Total pages in book: 178
Estimated words: 170884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 170884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
Kissing his cheek, I spoke against his stubble-rough skin, “My beautiful brother, you have been the sunshine in my darkness. You have picked me up every time I fell, and I thank you for that. But I need you to hear me now, and hear me well.” I moved then. My lips a hair’s breadth away from his, I looked Van in the eyes and whispered viciously, “I am the motherfucking king.”
In a move he did not see coming, his eyes widened as I sat up, lifting the hunting knife out from under my pillow, up over my head, and as I brought it down into his chest, my eyes widened and my lip curled. The surprised sound he made when the seven-inch blade entered his body was music to my ears. I brought it mechanically down over and over and over again, and every time the knife slid into him, a harsh grunt escaped his mouth. Wet warmth splattered my face, over my eyes, but I didn’t dare shut them. I needed to see the exact moment the light faded from his eyes.
I counted every blow.
My steady hand stilled only when I reached sixty-three and Van’s chest looked like minced meat.
My white covers now colored red, I sat back and pursed my lips, looking down at my brother, panting lightly. He wheezed and coughed, and as his body shook, I took the hunting knife and slowly licked the blade. As I did this, our eyes met.
The expression he wore was an equal mixture of shock and pain, and I didn’t give a solid fuck. “I’m sorry, Van, but I guess you could say my answer to everything you just offered is...” I paused a second, my face darkened, and I spoke slowly, “No.”
He opened his mouth and attempted to speak, but all that came out was a sickening gurgling sound.
I should have just slit his throat, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to watch.
“This could have gone differently. You know that, don’t you?” When he didn’t answer, for he couldn’t, I took his head in my hands and moved it in a slow nod. “That’s right. I didn’t want to do this.” I cupped his cheeks, and he gasped for air as I moved his head from side to side in a shake of the head. “But our visions clashed, and one of us needed to go. And it sure as fuck wasn’t going to be me, Van. You know I’m too selfish to share what’s mine.” His harsh wheezing got weaker. “This right here? This is what makes me a good leader. Nobody’s safe, Van. Nobody. I guess what I’m trying to say is—” I held him fast as he took in a short, stuttering breath. The exhale never came. And when I dropped his head, I blinked down at my bloodstained hands. “—long live the king.”
The silence started to turn on me as my actions played in my mind on repeat. And for some unknown reason, sitting over my brother’s dead body, I just couldn’t find the will to care.
This was my castle, yes, but I’d never rule again. When it was found out what happened here, my life was forfeit. Luka Pavlovic would put a bullet between my eyes.
Because that’s what you did to sickly animals.
You put them down.
I thought about what to do now, but only one option stood out.
If I was going out, I was going out with a bang. And when I finally detonated my atom bomb, the explosion would be felt all over. I would shake every fucking window in this shithole of a town.
A bloodstained smirk stretched at my lips as I slid off the bed and stalked out of the room, barefoot and painted red.
Yes. They would feel me. I’d make sure of it.
Boom, bitches.
Chapter
Thirty-Seven
Lexi
“No word?”
I poured my coffee, looking down at the black and gold mug, my lips pressed thin. “Nope.” When my eyes met Luka’s, I shrugged and forced a smile that I knew didn’t reach my eyes. My response was listless. “He’s never really been the ‘calling to check in’ kind.”
At my semi-annoyed tone, Luka smiled fondly. “No, he hasn’t.”
Over the last few days, Luka Pavlovic and I had gotten to know each other, and as the days went on, an unspoken understanding was formed. A mutual tolerance. He no longer treated me as a burden, and I no longer gave him the sass of a hormonal thirteen-year-old. Unlike Twitch, Luka was actually something of a conversationalist, and the more we spoke, the more I came to like the man.
And in our shared hatred of a highly reckless woman, we were perfectly matched.
After all, Luka had a lot to lose in this situation. While I didn’t rate losing his position as highly as losing my life, Luka’s reign was important to him, as much as my life was to me.