A Court of Death and Retribution

bonus-spring chicken

100k views oh my gods! Thank you all so much! Here's a little something special to celebrate :)

Nyx

—

I spat out blood as I braced my hands on my knees. My fucking cousin was brutal. Then again, I had been too caught up in learning how to run this court to remember to keep up my training.

Looking up, I caught his teal eyes that seemed to hold so much emotion. He was like his father that way. Quiet, yes. Intimidating, Gods yes. His eyes though...they told a story. This story ended with relentless teasing and I absolutely would not allow that.

I straightened and rolled my shoulders back. "I'm clearly out of shape."

All the fucker did was smirk. I was older than him by almost two hundred years and yet he was still just as close to me as the rest of my cousins and Cal. Sure, there was a period of time where we didn't know what to make of him and his twin sister, but his sister is much more sociable, so he fit into our group by association. Eventually, he didn't need his braver twin and found his own place amongst our group.

My cousin and I got back into our training. We traded blows and worked on our maneuvers when we needed to. Since Cal was taking his sweet ass time, we ended up sparring for close to two hours before my brother showed up.

"Hey losers." He waved in greeting as he brushed sand out of his hair. I gave him a curious look as he stopped before us. "Don't look at me like that. Your wife is relentless."

I tried to hide my amusement. "I thought your prank war with Bella ended years ago."

He gave me a sardonic look. "When she wants to call a truce, I'll gladly accept, but I will not yield first."

Beside me, our cousin huffed a laugh.

Cal regarded him with a raised eyebrow. "How come High and Mighty over here looks exhausted and you look like a spring chicken?"

"Because he is a spring chicken." I groaned as I stretched my arms out.

Cal and our cousin both lightly chuckled at me before Cal sighed. "Alright, I'm late for two reasons."

"Clearly number one has to do with the sand." I raised my eyebrows.

He made a noise in his throat, then the air shifted as he grew serious. "I overheard Mom and Dad in the study."

I crossed my arms as my face hardened. Whatever Cal was about to say was not going to be good. Beside me, our cousin stiffened.

Cal sighed. "It's the Reborn Witches. Their numbers are growing larger."

My stomach dropped. "You think they'll try to attack Bella?"

"Mom and Dad don't want to take any chances. They want to increase security and keep everyone on alert." Cal glanced at our cousin. "They're having Azriel and his spies watch them closely. So far there hasn't been any talk of an attack against us."

I paused to digest the information and try to contain my rage. Why couldn't they just leave us alone? It's been almost fifty years since that battle. "I'll tell Bella tonight."

Cal nodded. "She doesn't deserve to worry about them anymore." His tone was defeated and sad, it melted away the hardness on my face.

I opened my mouth to respond, but our cousin cut in, his voice like cold death. "We won't let it get that far."

—
Meet Nyx's cousin and his twin sister in A Court of Secrets and Seance
—