God of Ruin (Legacy of Gods #4) by Rina Kent

Remi and Bran rush toward me and I grab my brother by the collar and drag him out while Remi dabs at my lip and tries to stop the bleeding.

“What did you say to him?” Bran asks, not bothering to fight my grip.

“None of your fucking business.”

“It is if it was about me.”

I stop in the middle of the tunnel that leads to the changing rooms. “Do you want it to be about you, Bran? Is that it?”

This time, he pushes me away and stands toe to toe with me. “I didn’t say that.”

“You don’t have to for me to get the message. What’s with you lately?”

“As you so eloquently said earlier, none of your business.”

“Now, now.” Remi steps between us. “No need to fight when my lordship is here. Drinks on me?”

“Take him.” I flick my finger in my brother’s general direction. “He’s obviously in desperate need of a wake-up call.”

“And you’re not?” Bran gently pushes Remi away and gets in my face. “What Nikolai did just now will look like a warm-up once he finds out about your recent fixation on his sister.”

“His sister?” Remi asks, sounding as lost as a lamb. “Mia?”

I grin, purposefully putting my bloodied teeth on display.

Naturally, when I found her having fun with Bran and Remi, I was under the obligation to set the record straight and hint, not so subtly, that she was off-limits.

Bran shares my genes and, therefore, is intelligent enough to put certain pieces together. But Remi seems to have perfected the fool’s image, even though it’s mostly that—an image. Now, however, he’s connected the dots and looks at me as if I’ve completely lost my marbles and will actively cause a third world war.

“He won’t be able to hurt me in this lifetime. I, on the other hand…” My voice drops. “Can finish what I started with his meaningless life.”

“At the expense of losing Mia for good?” Bran delivers the question with disturbing calm.

“Utter nonsense. If anything, she should kiss my feet for taking on the tedious task of removing the unnecessary oaf from her life.”

“Just because you think so little of your own siblings doesn’t mean everyone else shares your sentiments.” He jams his index finger against my shoulder. “If you cared to know more about Mia, you would’ve found out that she loves and, more importantly, respects both her siblings. They have a tight relationship, ask about one another all the time, and make sure to meet several times a week. But then again, you’ve always faked your way through those feelings, so of course you wouldn’t know what they mean, even if they were to splash your precious car’s windshield. So, by all means, attack her brother and cousins. Burn down their mansion and sabotage their existence. Destroy whatever saving grace she sees in you so she’ll send you packing. The way I see it, you don’t deserve her and never will.”

“If you’re done preaching like a hypocritical pastor…” I push past him and control the limp in my step.

I’m nothing less than the personification of physical perfection, and the world won’t see anything else, not even if I’m drowning in my own blood.

Bran’s words keep ringing in my ears like an unholy prayer. Or maybe it’s holy, because the more I think about it, the more pissed off I get.

After washing up in the locker room and changing into casual trousers and a hoodie, I head to the half-deserted car park.

My whole body aches as I slowly slide into the driver seat. That fucker Nikolai got me good and probably bruised several of my ribs.

I pull out my phone and find a few texts.

Ava: I can’t believe you lost after I bet on you. What the hell, Lan?

Rory: If you don’t give me my rightful place, you’ll deeply regret this, Landon. Remember, you’re not immortal.

Bethany: I miss our good times. Can I watch if I bring you one of my friends?

Nila: You’re belittling us at this point, Lan. Who’s getting all your attention?

Definitely not you.

I ignore all of them, except for Ava, whom I tell that I’ll pay her back the next time we meet.

Usually, I tolerate people, but at this point, they’re becoming my least favorite chess pieces that I’d much rather kill off instead of seeing them on my board.

I scroll to the text that Mia obviously read but didn’t reply to. When she said she was abandoning me for some stupid family dinner, I personally sent a fighting invitation to Nikolai that I knew he wouldn’t refuse.

He’s wanted to fight me ever since the incident that sent him to the hospital, but due to being busy with his sister, I haven’t really had time for the fight club.

So yes, I might have ruined her family night, but then again, I clearly stated I’m not to be shoved aside to a mere secondary role.

I tap the back of the phone, contemplating how to drag her out of her ivory castle. I suppose I could light it on fire again, but the thought that she might accidentally get hurt promptly removes that thought from my mind.

There’s the option of going home and calling it a night, but my beast rebels against the very foundation of that idea.

I’ve been keeping him entertained by chasing, biting, choking, and fucking Mia in the most acrobatic positions. Not to mention the bursts of creativity caused by her mere presence.