Page 79 of Lethal King

Tytus, on the other hand, is not.

“So, you’re working with the Greeks now?” he accuses, steam rising from his breath. “Always the opportunist.”

To my surprise, Drago doesn’t respond with anger. Instead, those bony shoulders drop, and a heavy sigh escapes him.

“We’ve always done what we need to in order to survive.”

“The point of this was never just to survive,” Tytus reminds him. Stepping forward, my protective brother tries to block me off from the disturbing sight. “It was to thrive.”

Peeking under Tytus’ arm, I catch something unexpected. A small smile lifts Drago’s sunken and scarred cheeks.

“And you two have done so well,” he practically beams. “Even Gabriel has—”

“Don’t you dare talk about Gabriel!” I rasp. My voice echoes around the hollow cave, building in emotion with every iteration. No one speaks until it fades away. And then it’s me who breaks the silence. This time, I can only manage a whisper. “It's your fault he’s gone.”

Stepping back, Tytus rubs a comforting shoulder against me.

“It is my fault,” Drago agrees. “Everything is. I’m… I’m sorry.”

Who is this pitiful old man? His passiveness is infuriating.

“Broken,” I sneer. Pushing Tytus aside, I take my own step forward. Drago doesn’t budge. “You’re just a broken old man.”

“You’re right.”

“And I suppose you called us here to fix you up again?”

“No,” Drago says, shaking his head. “I wanted to make it all up to you. I want you to live the life I promised. I want—”

“Your promises were all lies!” I explode. Everything is catching up to me. To my horror, I feel a hot tear trickle down my cheek. I don’t wipe it away. “You have nothing to make up for. There was never anything real to break.”

“I broke your trust.”

“You never had my trust,” I lie.

“Rozalia, I—”

“No. Don’t call me by my name. You don’t deserve it. You don’t deserve me. All you ever wanted was to sell me off, just like everyone else. From the moment you tore me out of that burning mansion, all you wanted was to use me. Use my body to build your empire. Use my gender to form alliances. The only thing you didn’t want to use was my mind. And guess what? It’s why you failed.”

I feel Tytus’ hand fall on my shoulder. But his touch doesn’t calm me down. Instead, it only reminds me that Drago has also failed two others. And he’s driven one of them away forever.

“I know,” Drago admits. “It’s all true. I’ve had nothing to do but remember and regret. I’ve been a fool.”

“I could have saved you a lot of suffering and told you that a year ago,” I spit.

“I wasn’t wise enough to listen back then.”

“Wise enough? How old are you? Fucking eighty? The time has passed. If you weren’t wise enough last year, you’ll never be.”

That’s all I can take.

Turning my back, I storm back towards the cave entrance, only stopping halfway because I can’t bear to leave Tytus behind.

Tytus.

Fuck. He was right. I’m not in any kind of shape to be at this meeting. Even if my brother doesn’t know exactly what’s going on, he’s seen what it’s doing to me.

I’m falling apart.