Before anyone could utter another word, Blake threw himself across the room, arms outstretched in Menion’s direction. His wings fluttered, allowing him to cross the space in an instant, and he suddenly had his hands wrapped tightly around Menion’s throat.
“No! Stop!” Kira cried, but Blake barely seemed to hear her. Feeling Kira’s fear and frustration as if it were his own, Drake leaped over the bed, grabbing his brother with an arm wrapped around his chest to rip him away from the prince. Menion dropped onto the edge of the bed, clutching at his throat and sucking in air, as though Blake’s fingers had done quite a bit of damage in the time it had taken Drake to reach them.
“That’s enough,” Drake snapped at his brother, shoving him away from the bed. “Calm yourself, brother.”
Drake glared at his brother, willing him to see sense. Without taking his eyes off Blake for fear he might try to hurt Menion again, he suggested, “Perhaps one of you had better explain before my brother does something we will all regret.”
Though he didn’t know all that much about the lore of fated mates, he was certain he’d heard that often a mate could feel their partner’s pain, and one glance at Kira suggested, even if she couldn’t feel it physically, she was definitely hurting mentally from Blake’s rough treatment of the prince.
“It doesn’t matter what Prince Menion came here for,” Kira spoke up, and the room became deathly silent save for Menion’s sharp intake of breath. The grim tone of Kira’s voice told them all what they needed to know even before she said the words out loud, “I cannot give it to him.”
“Can’t, or won’t?” Menion asked, his voice barely audible, as if he were speaking through gritted teeth.
Sensing that his brother’s anger had dissolved a little, Drake turned his attention back to the bed and saw that Menion was staring at Kira with such sadness in his gaze, it made even Drake’s chest hurt. Finally, Blake appeared to have the good sense to remain quiet. The twins watched as Kira reached out and took hold of Menion’s hand. Drake saw her fingers squeeze around his and felt the phantom touch in his own hand as he remembered how she’d done the same thing with him only minutes earlier.
“Both.” she breathed the answer softly, gazing at Menion with a saddened expression of her own. Menion’s shoulders began to droop, and he let out a long, deep sigh.
“I don’t need to be an oracle to know why,” the prince sighed, deflating as though the last of his hope had left him. He lowered his gaze looking more defeated than any man Drake had ever seen. There was silence for only a few moments, before Blake broke it.
“Well, Prince Menion, now that that’s settled,” he announced, raising his head and gesturing to the door, “you can go home.”
Menion turned where he was still perched on the edge of the bed, and glared at Blake. “Do you honestly believe I could leave after all that has happened?”
“You don’t belong here.”
“I belong wherever Kira is,” Menion protested. The way the two men glared at each other made Drake even more frustrated than before. He wanted to grab them both by the backs of their heads and slam them together to get them to grow up, but he knew that would do no good. In fact, it would probably have the opposite effect, and they would all end up tearing each other apart.
Whether it was an attempt to change the subject or just a natural reaction, Kira yawned, causing all three of the men to look at her as if they’d only just realized she was still in the room. Drake instantly felt guilty. Here she was, having just woken up after what may as well have been a vision-induced coma, and they were practically arguing over her as if they were rabid dogs arguing over a bone.
“I think we should leave and allow Kira to get some rest,” Drake suggested. “We could probably all use some after the stress of the last few days.”
Drake would be relieved when the tension in his shoulders could finally dissipate. He’d been on edge ever since Kira had passed out in the cave several days earlier, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to relax until he was sure that his brother and Menion weren’t going to rip each other apart.
“Your brother is right,” Menion announced, glaring at Blake as though he was all too ready to defend himself if Blake tried to attack him again. “But you can be sure I won’t be going far.”
The way Blake was glaring at Menion made Drake more than a little uncomfortable, and so he placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder, squeezing until his knuckles began to ache. As if Blake finally felt it, he forced his gaze away from Menion and turned to look at him.
“Come, brother,” Drake urged his brother. “We will all go.”
Chapter 9 - Kira
She’d been alone no longer than a few minutes when she heard footsteps approaching the bedroom. Heart sinking, Kira had expected to find the elderly fae woman come back to ensure she was not left alone. After all, she couldn’t imagine she’d be left to her own devices, even if the kings were adamant that she was merely their guest, and definitely not their prisoner.
Having climbed from her bed to look out the window, she was sure she wasn’t merely a guest. She was able to look out over what seemed to be the entire Winter Isle from the topmost window of the tower. A sheer drop of at least five floors fell away below her, making her tremble with sickness.
“Kira?” Drake’s soft, sweet voice caused her to jump, and she quickly stepped back, away from the open window. As if he too feared she might fall, he was suddenly at her side, his hand gripping her forearm.
“Wh…what are you doing here?” she stammered. Her face turned up to his as she realized just how close he was standing. All she had to do was push herself up onto her tiptoes, and she would be able to press her lips to his. Forcing herself to remain in control, she took a pace backward. The motion caused a hurt expression to cross Drake’s face, and she immediately regretted it.
“I thought you would be pleased to see me,” he sighed, and released her forearm. The moment his touch was gone from her flesh, she missed it. Her urge to be independent began to dissolve at the hurt expression on the handsome king’s face, and she reached for his hand to entwine her fingers with his.
“I am pleased to see you,” she admitted. Never had her words been truer. The mere sight of him made her heart soar, and she couldn’t help but smile. “I was just shocked. I thought you’d gone with the others.”
“I did,” Drake responded. He reached up and stroked a strand of hair from her face, cupping her cheek with the palm of his hand. “I hid around the corner until I was sure they were both gone. I had to be sure you were alright.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Kira asked, her hackles instantly rising at the thought that she might still be in danger. After so long on her own in the mountains, it was strange to be anywhere else, and the slightest mention of danger made her flight instinct kick in.
Seeing the sudden fear on her face, Drake reached down and took both her hands in his. Squeezing her fingers gently, he lifted her hands to his chest and pulled her to him.