CHAPTER TWENTY
“Cassander’s here? I thought he didn’t make it,” I asked in confusion, my arms teetering in the air like a child pretending to be a plane.
Finn didn’t answer me, his eyes panicked. The white tiger raced to the exit. He demanded, “Open the door, Choo-Baby-Choo.”
The door whipped open.
Finn stumbled down the stairs, his head turning left and right. He shouted in astonishment, “Cassander, don’t do it!”
I shook my head over his shocking exit—and no golems climbing inside the train—and ran to the door. I poked my head outside, my eyes tracking Finn as he raced across the lawn and rock. The golems—every single golem—were arching their backs, as if they were in excruciating pain.
Mr. King charged after Finn, his own body covered in blood streaks, his features etched in pure horror. He bellowed a plea, “Cass, stop! You don’t have to do this!”
The other four corporate kings’ heads turned in the racing men’s direction, following their trajectory with their gazes. Their jaws dropped in shock. Then they were sprinting across the lawn too, swerving in and out of the golem obstacles.
Mr. Cooper leapt through the air, a blur of gray hair flashing in the morning sky, catching up with Finn and Mr. King as he landed in a run, his legs never stopping. He waved his hands frantically. “Cass, we can find another way! She’s still safe!”
There was a man standing on top of a small hill.
His silver fur jacket whipped in the wind around him, the tall grass up to his leather covered knees. The eyes of the man were pure white, no color whatsoever. His palms were turned upward toward the mansion, his fingers spread wide and curled like claws. The ground around his feet wobbled like small waves on a shore.
It was Cassander.
He was wicked in his determination, his jaw clenched tight, his chin tucked down, and watching the house with those spooky white eyes.
And he wasn’t listening to the others.
Mr. King stopped in his tracks, his chest heaving as the others flew past him, continuing their sprint. The attention he pointed at Cassander was all-consuming as his chest pumped faster and faster. He crouched down with his hands on the ground, his nostrils flaring on his exotic features, and he roared.
The five sprinting men…halted in their tracks.
They then fell to their knees, their heads bowing to the ground, their foreheads kissing the earth. Finn was one of them, his entire body quivering in pain. Their fingers dug into the dirt as their frames shook.
Cassander’s body jolted, and he staggered a step back, but he bent his legs as if he were leaning into a strong gust of wind. He shouted, “You can’t stop me, God!”
“I can sure as hell save you from destroying yourself,” Mr. King growled, standing straight on strong legs. His chest pumped…pumped…pumped…with every inhale, his teeth gnashing at the air like he was biting the oxygen. “When you eventually die, it will be by my hand, not yours. You don’t get to die the hero today.”
Cassander’s chuckle was bitter in the morning air, a tear trickling down his left cheek. “Someone is going to die soon. I just don’t know who yet. I’m trying to keep that from happening.”
Mr. King stood his ground. “It’s not my mate. Not today. All you have to do is hold that power right there, not any more than that, and I can go inside and retrieve her. After that, you can join in the fun of beheading evil.”
Cassander didn’t move, his power still flowing.
Mr. King tilted his head, a playful, teasing smile etching his features, making him appear young and carefree. “Come on, Cass. You know you want to kick some ass by my side again.”
I swallowed down my gasp. He was bribing him.
Effectively using any form of persuasion as his arsenal to keep Cassander from…
What had he said?
Destroying yourself, the words shot like a picture in my mind’s eye.
My lips thinned, and I didn’t dare move. There would be no deaths today from a mistake of mine. All their concentration needed to stay on each other, not a blonde in a disgusting, dirty party gown.
Finn would never forgive me either.
The thought came out of nowhere.
But it was still true.
Cassander’s lips parted. “Do you forgive me, God?”
My brows furrowed, not understanding.
But it appeared to be a deep hurt since Mr. King flinched. He growled, “Dammit, Cass. Stop this now!”
“Dad understands why I had to kill her, his own mate. Why can’t you?”
Mr. King leaned forward and bellowed in fury, “She was our mother! She was both of ours. And you what? Decided that because she had a little darkness in her that she deserved to die?”
“She askedit of me.” Cassander shook where he stood, his features tormented. “I must take every mercy request seriously. It doesn’t matter who asks. I have to put my feelings aside and do my goddamn job. I’m the only person on this planet who grants that kindness.”
“Kindness is not chopping her head off. Our mother!”
“She didn’t want to live. Even Dad knew that.”
“And yet, he still didn’t kill her when she pled with him to help her along into a grave.”
Theron stepped out of the treeline, marching forward in old-fashioned cowboy boots and workout shorts, a rolled mat strung over his bare back. His steps were easy, unhindered by whatever power they were using, but his beautiful dark eyes were cold and lethal.
He hissed, “Both of you stop this. I’ve had to listen to this same argument for one hundred years, and yet you both still don’t understand what the other is saying. You never listen to one another long enough to comprehend a viewpoint not your own. Instead, you wallow in your own self-pity. I sure as fuck didn’t raise you to be that way.”
“If you aren’t going to listen to one another then…” Theron leaned forward, his cold eyes dancing between his two sons, and he bellowed, “Shut the fuck up! No one is listening back. You’re arguing at the sky or to a shoe for all you two hear out of each other’s mouth.”
My hand was covering my mouth, so I didn’t release a heart wrenching sob, my pulse hammering in my ears.
These monsters…weren’t monsters.
They were just sad, sad men.
Cassander released a shaking breath, his tone tired and weary. “God, go get your mate. I’ll hold my power just like this—nothing more.”
Mr. King ground his jaw together. “Thank you.”
Then he pivoted and began marching away.
The five wilted men on the ground groaned and fell to their sides, holding their heaving chests, their expressions full of agony.
I ran down the steps and wiped away the few tears that had fallen down my cheeks. I sprinted as fast as I could and dropped to my knees next to Finn. My hands lingered over his sweating face, patting his cheeks with a light touch.
“Are you okay?” I whispered, my voice wobbling.
“Fine,” he hissed and rolled to his back. Finn gasped oxygen into his lungs. “I’d forgotten how painful that is.”
I glanced at the other men, writhing in pain. “Does it happen often?”
“Not since Theron ruled,” he growled. “Unbutton my top buttons. I can’t get enough air.”
I quickly fumbled with the buttons of his dress shirt. “How long do the effects last?” It was obviously the alpha king’s power that had taken them to their knees.
“About twenty minutes.”
“Do you want me to help you to the train?”
“No. I want to finish fighting the golems.”
“What?” I cried. I patted his cheeks again, little pieces of grass falling out of his hair with the jarring. “You can’t even move right now.”
“And I still want to fight.” His attempt at a smile was pitiful, a full-on grimace etching his features. “My blades are new. I like breaking them in.”
I sat back on my haunches. “Really?”
“Oh, yes, my dear. And they slice real good.”
“You’re a sick man.”
This time, he managed to smirk. “Only when I’m really having fun.”