Dark Promise by Annika West

36

Dread pooled inside of me. Panic urged me back toward the food to bury my sorrows.

Adair sighed and replied, “Elias, when you understand your true mistake, we will be happy to welcome you back into our team. Go in peace.”

Elias swept out of the room.

I blurted, “I’m sorry! I fucked up!”

Adair didn’t look at me. “Elias has been highly uncertain about my ideas for the last thousand years. Do not mind him. We will go forward with our plan without him. I am disappointed he will not stand by our sides, but time may change his mind.”

Oz, who I hadn’t noticed approach, threw an arm around me. “It’s alright, Aster. You’ve got great aim, and that’s what matters. Just maybe you should think before acting, you know?”

“Oh, interesting,” Hux stated.

Oz yanked me in closer without taking eyes off his brother. “Is it?”

“Coming from the man who ran off from his dead family and destroyed all of his mother’s work.”

Danger and tension snapped like a cord, and one that was about the choke all of us out.

Willow and I gave each other panicked glances.

Oh fuck, fuck, fuck.

“I was wondering when you’d begin blaming me for our family’s troubles, Huxley. No benefit of the doubt for your older brother? Hm?”

I groaned, “I’m getting away from this mess.” But Oz wasn’t letting me go. He pulled me closer, his grip on my shoulder bruising.

Hux stood. “Take your hands off of her.”

“Or what?”

“I will remove them myself.”

Hux had that scary, blank, yet somehow furious look in his eyes. There wasn’t any amber glow. It was the glacial look of a man ready to commit murder. A man who’d already decided that his soul was dead and gone.

A man with everything to lose, not that it mattered. Victory was something he’d learned to resign himself to.

Hoping to save everyone’s life, I shifted dimensions and removed myself from Oz’s grip.

But first, my priority was in Hux’s thoughts. Not being connected to him was digging at me, and with the murder in his stalking posture —

“I will kill him if I have to.”

Oh, hell. He really was going to kill Oz.

Hux didn’t even react to the obvious eavesdropping I’d just done.

I popped back into existence right as the two men collided.

The table was the first to break. Oz’s back was apparently strong enough to splinter the entire thing.

Hux was literally thrown through a window, and that began the garden demolition.

Adair, for the first time, wasn’t happy.

Blue fire flared in the sky, covering the plumes of smoke. They were still in their human forms, but that didn’t matter.

They moved like damn aliens. It really showed how fast and deadly two dragon shifters could be, and I shuddered thinking about actually fighting either of them.

Willow positioned herself beside me.

I muttered, “You know, it’s times like these that I realize just how much he holds back.”

“I’m going home.”

I turned, shocked. “To Oregon?”

My mouth snapped shut at the look on her face.

Idiot, obviously it’s not Oregon.

“To Vulcan Corp. You’re here with your mate and your father. You don’t need any backup any longer, and to be perfectly honest, it’s exhausting watching you fuck up time and time again.”

I wasn’t sure exactly, out of all the rude things we’ve said to one another, why this one hurt.

We watched as the two brothers crashed into the side of the manor, a trail of fire behind them.

“This isn’t my fault,” I informed her, fighting the urge to squirm.

As if I had reason to be defensive! Why was I being defensive?

“Whatever you say, Cut.”

“Hey!” I snapped. “It isn’t my fault.”

She crossed her arms. “You want it straight? Alright. I’ll give it to you straight. It doesn’t matter what kind of crap gets tossed at you. However, you deal with that crap is your responsibility. It isn’t your fault that Cayne trapped you in an I.E. contract. I’m not sure if you could have stopped the mating bond from happening. But you chose to come to Faery. You chose this path that you’re on. It’s not your fault that those two brothers have a bloody past, but you certainly led Hux and Oz together.”

An explosion punctuated her meaning.

She sighed and shook her dark hair out behind her, like she was breaking away from invisible restraints. “I keep my mouth shut about a lot. I’m not telling you that you’re the source of all these fucking problems, but you have a part in them. Take the damn responsibility. Stop running and pretending like you didn’t knock over the metaphorical console table. Make a decision and accept the consequences. I’ll assist you with the portals when you and Cayne need the backup, but until you two sort your shit, I’m out.”

She walked away.

Time didn’t allow me to wallow in self-pity.

The entire garden was filled with smoke. The Spring Court residents and staff fled into the manor at Adair’s guidance. He was doing a pretty good job staying calm when I’m sure he was pissed as hell.

For a moment, things went quiet. The crashing from Hux and Oz faded.

Had they stopped fighting?

Just as hope poked its little head up, an all too familiar roar nearly shattered my eardrums.

The fae screamed and ran into the manor at twice the speed, rushing over one another to get away.

Two colossal forms rose and blocked out the sun across the entire garden.

Damn. I should try and stop them, shouldn’t I?

I ran past the fleeing people.

Adair suddenly grabbed my arm, his mouth set into a thin, grim line. “Do not go any further. I’ve set up protective barriers. If you step past that fountain, I cannot protect you.”

“You know I can handle myself.” Pulling my arm free, the resolve inside of me hardened.

The dragons’ powerful wings sent eye-watering gusts of air down on us. Dust plumed along with the swirls of smoke. The parts of the garden that were still on fire had flames spreading further and further.

Adair grasped my shoulders, looking just as intent as when he convinced me to come to Faery. “You aren’t responsible for fixing everything. You are but one piece in this entire, endless universe. Focus on the things you can control. That,” he said, pointing to the dragons wrestling midair, “is not in your realm of control. These are old, painful wounds. They must unleash their fury if any of this is to work.”

“What do you mean? Willow just convinced me that I am responsible. You just told me I have zero control whatsoever. What the fuck am I supposed to do now?”

Adair didn’t hesitate. “Make a logical decision.”

Oh. Right. Not just acting on impulse and making shit work. What can I actually do that will make a real impact? How can I influence this, and do I want to?

“I hate it when old people make sense,” I huffed. “Fine. See you on the other side.”