Dragon Blood (Completed)

Love and Devotion at its Finest

Chapter 29

That night, he received word that Ryder had returned to the castle. He went looking for him, because after Paige's revelation, he had even more questions. Ryder was nowhere to be found. He searched everywhere he could think of and asked everyone he saw. No one had seen him for hours.

He decided to find Lavender, to see if she knew anything about Ryder's secret relationship. He went up the stairs and rounded the corner to the hall Lavender's rooms were in. Pausing, suddenly cautious, he walked more slowly to her door, trying to control his mind before it raced away.

It was difficult with the sight of Ryder's guard standing in the hall with Lavender's guard, all of them looking nervous, which made Zane instantly suspicious.

"Elis, I've been looking all over for Ryder," he said, trying not to jump to conclusions.

"Yes, Lord Prince, I have heard," Elis replied, sounding regretful.

"Nils, why are you not with the Lady?" Zane was unable to hide the accusation from his voice.

Nils looked away, refusing to answer him. When he stepped forward to enter Lavender's room, Nils stepped in front of him, blocking his entrance. Rage jolted Zane's body to action. He shoved Nils violently to the side, then threw back the door with such force, the hinges shook.

Lavender's small sitting room was empty and he flew to her bedroom, crossing the room in less than a second. He didn't hesitate at the second door, entering the room without knocking.

The door moved aside, revealing a sight that destroyed his world.

Ryder stood next to Lavender's bed, tying the tethers at the waist of his black pants. He wore no shirt, and Lavender was still lying in bed. A sheet was draped over her waist, exposing her bare chest, which she quickly covered up by pulling the sheet high to cover her naked body. Her dress pooled at Ryder's bare feet, his boots several feet away, as if they had been removed far ahead of time, eliminating an act of uncontrolled passion.

Thought, deliberation, and planning were present here. On the table were two plates of food, two glasses of wine, and two candles. Zane's eyes swung around the room once, taking in all these little facts, then his eyes landed back on Lavender. Her green eyes were hard and challenging, daring him to say one word to her.

"What have you done?" Zane demanded, his voice a rough growl that sounded closer to an imitation of Hudson than he could ever manage otherwise.

"Don't take that tone with her," Ryder growled, stepping in front of Lavender. "She had to turn somewhere since you've abandoned her like this."

"Where is your precious queen?" Lavender sneered. Rising up, she held the sheet to her chest. The sight of her bare back was not lost on Zane. Though it only enraged him more knowing she'd never loved him enough to give herself to him. Had she ever loved him?

"I can't believe my own brother would do this to me!"

"I won't hurt her the way you have," Ryder scoffed, raising his chin, challenging Zane.

"She's the one you're in love with?" Zane spat, disgusted.

"Who said he's in love with me?" Lavender huffed.

"Paige, she said she could tell."

"Is that why you have been spending so much time with her? She told you Ryder and I are in love?" Lavender laughed, as if it was some practical joke. Her laughter only fanned Zane's anger.

"No, she could only tell that Ryder's heart belong to another. Not that it was my future companion." Zane took a step toward Lavender.

Ryder stepped up to him, putting his hand firmly in the center of Zane's chest. Zane knocked his hand away, and Ryder retaliated with a fist to Zane's jaw.

Zane returned the blow with one twice as fast, and powerful. Ryder was flat on his back when Zane stepped up to Lavender. He stooped to pick up her dress, hating the feel of the delicate fabric in his hand.

"How could you do this to me? To us?"

"I had no choice! You can't expect me to sit back and watch you fall in love with another."

"I love you, only you!" Zane yelled, furious.

"I tried to stop you, to keep you with me. I had Ryder plant that talon gas in her room. I knew you would run to her as soon as you heard she was in trouble. I didn't expect you to abandon me when I made it look like someone was trying to set me up."

"What? I took your side," Zane roared, tearing the fabric in his hands.

"You said you did! But you never spent one second trying to figure out who it was or who would be trying to hurt me."

"I was looking into it!" Anger was preventing him from defending himself further.

"When? Since you could never spare a minute away from your queen."

"She is dying!" Zane shouted as he shredded the fabric. The ripping sound seemed to echo in his mind, making his muscles coil in a strange way. "I can't believe your selfishness. By all that burns, we are over."

Her tone was soothing, causing Zane's head to fog a little. He could feel his will turning to her, but he couldn't let her get a hold of his mind. "Shut up! Don't say another word!" he ordered.

"Zane, listen to me—" He reacted before he thought, putting his hands around her slender neck, cutting off her air and her ability to trick him.

"Don't touch her," Ryder shouted, grabbing Zane's hand.

Zane turned, not seeing his brother but the source of his pain. He wanted to tear that thing apart so it couldn't hurt him anymore. He lashed out, shoving Lavender away and turning on it. His fist flew with blinding violence.

He heard a scream, then a grunt as he watched it rocket back several feet. He marched across the room to deliver another blow because the thing was still moving.

Another scream and a moan when it felt his wrath. It was wounded, crawling, trying to escape. He couldn't let that happen. His hand flashed out, grabbing the first hard object within reach. He swung as hard and as fast as he could. The sound of two hard objects colliding was followed by the sound of the weaker object giving way to the heavy one in his hand.

The room was splattered with gold, tiny flecks shining on dozens of objects. Zane was momentarily dazzled by the flecks of shimmering light. There was something about how the light reflected off them and caught his eye that made him ill.

This isn't right, he thought. But then the thing tried to move again. Zane drew his hand back to deliver another blow. Just as he was about to propel his hand forward to collide with the hateful thing on the floor again, he was restrained by a heavy weight on his arm, then another on the other arm. His arms were paralyzed. He tried to pull free, but there was no shaking off the restraint.

A blow landed to his face, jarring him back to reality. Elis and Nils were hanging on his arms, holding him back. He roared his rage, his chest rising and falling violently as he blinked, looking around as if the room was all new to him.

Ryder lay on the floor, blood leaking from his head as he tried to move, to crawl away.

"Ryder," Zane whispered, but Ryder flinched and drew away at the sound of his voice. Lavender was sobbing on the floor, huddled with the sheet around her shoulders.

"Who are you?" she demanded around a crazed sob.

"Lavender."

"Stay away from me!"

Elis and Nils led him out of the room. Before he left the room, he looked at Lavender and she stared back at him with tears running down her face. Her eyes met his briefly, and all he saw was her terror. He turned away, ashamed of his actions. Once they were in the hall, Zane shook off the guards so he could flee.

The shame of his dark nature taking over plagued him. How could he lose his mind like that? He would have killed his own brother, another royal. He didn't know where he was going until he got there. He hadn't planned on coming here, and he didn't know what he was doing when he knocked.