying to sit up. But Tytus places a gentle hand on her shoulder, preventing her from moving too fast. The old lady plops back down on the bed.