Near enemies. It was something I had never heard before but it made all the sense in the world.
But even as logical as it was, I wasn’t sure that my own near enemy could help me out of this mess. Time was ticking for me and ticking fast, I thought, as I watched a big leaf fall from the great oak, and twirl down onto the forest floor. I had to do something. And quick.
Chapter 7
Maksim
I waited until Anika turned away from the boundary wall and went back inside the castle before dropping down out of the great oak. I was still so fucking angry from the night before that I could barely think straight. The idea of that useless piece of shit even thinking about marrying my sister made me want to…
I grabbed my knife and launched it at a faraway elm, sending it spiraling through the air. It met the bark with a satisfying thwack.
Once I’d pried it from the tree, I stormed back toward the castle. I felt both grateful and fucking angry at my mother. Not for the first time, either. Her disapproval, even from the grave, was the only thing preventing me from taking what was mine: from taking Anika’s virgin pussy, her purity, and her innocence. And from protecting her the way she deserved to be protected.
As I walked, I heard the dogs raising hell from the kennels. One of them shrieked out a long, insane howl. The sound of a rabid animal.
That awful sound transported me back in time. When I was young, one of our dogs had gone rabid. He’d been chained to the wall, with a neck iron as a collar. Every time anybody came past his kennel, he went fucking insane with anger.
Barking, snarling, panting.
All teeth and destruction and hate. I remember the sound of the chain as he lunged at whoever came close—that ear-splitting metallic snap. I remember standing there, fucking mesmerized. Drawn to his power and brutal animal instinct as much as I was terrified by it. He held me there, watching him. Fucking transfixed.
The chain was the only thing keeping him from destroying me. I understood him now. That tether kept him prisoner, but also kept him from destroying me, who fucking loved him. When it came to Anika, I was that wild, rabid beast. Only the chain that linked back to my mother prevented me from consuming her whole.
As I approached the castle, I spotted one of my guards waiting for me. His name was Aidan, the most loyal man I had. My most trusted guard. Normally, he was quick to laughter and infinitely patient with my anger. My complete fucking opposite.
He was hooked up with Maria, Anika’s maid. A decent, good-natured guy. But now, he looked as angry as I felt. His eyes were dark with rage, and he was pacing back and forth with his hand on his dagger.
“What the fuck is wrong?”
He sucked in a steadying breath, trying to find the words through his rage. I knew that feeling all too fucking well.
“That son of a bitch, he raped my little sister. My sister, Maksim. Fucker. God damn him and his whole fucking family. I’ll kill every one of them. Every single fucking one. What did she do to deserve this? She’s barely old enough to even understand what happened to her.”
That motherfucker. I didn’t have to ask who. It was no surprise to me that Prince Galen had taken one of the servants to his bedroom—fucker had the look about him. Promiscuous and greedy. But rape was a whole different level. So now my sister was engaged to marry a piece of shit, degenerate, arrogant rapist.
In a matter of seconds, I’d made the mental calculations. Assassinations weren’t that fucking difficult. Given a good horse, a sharp blade, and this vengeance I felt in my bones, I was pretty sure I could catch up with the carriages and slit Galen’s throat by noon.
But the blowback from killing him now, without taking my time to think it through, was nothing but bloodlust. That was a decision I had to weigh carefully. One thing I knew for sure—for Anika’s sake, for Aiden’s sake, for his sister’s sake, for my sake, and for the sake of all of us: “He won’t live long enough to hurt anyone else.”
The darkness released its grip on Aiden, enough for him to see through the haze. He ran his hand down his jaw and eyed me. “I’ll kill him, Maksim. I’ll do it if I see him again.”
“I hear you, brother,” I said as I clapped him on the shoulder. “But just leave it with me. We both have reason enough to want that fucker gone, but it has to be done right. You kill a prince, I can’t protect you. Understood?”