Hidden Runes

by G. Bailey

  “I think that is wishful thinking, Trexy,” I say and look down at my white shirt, pulling it up to smell it and feeling that my underwear is still on. It smells like Trex. “And thanks for the shirt. Who undressed me?”

  “I did,” Azi simply says, no apology in his tone. “We had to make sure you weren’t hurt anywhere else, Vi.”

  “That’s logical,” I nod, sinking back into the pillows as Azi comes to sit next to me on the bed, taking my hand in his.

  “I will leave you alone,” Trex suddenly says, drawing my attention back to my tense, grumpy giant watching us.

  “Trex, you don’t have to go. It’s a big bed, you could sit on this side,” I suggest, patting the empty space next to me. Trex glances at where Azi is holding my hand and straightens up as he stands up.

  “No. I will see you later,” Trex coldly says, his coldness hurting me and pissing me off more than I want to admit before he storms out of the room.

  “That man is a fucking idiot,” Azi mutters, shaking his head and smiling sadly at me. “If he doesn’t realise how lucky he is soon, he doesn’t deserve you.”

  “It’s nothing to do with me. I know that, even though how he treats me hurts like a bitch. It’s because of him and Nix. Trex thinks he must always protect Nix and that he can’t do anything that might hurt him. Like going after me when he knows how Nix feels. I get the need to protect your family, and I can’t hate Trex for it. His past is just as fucked up as mine, and it doesn’t make us people who know how to deal with emotions well,” I say, and Azi nods. I move over as he slides onto the bed, and I wordlessly put my head on his chest, letting him hold me close.

  “Do you think if I punched Trex in the head it would make him come to his senses?” Azi mutters, kissing the top of my head as he rubs circles with his thumb in the middle of my back.

  “I don’t think so, but it would be funny to see you try,” I admit, smiling.

  “I love you, Vi,” Azi whispers to me, distracting me with sweet kisses. Even though I didn’t win the test and I might not win everything, I won Azi’s heart. I’m not my sister. Azi really loves me. I know this isn’t the end of the battle for the throne anyway. Two more tests, and now more than ever, I can’t afford not to win.

  Seventy-Two

  Trex

  “Hello, sweetheart,” a purring voice says from behind me, and I turn around, staring down at Erica who is standing way too close in a dress that leaves little to the imagination and a black cloak clipped around her neck. I step back and try not to seem too annoyed by her presence like I feel inside. Since she won the first test two days ago, she has been making it clear to everyone that she is meant to be queen, and the first test is proof Evie is nothing. Though if anything, support for Evie seems to have become stronger than ever, with Protectors singing a song made up for Evie about a lost queen who has finally come home to make the world a better place.

  The song is sung everywhere, and every day, Evie’s building is lined with flowers and gifts, which Evie won’t touch. She ordered for them to all be collected each day and sent to human and supernatural orphanages across the country. When word got out about where she was sending the gifts, the gifts multiplied the next day. Most think it’s a smart move on Evie’s part to get more Protectors on her side, but in reality, Evie did it because that was what she wanted to do.

  I keep my face neutral and passive as I face Erica, who seems too nervous as she looks around her. It’s an act I got used to doing when we were engaged, keeping a passive face on, no matter what I actually thought. I only ever agreed to the engagement because I thought it would be a good way to keep Nix and me safe for life, not because I ever saw anything in the spoilt woman in front of me. To think Evie and Erica are sisters is hard to swallow. They couldn’t be more opposite in every single way. Being around Evie is natural, and if my brother weren’t clearly in love with her, there would be nothing that could stop me trying to make her feel how I do for her. I try to shake my feelings for Evie for a moment to focus on her sister and why the hell she is talking to me.

  “What do you want? This isn’t your building, Erica, and don’t think I won’t throw you out, because you know I will, no matter who you are,” I tell her, and she pouts in a way I assume she thinks is attractive as she bats her eyelashes as well. I hated when she looked at me this way before. I think it makes her resemble a duck with something in her eye, which isn’t attractive to me. I much prefer a woman in work-out clothes, a serious look on her perfect lips, holding a bow and not even noticing the world as she finds her target.

  “Oh sweetheart, don’t you miss me? I know I haven’t been a good girl recently, but I miss you,” she purrs, stepping closer, and I step back once again, getting annoyed now.

  “You know full well I don’t miss you, Erica. I never liked you in the first place. Now, what the fuck do you want before I chuck you out of Evie’s building?” I growl out, and she slowly drops the innocent face into one of pure anger and spitefulness. It’s creepy how she can change her expression. It’s not cute like how Evie’s whole face changes when you bring up bacon.

  “Fine, let’s not play nice. I don’t know why you have even sided with her anyway. Is it because she is fucking your brother?” Erica asks, blinking her eyes respectively as she tilts her head to the side.

  “Evie isn’t dating Nix,” I state, my voice more of a growl than I would like. Even if Evie is sleeping with Nix, as long as they are both happy, then I can figure out a way to be okay with it. Like maybe drinking my body weight in vodka and banging my head against a wall would help me forget her. Who the fuck am I kidding? Evie is unforgettable.

  “Well, she sure had her tongue stuck down his throat a few days ago. And then she was fucking that demon of hers outside on the roof just before that. Seems like Evie likes to play around,” she says, and I stand still, clenching my hands into fists. “Poor Nix is going to get his heart broken so soon after losing your sister. I am sorry my sister is so evil.” Evie is playing my brother while she is still dating Azi, and even though I’m aware Erica is trying to turn me against Evie, I can’t help feeling so annoyed. What the hell does she expect to happen when everyone finds out? Connor is clearly in love with her as well, and I don’t want to see my best friend messed about. “Oh sweetheart, you didn’t know. Shame.”

  “Leave, Erica. What Evie does or doesn’t do isn’t anything to do with you,” I say, lifting my arm and pointing at the door.

  “When I’m queen, you could always be one of my knights like we planned. I could even make you a knight with extra benefits,” she says, winking at me, and I don’t bother to hide the disgust on my face. When I don’t say a word, keeping my arm pointing at the door, she sighs. I lower my arm as she walks off out of the doors of the building while I try to stay calm.

  I pace up and down the entrance room, trying to come up with a way to process all of this. I know I’m jealous, and I know I love my brother way too much to attempt to fight him for Evie. The only problem is, I’m starting to love Evie just as much as my brother. She is family now, and that’s a big problem because she could destroy everything.

  “Brother, there you are. It’s movie night, do you want to come up, or are you eating out? Turns out Azi can cook like a fucking god instead of a demon and made us all dinner. It’s going to be about an hour,” Nix says from behind me. I slowly turn, and he pauses mid-step, seeing how angry I am from just one look. Nix sighs, losing the grin, and slowly walks up to me. I keep still as he places his hand on my shoulder, squeezing once. “You know about Evie and me? And Azi and Connor?”

  “You know as well?” I ask, confused enough to lose the anger and just be stuck with the jealousy.

  “Come and sit down with me a sec,” Nix says, not waiting for me to go and sit on one of the two sofas in the entrance room. I sit on the one opposite him, running my hands through my hair as I look at my brother. He seems far more settled, happy, than I have ever noticed before. I know Evie is good for him, for all of
us, but it is amazing to see my troubled brother happy.

  “So then, you stubborn bastard. You love Evie, right?” he asks, and I don’t answer because there is no fucking way I’m admitting I’m in love with my brother’s girl. I’m not a fucking bastard like that. I don’t deserve Evie anyway, no one does. I don’t have a clue how to make her happy or to be with her. “I’ll take the silence as a yes.”

  “Does it matter since she is yours? I won’t hurt you. It’s my job to protect you,” I state, crossing my arms and looking away from Nix, who just seems to understand way too much. The last thing our sister said to me was that protecting family is everything. I only remember her saying those words before she left for the mission that ended her life. Nix told me our mum said a similar thing to him on the day that she died. I have to protect Nix, even if it feels like I’m stabbing myself in the heart as I do so.

  “Trex, we aren’t kids anymore. I can look after myself and make my own choices in life. What happened when we were kids, it wasn’t our fault. It certainly wasn’t yours. Losing our sister…that wasn’t either of our faults either. I feel like we spent years living with ghosts haunting us. I coped by drinking it all away, and you coped by looking after me. I’m sorry you had to do that, I was fucked up and selfish. Now, it’s time I damn well look after you instead by telling you to stop being a total tool,” he says.

  “You don’t owe me anything. You’re my brother, I got the pain you were in,” I tell him. I never felt like picking up the pieces of Nix’s life was a chore, it was just what I knew I had to do to make sure he would survive everything.

  “You understood the pain and tried to fix me any way you could, and I will always owe you for that brother. I didn’t realise there was anything that could fix the pain until I met a woman who went through more heartache and pain than anyone should, and still carried on. Still fought for what is right and was brave despite it all. Evie taught me how to be fucking brave, and you taught me how you never give up on family,” he says, seeming less like my brother and more like someone anyone would be lucky to have as family.

  “Nix…”

  “I love Evie. Azi and Connor love her, and she is strong enough to deal with us all easily. That is her choice, and it is our choice to love her like she deserves. Evie and you, well you are both so fucking stubborn that neither of you will budge until one of you gets hurt, which I know you don’t want,” he says.

  “Are you seriously thinking all of us with her will work? Sharing her? Even the demon?” I ask, because Azi’s kind are known for not sharing well. Though he is an overlord, so maybe things are different for him. I’ve grown to like the bastard after all he did to save Evie and to help us. I’ve spent my entire life believing demons were nothing but monsters, but I don’t believe that anymore. A monster couldn’t love Evie as much as Azi loves her. All I’ve seen recently just shows me that demons are more human than any of us supernaturals. We have no right to hunt them, and I know Evie will make big changes when she is queen.

  “Yeah, I am. We can work together, all of us, because we love her. I know it will work. Evie needs us all as much as each one of us needs her,” he says.

  “I don’t need her like you think I do,” I say, but I don’t know who I am trying to fool. I am certainly not fooling myself or Nix with my weak statement.

  “Then walk away before you break her heart, brother. If you don’t love her, leave. I know for a fucking fact you love the shit out of that woman because of how goddamn jealous you were a moment ago. I know from how scared you looked when you saw her fail the test. I know because you’re my brother,” he says before standing up straight, crossing his arms and giving me a look that says everything. Nix doesn’t say another word before he walks off, leaving me watching him go and wondering what the hell I am going to do next. Can I imagine a life without Evie in it? Fuck no. I love her. I can only hope I haven’t fucked things up too much by being a goddamn idiot.

  Seventy-Three

  Evie

  I look up as the door opens and Nix walks in, looking a little stressed as he rubs his face, pushing his messy hair out of his eyes. Nix left the room pretty happy not long ago, so what happened? I only remember that he was going to see if Trex wanted to come up for dinner. Connor went with Keeper Grey and me into the city today, and we chose a selection of food while Azi went on a clothing shop for us all. When we got back, Azi took the food, and Connor took the clothes to hang them. It was almost a natural movement for them, making me surer than ever that we could work out a way for us all to be together.

  “Did you find Trex?” I ask Nix, who loses the frown to smile at me before he answers.

  “Yeah, I did…it’s complicated, but I don’t think he is coming up for dinner. I’m going to get changed out of my training clothes and have a shower before eating,” Nix says, smiling tightly at me as he walks past me to the bedroom door. I wonder what happened downstairs with Sir Grumpy Pants?

  “Oh, okay,” I reply before he disappears into the bedroom. I get up off the floor, trying not to be too curious about what happened with Nix and Trex. I stretch a little before walking into the kitchen side of the room, peeping around Azi’s shoulder to see what he is cooking. Reaching a hand around Azi, I sneak a bit of chicken off his plate, and he laughs as I run away with it before he can catch me.

  “Out of my kitchen, Vi,” he says, laughing with Connor who is cutting something up nearby. I just finish stuffing the chicken into my mouth and chewing it as the door opens again, and Trex stands in the doorway, looking around the room until he locks eyes with me.

  “Evie, can I borrow you for a moment?” he asks. I glance down at my little shorts and Azi’s shirt, knowing I might need to get changed to leave. Shit, I don’t even have knickers or a bra on.

  “Where are we going? Should I change?” I ask him. I’m not a big carer of the guys seeing me like this but not anyone else.

  “No, we are going somewhere private,” he says, and I flash him a confused smile when he holds a hand out for me to take. Whatever happened with Nix and him must have been something big, because Trex seems different.

  “Alright then, Mr. Mysterious,” I chuckle, walking to the door. “We will be back in a bit, Azi, Connor.”

  “Dinner will be in an hour, but take your time,” Azi suggests, not looking at me but seeming to share some kind of look with Trex that I don’t get until Connor knocks his shoulder, whispering something. Men. Who does understand them? I’m living with four of them, and I don’t have a clue.

  “I will be back. You have food after all,” I say, grinning at Azi as he shakes his head with a laugh. I slide my hand into Trex’s warm hand before he leads me into the corridor. I don’t question Trex as he takes us to the elevator, and we wait for it to come up in silence. We both step into the elevator, and Trex presses the button for the level just below our room.

  “This reminds me of when you brought me here as a prisoner. Not this building, but still,” I whisper as it feels awkward to talk.

  “I guess it does. Things have changed a lot since then,” he says, and I nod, agreeing with him, but I’m pretty sure I don’t know exactly what he means. The elevator soon opens, and we walk out into a quiet corridor.

  “My room is down here. I was surprised when Keeper Grey gave you this building,” Trex explains to me, pulling out some keys on a key ring from his pocket. “I have the best balcony, even though you would think the rooms above would have balconies instead.”

  “Is that what you wanted to show me? I mean, it sounds pretty, but Nix looked—” I start off, and Trex shakes his head, stopping outside a door marked with a number one.

  “I will explain everything. I promise,” he says as he opens the door and switches a light on. I follow Trex into the room, letting him close the door behind us. The room is much smaller than I would have expected, but it is gorgeous with black sofas, glass tables and a huge fireplace in the middle of the room. In front of the fireplace is a giant white fur rug which catche
s my eye.

  “Star would love that rug,” I say, feeling Trex’s eyes on me as he follows me over to the rug. I slip my shoes off and walk on it, just to see if it is as soft as it looks. Trex presses a button on top of the fireplace which is electric and comes to light.

  “I guess she would. We could bring her here for a night sometime,” he offers.

  “Trex, what is going on?”

  “Do you want to see outside?” he asks, looking nervous which is really confusing as I’ve never seen Trex nervous before.

  “No. Look, whatever it is, you can say in here,” I say, crossing my arms. I feel like I can’t breathe as Trex nods before falling to his knees, bowing his head and not moving.

  “I’m a fool, and I’ve fucked up more than I could ever admit to. You see, I fell in love with you, Evie. I knew I shouldn’t. I tried to fight my feelings and push you away, but all that did was hurt us both, and I am sorry for that.”

  “Trex,” I whisper, shaking my head, but of course he doesn’t see me as he stares at the ground. I walk over and fall to my knees in front of him, placing my hands on his face and lifting his head so he will look at me. I’m speechless from the pure emotion he shows me. An emotion like nothing I’ve seen before from Trex.

  “I fucked up. I thought loving you would destroy everything. It would destroy my brother and my friendship with Connor, but instead it has only made us closer,” he continues.

  “Don’t you ever kneel for me again. Alright? I understand what you did, I understand why you pushed me away, and to be honest, until very recently, I was doing the same thing to everyone. I was scared. I was so terrified of losing you all that I didn’t think what could happen if I fought for you all instead,” I confess.