Renata
True to his word, he doesn’t put me down. He keeps walking. Up the stairs to the main body of the house and beyond, until we’re back in the room I vacated mere hours ago.
The instant my feet hit the ground, I shove him away from me, but his body may as well be concrete and steel for all the impact it makes. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Me?” he growls. “I thought I told you to be quiet down there. Did I fucking stutter?”
“I will not be ordered around!” I yell back right in his face. “I am not your goddamn pet. I will not heel just because you bark a command at me.”
“But you’re willing to keel when your brother shows up?”
My hand flies at him, palm straight up, ready to make contact with his face. But he’s too fucking fast. So fast that, before I know it, he’s got my wrist pinned against the wall. His body presses up against mine, effectively trapping me where I stand.
“You don’t like hearing the truth, princess?” he rasps in my face.
“He is my brother,” I say for the dozenth time. Each time, it feels flimsier and flimsier. Like it matters less and less.
“He doesn’t give a shit about you,” Kian tells me bluntly. “You know that.”
The strength is quickly fading from my voice. “He’s all I have.”
“Listen to yourself,” he growls. “Nothing you’re saying makes the least bit of sense.”
I try and avoid his eyes, but he’s so damn close. His breath tickles my nose, and yet, all I want to do is lean in closer. To drown in his scent, his taste, his touch.
“You don’t know anything about my life or—”
“I know what you’ve told me,” he counters. “I know that you stabbed your brother that night I showed up at the door. Why did you stab him, Renata? Eh? Tell me! Go on, fucking tell me!”
I turn my face to the side stubbornly. I want to squirm away from him as badly as I want to inch closer.
I can’t move in either direction, though. Kian holds me in place with his body and with his free hand, he grabs my jaw and forces me to meet his eyes. The static between us feels combustible.
I need to breathe, but at the same time, I don’t want to lose his body heat.
Nothing makes sense. Not a single goddamn thing.
Who’s my enemy?
Who’s my ally?
Who am I supposed to hate?
Who am I supposed to love?
“You stabbed him because he was trying to attack you,” Kian tells me. “And now you’re defending him. Why? It doesn’t add up.”
I push my body against his, but all that does it fuse us together more completely. “He is my brother, the only family member I have left,” I say through gritted teeth. “And that’s because of you. He’s all I have because of you. My brother may be a monster, but he is still my brother. Nothing will ever change that. What kind of person would I be if I turned my back on him?”
“A stronger one. A better one. A freer one.”
I feel a tear slip down my cheek, but I can’t even summon up the effort to be mortified by it.
Then, abruptly, Kian releases me.
My legs tremble, but I manage to stay on my feet. He takes a step back and cold air engulfs me. There’s now at least three inches between us, but the distance feels gigantic.
“It’s time you saw your brother for what he really is,” he intones. “You’re willing to forgive for what he’s done to you. But are you willing to forgive him for his other crimes?”