A Kingdom of Bloodshed (A Crimson Court Series)

*¬*Chapter Thirty Two*¬*

       "Missing? What do you mean she's missing?" I demand as Arrow bursts into my room later that night. The small party we had to celebrate the union of the four Kingdoms, now long over. "I mean, she's not here." Arrow pants, her hands on her knees as if she's been running laps around the grounds.

"How is that possible? Ryder was with her all night." Arrow shakes her head, "I asked him, he said she left his side to get some air, as she had too much to drink. But when he went back to look for her, she was gone."

Panic flares into my chest. I rub my ribs trying to uncoil the knot that just tightened there. "Where is he?" Arrow scrubs her face, her skin paling, "He's in your office, but he's not alone." The way she says it causes my spine to lock up. "Let's go."

She spins on her heels and rushes down the hallway, taking the steps several at a time. I am quick to follow, reaching my office in mere seconds.

Ryder waits inside, his face stricken but angry, and there, casually sitting in a large chair with one leg up on his knee; is my brother. "Where is she?" I hissed. Ryder swallows and bows his head, I can smell his guilt, the worry he has that it's his fault she's missing. But I am not mad at him. I know he had nothing to do with her disappearance.

"That's a good question. You know, Kaz, you should keep a better eye on your guest or else they might just... vanish into thin air. Really poor manners Kazi." I hate when he calls me Kazi. He hasn't called me that since we were little. He knows I hate it. It's so condescending.

"Where. Is. She?" I growl. But my brother spins in his chair, facing us, his face lit up with a smile. "I don't know." Bullshit. It only takes a moment. One singular moment for me to launch myself across the room, grab him from the chair and shove him to the floor.

I do not think when my fist connects with his face. I do not blink when he starts to laugh and spits blood into my eyes. I do not stop. I can't. All I want to do is kill him.

I have never been drowned by rage before, heartbreak, anger, but never rage. I feel like my father.

That thought forces me to stop. It forces me to come back to this plane and to Ryder screeching, "Stop Kaz, you'll kill him!"

I pause with my arm mid air, my fist swollen and covered in blood. I look at my brother's face and blanch. His right eye is swollen shut, his lips split open, broken nose with blood gushing out.

"He'll heal." I spit. Augustus wheezes, he rolls to his side with a grunt when I push off him, blood pooling from his lips onto my carpeted floor. "Put him in a cell, in Purgatory. I will meet with him later when I've collected myself."

I do not give them a chance to reply. To say much of anything. I spin on my heels and plop down into my desk chair, staring off into space waiting for them to leave.

Ryder moves first, reaching for Augustus and hauling him upwards. I shake my head, "Let someone else remove him, Ry. I need to speak with you." Ryder doesn't argue, instead he summons two guards to take my brother away. When it is just the two of us, I stare at Ryder, he refuses to meet my gaze.

"It's not your fault." I whisper. He swallows, "But it is. I should have never let her leave my side."

"It's not your fault, Ry. She's a grown woman. You did not force her to get taken. We'll find her."

Ryder finally meets my gaze, I wonder what he sees there? Does he feel like he's staring at my father once more? Have I become a monster since pummeling my brother in my office? Ryder smirks, his lips quirking up, "I'd have kicked his ass too, if you hadn't beaten me to it." The relief that floods me is like a monsoon. Wave after wave of relief pulsing through my system until I am bowing my head forwards and covering it in my hands.