House of Lies and Sorrow (Fae of Rewyth #1)(55)

And kept flying. And kept flying.





CHAPTER 30





Jade





They didn’t take me back to the compound.

After what felt like hours of lying in Lucien’s arms, we eventually landed in what appeared to be some sort of ancient ruins. I had no idea how far we were from Malachi, and no idea how he would find me.

But I couldn’t think about that right now. I had to focus on surviving. Keep myself alive, and the rest would come later.

If there was a later.

“Here we are, princess,” Lucien said as he dropped me onto the concrete ground. The structure wasn’t complete, and four partially crumbling walls surrounded us.

I ignored the pain from the wounds on my back and scrambled to my feet. Dread filled my stomach. “Where are we? What are we doing here?”

The twins whispered something to each other before they turned around and left, leaving Lucien, Adonis and I in the abandoned structure. “So many questions, princess. All you need to do is sit tight and look pretty. We’ll handle the rest,” Adonis said.

“What does your father want with Malachi?” I asked. My voice shook but I didn’t look away.

“He wants what we all want, princess. He wants Malachi to step in line.”

I scoffed. “You’re all just jealous of him. You’ll never be a better leader than Malachi. It’s not possible.”

“Watch what you say. Wouldn’t want you getting hurt before your big bad husband has time to come watch,” Lucien snarled.

My stomach dropped. Adonis grabbed my arm and roughly dragged me to the corner of the abandoned building, shoving me onto the ground. “Sit here and don’t move a muscle. If you try anything stupid, Lucien here will kill you. And he’ll enjoy doing it.”

One look at Lucien, who was lounging against the crumbling wall across the structure, told me Adonis was telling the truth.

“You’re the ones that tried to kill me the night of the wedding, aren’t you?” I asked.

Adonis laughed. “Come on, princess. Who else would want Malachi’s wives dead?”

I couldn’t say I was surprised. “You would do that to your own brother? Why?”

Lucien and Adonis exchanged a glance. “Malachi is no brother of ours.”

“But why? What has he ever done to you?”

Lucien pushed himself off the wall and stalked over to me. I tried not to cower away from his fast approach.

“Malachi has been the golden boy of Rewyth for as long as we can remember. It all started with those damned black wings. He’s always thought to be better than us. He was always our father’s favorite. Our father sent him on every mission, every political tour. He was feared by everyone. And for good reason.”

I straightened, trying not to look surprised. “But what does that have to do with you?”

Adonis huffed. “You really don’t get it, do you? You humans are so stupid. It’s no wonder you can hardly feed yourselves.”

I bit my tongue.

“Malachi has it all,” Lucien continued. “Yet he thinks our father is cruel and unfair. What’s unfair is how spoiled he’s been. He’s the oldest. The strongest. His power is so rare, he’s known across kingdoms. It isn’t fair, Jade. We’re done with it.”

“And your father just allows this to happen?”

“Our father would never publicly denounce Malachi. He knows Malachi could kill him if he really wanted to. It’s a balance of power. Make Malachi strong enough to be useful, but keep him weak enough to stay submissive.”

My body was shaking. I couldn’t believe they were admitting this to me now after all this time.

But it made sense. Malachi had mentioned doing work for his father a few times. He was obviously powerful enough to kill anyone who threatened him, yet he let his father live.

All because his father kept him weak.

And his brothers had been helping him.

Malachi was right to not trust them. How did I not see this coming? Malachi had practically admitted that his brothers hated him. I should have paid more attention.

“He’ll kill you,” I spat. “He’ll kill every single one of you for this. You know that.”

Lucien tossed his head back and laughed. A cold laughter, the kind that sent a chill down my spine. “He can try. He’s sure tried before. But at the end of the day, Malachi isn’t as tough as he looks. That’s his weakness, princess. He cares too much.”

“About who? You? I seriously doubt that.”

Lucien’s smile turned to a growl. “You humans all think you’re so smart. You know nothing. You’ve known Malachi for weeks, I’ve lived with him for decades. I’ve seen him kill. I’ve seen him slaughter entire villages. But at the end of the day, we’re his family. We’re the only ones who have been here when everyone else turns their back on him.”

Now it was my turn to laugh. “You really think you have his back? This is your version of family?”

“And what would you know about family?” he retorted.

I tightened my jaw. “I know enough.”

He smiled again and said, “Of course you do, princess. Why don’t you do us both a favor and just be quiet for now.”