Series: Lords of Rathe Series by Meagan Brandy
Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 95227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
I don’t wait to find out. I spin and run, pushing through the stunned crowd of students. Their shocked faces are a blur. All I see is the path ahead. All I hear is the blood pounding in my ears. I push harder, my lungs burning as I aim toward two larger buildings connected by shrubs. A smirk spreads over my face. I’m gonna make it! I’m—
A growl ripples through the air as something dark tears through reality like a split, gaping wound.
A fucking portal!
Shit! I try to stop, heels digging into dirt, but the momentum carries me forward and the edge catches me.
“No!”
I’m sucked in deep, my stomach lurching up my throat. My skin burns, the air so tight and hot that I can barely breathe. It’s like falling without landing, just floating through magic without any control.
Then solid ground slams into my knees. Pain shoots up my thighs as I crash down hard and my palms slap against polished stone. My head spins, stomach heaving as I fight the urge to vomit.
Magic. It’s just death that won’t rot.
I cough, splattering forward as my nails dig into the hard surface.
A pair of boots appears in front of me. Not Legend’s worn leather ones. Cleaner.
I drag my gaze upward, past fitted jeans, past the black shirt, and lock eyes with none other than Creed fucking Deveraux.
Of course it’s him. The oldest brother. The one who looks at me like I’m a monster in his precious bloodline.
I push myself up, ignoring the way my muscles scream. Not a fan of portals. I’m going to need to find a better way to get around these assholes.
When he stays silent, I bare my teeth in something that’s definitely not a smile. “Let me guess. You’re here to lecture me about my decorum? Maybe slap some handcuffs on me and drag me back to your little brother like a good boy?”
He doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink. Just stares at me like I’m not even worth the words that come from his mouth.
Finally, he shrugs. “I’m here to give you something you want more than anything.”
I scoff. “I doubt that.”
His eyes drift to mine, lazily. “Willing to bet on it?”
Chapter Eight
Haide
“What do you mean?” I seethe, but it’s too late. Creed’s smug face hovers too close to mine, and I can’t seem to carve enough distance between us to make him evaporate.
“You will go to Rathe University.” His words hang in the air like concentrated venom. “You will learn how to control your damn self.” His pupils dilate like twin voids consuming light. “And you won’t fucking complain.”
I scoff a laugh, shaking my head. “You clearly don’t know me well.”
“And I have zero desire to.” He steps even closer, glaring down at me with his icy blue eyes. “There is something off with you, island girl, and I do not like it.”
“Good. I don’t want you to. Can you pass that feeling onto your little bro because damn. He’s a bit much, isn’t he?”
Creed glares down at me, and I feel a sort of pressure roll across my forehead.
“Stop that.”
“Stop what?” He smirks. “You don’t even know what I’m doing, do you?”
“I know if I gut you, you won’t be able to do it.”
His brows snap together and he looks down at the blade pressed right against his cock. The blade that he didn’t even hear me pull free from its sheath.
“Careful, Creed. Wouldn’t want to lose what I’m betting is your strongest… appendage.”
The man-boy sighs and gives me the space I want, but he shuffles back only a few feet.
“Do you even know what your powers are, Haide? Do you even know if you have any? Because I know the island blocks all magic that could threaten its purpose. You were born there, so something tells me your powers haven’t even fully formed.” He pauses and when I say nothing, his smirk sharpens. “That’s what I thought.”
“Fuck you. I could kill you with my hands before you even had time to throw your little spells, or whatever, at me.”
“I’ll just take your word for it,” he deadpans, clearly completely unthreatened. “And you need to take mine as a royal decree. You’re going to that school.”
“Your royal decrees mean absolute fuck-all to me. I’m not from here. I don’t want to be here, so just send me back and all will be better.”
“That’s not going to happen. I need my brother here, and he seems to think you’re more than the pain in the ass I see.”
“I am not his mate.”
“I’m inclined to agree.”
Wait, what?
My shoulders drop. “Really?”
“Really.” He doesn’t blink. “I don’t sense his beast stirring the way Knight’s did when London came along, but it could be because you come from the island. Maybe it’s blocked you from more than just your powers. Then again, maybe he’s mistaken obsession for something more. I honestly don’t care so long as he is safe, which means I need him near. That means keeping you near and making sure you can, at the very least, learn how to act like a gifted and not cause him even more problems.”