The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) (111 page)

For at that time, to me, monsters had existed as they do now. This was one story that would not give her the upper hand and make the others in alliance to her little charade. Amazingly even Aurora looked a bit dissatisfied at the turn the game took, but of course she wasn’t finished with me yet...oh no, she wouldn’t stop until she got to my King.

“Oh Keira that’s awful, I wish
Dom had been there at your school. I bet he would have frightened them off for you
,
” Sophia said kindly and the image she planted made me grin. How much simpler my life would have been back then if Draven had been in it to protect me. Of course there is no way he would have been a boy but the thought of us being the same age and being childhood sweethearts was a nice dream to see. It made me look up at him and he gave me a bad boy grin before winking at me.

“I have a pretty good idea what I would have done
.
” He said
,
making me shudder at the image he was now planting in my mind. I have seen scary Draven to
o
many times to ever forget how powerful a sight it really is. I was so cl
ose to asking him to do a private
showing for my cousin to see but I knew he wouldn’t.

Pity, I thought as I reached for my bottle of
Corona that had been waiting for me
.  

“Do you remember Simo
n, dear Kizzy C
at?” I nearly wore my drink than consuming it! She wouldn’t....she couldn’t really be ready to go that far. Draven noted my reaction with a worried frown. Of course
,
this would happen, any mention of another man’s name was bound to kill my strongest pawn...ah to
Hell
with pawn’
s she had gone straight for my Q
ueen and had her sights once again on my King!

“That is not
a story Hilary, that is a private
and personal matter I do NOT want to be discussed!” I said in a way that proved I was taking pages from Draven’s book in ordering people. Of course I remained calm which added to its desired effect.

“Oh Kizzy, come on, it was what...seven maybe eight years ago. I remember my mum telling me about it, She didn’t think your parents would ever forgive you!” She laughed again but now all questioning eyes were on me, including Draven’s. I wanted to lunge over the table and claw at her face. I wanted to maim, I wanted to hurt and I wanted to destroy!  This time she had really gone too far and I wanted her to pay! This now wasn’t just the fighter coming out of me, this was the Demon.

“That’s enough Hilary, you go too far
.
” I said still remaining an eerie calm that was wearing thin. Icy thin that was soon to crack.

“Apparently it was you that went too far and with a married man I believe...what was he, twice your age at the time...what was that...about sixteen years older
?
”

“SHUT UP!” I screamed out at her as I stood in my rage burning her with my stare. My ice had broken and left me with deadly shards that my mind wanted to throw her way. I was shaking
,
I was that angry but in the middle of my own turmoil I hadn’t seen I wasn’t the only one having a meltdown. I didn’t give it much thought as I was facing my cousin in a standoff that would sur
e
ly this time end in broken bones.

“Right that’s it
bitch
, I have had it with your shit! Outside...NOW!” I was waiting for her to take me up on the offer but she just leaned back, crossed her legs and held her hands up like she was innocent.

“Kizzy, what did I do wrong, sur
e
ly Dominic knows about your past... lovers
?
” She just kept digging my grave getting carried away with the way she was trying to bury me.

“Right, that’s it!” I turned and was about to go round to her side when Draven reacted.

“Enough!” He shouted and a heated hand whipped out and shackled my wrist. I gasped at the sight of Draven towering above me, face frozen in pure rage.
He clicked his fingers and
I turned back to Hilary in time to see her eyes roll back and her
head smack the table as she pass
ed out
. At least I gather she had pass
ed out and Draven hadn’t
just
killed her, either way I’m sure I would forgive him.

He still had hold of me like he was preventing me from running off and this is when realisation hit me. That was exactly what he was doing, he was undoubtedly angry and it wasn’t just at my cousin. I gulped as I could feel his temper mounting up like
Mount
St Helens. I tried to pull away but he pulled me back and leaned down to whisper one word.

“Stay
!
” The way he said the word made little bumps wriggle across my skin.

“Zagan, take the girl home
!
” He ordered with a tension in his voice that made me more than wary. Meanwhile Zagan had gone to Hilary’s side in a second and scooped her leggy body up in one swift motion. I didn’t want to look at Draven
,
but I found I couldn’t look away also. His features were stone. His jaw set in a way that made me want to cringe back but his vice grip was going to make that impossible. Zagan was walking to the back staircase when Draven spoke again.

“Wait” He then nodded to his brother once, communicating without words. He then let go of my wrist and left my side to go over to Zagan and his burden. I was about to leave also, not wanting to wait around for Draven’s wrath, but something caught me...It was Vincent. He wasn’t as forceful as his brother and entwined his h
and in mine and gently pulled me
to sit back down next to him, which was in Draven’s chair. I felt like I was breaking some unspoken rule by doing so but it was only my own reaction that confirmed this was not the case.

Vincent didn’t let go of my hand and I noted that it was cooler than his brother
’
s was
and also a little smoother, as
I would have imagined flexible marble to be. I watched Draven stand close to Hilary and that’s when I noticed that it wasn’t only the attention of his council that lay witness to this night
’
s spectacle. Every eye was watching, flittering between their Master and his mate....me.

“Hilary
,
can you hear me
!
” It came out as another order not a question.

“Yes
.
” She said as though talking in her sleep. It was a peaceful voice and one I remembered from before she had changed into the hateful being she was today. It took me back to when we were friends. When we used to laugh and play together and there was nothing but a strong family bond between us. Really, what went wrong?

“I want you to tell me a name
.
” His voice was smooth and hypnotic, like all those times he used to make me sleep and control my mind into thinking he wasn’t really there.

“Draven don’t do this
.
” I pleaded quietly but when he shot me a look I backed down, knowing it was fruitless.

“A name
?
” She repeated like a drugged hospital patient.

“Yes, the name of the man you spoke of, Keira past...
lover
.
”
He said this like it caused him
physical pain. The word ‘lover’
coming out in what can only be classed as utter disgust. I wanted to crawl away from the rest of the night. To hide the shame that had too quickly replaced the anger I felt. And as if sensing this, Vincent let go of my hand and rested it on my shoulder , ready no doubt for me to try anything his brother would frown upon. It was silly feeling
,
like a prisoner amongst my own boyfriend’s family
, but given
the type of family Draven had, I suppose it was as natural to them as breathing. I looked to my
other side in hopes of
find
ing
Sophia on my side but from the harsh expression inflicting her eyes I found nothing but the shadow of Draven there.

“Simon...Simon Carter
.
” Hilary said unconsciously acting out as Draven’s puppet. I didn’t like my cousin, that was no secret but it was not a nice thing to witness Draven’s control over us mere humans, no matter who his victim was.

“Good girl, now sleep and forget this night
.
” He patted her on the head like you would a sleeping child and she drooped more into Zagan’s hold.
My emotions w
ere mixing into one and making it difficult to feel anything concrete. One minute I feared what Draven’s reaction would be and then I would be too angry to fee
l that fear. Of course there were
the others...shame, embarrassment, guilt, hurt and cold. That last one was more down to Vincent’s presence and the chill he sent down me with not only his touch but his stare into what seemed like empty space. I know not what he saw there but it was like he was searching out for some hidden answers from a source I couldn’t see.

Before I knew it my cousin was out of sight and Draven was coming back to my side. I guess it would be too much to hope this night would just carry on like this had never happened. I soon got my answer.

“Come with me Keira
,
now
!
” Draven’s
demand
filled me with a dread so deep I was drowning in it. Vincent released me but the cold pit in my stomach didn’t release me. Draven had re-taken possession of me and I found myself being more pulled than guided to the back doors leading into his home.

“Draven please, this is silly...I...” I stopped tha
t sentence when I saw just how u
n-silly this was by his expression. That look would have stopped armies in the
ir
tracks and made them think twice about land mass and extended power. He looked back at the looming hallway and continued towards the end which felt more like my end. It seemed like an age of silent footsteps until we got to his door.

Before I could protest, the door opened and he zoomed round to the back of me, gripping my waist and controlling me onward. I had nothing to back up on but his indestructible body which was moving forward like a pressing wall behind me. I don’t think I had ever felt so small and weak before.

Now anger was building up inside me like a firecracker r
eady to explode in the palm of my
hand. It made me storm inside instead of backing away and only when I heard the door slam did I face him.

“This is ridiculous Draven, you can’t behave this way when you hear something you don’t like!” I shouted at him letting the firecracker go, so to this he let off a rocket. He drove his tensed arm and fist down into the black velvet couch, breaking it in two. It splint
er
ed up in every direction, making it look like an animal had just clawed its way through it.

Draven hadn’t spoken a word, not even made a sound. I had screamed at the sight of his outburst and only then did this seem to calm him slightly. He straightened his body and closed his eyes as if trying very hard to control himself better. I smartly decided to stay silent.

“Did...did he...he force you?” He said each word slowly and from the looks of things, painfully.

“What? I...” I was trying to process his question when he spoke again in a more forceful tone.

“Did he RAPE
you?
” He shouted out making me want to cry.

“I...I...” Was all I seemed to manage but Draven was losing the battle within him to stay even this level of calm.

“Yes or No Keira!” He said between clenched teeth.

“N...No” I said spluttering out the word as now I was crying. The sight of tears flowing down my
flustered cheeks made his hard
exterior soften.

“You
’d
better not be lying to me Keira, I will find out and he will die for
touching you
.
” His threat was so real
,
a sob broke out from me, however he still didn’t move.

“I...I’m not...not lying
.
” I spoke in between trying to breath and cry at the same time. He could see my pain and there he also saw the truth. He let out a breath I don’t know how long he had been holding, as it seemed he hadn’t been breathing this whole time. I could see his figure start to move towards me through blurred eyes but I moved back a step.

“Don’t!” I cried making him halt. I blinked making my flooded eyes overflow and clear my vision for a moment. Now I could see a different pain in his face, one I had put there. Instead of coming any closer, he folded him arms and waited.

“I need you to explain
.
” His voice was now less strained but it was still guttural.

“Explain what?
” I shouted, waving my arms at him. He didn’t react in anger and I soon realised it was never me that he had been
angry
at. It had been this man Simon.