Their Thief: Redemption

Chapter 19 (Part 3)

I guess I won't have to repeat myself later now, I thought as I watched Jace push the door open. It had bounced off the wall when I had barged in, almost clicking shut again from the force I had used. The metal bit that remained of the broken doorknob left a mark on the carefully crafted bookshelves that were built into the walls on either side of the door. The disfigurement signaled a break in my carefully reigned control. Every one of my actions were thought out and carefully considered.

Sometimes too carefully considered.

Which is why we were where we stood today. Because I was too afraid to make the wrong move. While I wasted time trying to choose the best course of action, my foolish brothers always grabbed the opportunity to make matters worse. It was as much my fault as it was theirs.

Not anymore. There would no longer be any conflict when it came to choosing between my mate or my brothers. There was no longer a question about it. It was a mistake ever letting Alec's fears feed my own, one I wouldn't make again. It was time Alec faced his demons instead of hiding them away and acting like he was too powerful for them to touch him.

I was done waiting to fix my brother's problems, I needed to fix my own. Starting by taking their power to create more.

Before I could shift my focus back to Alec and dismiss Jace like I had been ever since it came to light that he had traded my hand for peace he had boosted about achieving with the Fae, I couldn't help but be struck with worry as I took a closer look at him. It seemed an impossible feat, but he was in worse condition than last time. The clothes he wore were worn, torn, and stained by dried blood that left the material stiff. His, Alec's, and Aris's. The old and stale scents joined as they made their way to me across the distance. I couldn't help but take in a deep breath, savoring the mixed scent.

Jace's blood shoot eyes narrowed on me, appearing more alert than his ragged and disheveled appearance had me believing he would be capable of. To my surprise, he was sober.

And going through withdrawals. They hit fast and hard with Dust. Which explained why he appeared so close to death. His pasty skin and stringy hair were nothing a hot shower and a good feeding couldn't fix. But I wasn't going to parent him into a functioning being after another bender, not again. It seemed I had done so too much, resulting in the man that stood before me today. One who tried to numb his problems until he could ignore them rather than face them.

Or at least he had been until yesterday. Now he was here looking like he had been dragged through hell, but sober. That's what mattered.

Well, it did to begin.

At least it seemed Jace was taking steps in the correct direction, while Alec just kept killing everything she grew to care for. I was beginning to understand Aris's initial reaction to receiving Ash much better now.

"Where is she?" Jace demanded in a rasping voice, reminding me why he had broken his usual routine of numbing his problems with drugs and women. Nothing would be able to numb the bond he had deepened when he had sunk his teeth into Aris's flesh to leave the pink scar that stared at me, taunting me alongside Alec's older silver one since I laid eyes on them up close. I had never felt such strong envy toward my brothers before. But I didn't envy what Jace would have felt with her distance. The only thing that would ease the itch he felt in his veins was having her near.

And that was something I wouldn't allow. Not yet. Not unless she needed him near.

His eyes only lingered on me for a moment before they began a frantic dart around the room to try to locate Aris for himself. His eyes barely paid Alec and Vince any attention as they skimmed over them in their frantic search.