Lost in a Reverie 18+ Only (Book 1 of Lastor Series) ['23/'24 EDIT]

Chapter 53

The slap came the second they got inside the elevator.

Jude lunged forward but Father pointed a finger at him, warning him not to make a move.

"Get him out here," he ordered to the guards disguised as servants.

Jude raged with so much fury even I feared him. When two men tried to restrain him, he roared in anger. Father froze as well as I did at the sight of him losing his carefully held control for the first time. While I had anchored myself through my rage and fear, he was completely overcome by it.

He easily fought them off, kicking one in the gut and throwing the other like a rag doll over the table, breaking the glass table at the impact. When they tried to get up, he threw a chair at them and with a warning glare, the rest of them cowered.

Father reached for me, gripping my hair, his free hand holding the knife against the back of my neck.

"Don't. You. Dare," my brother hissed.

Father scoffed and dug the tip of the knife into my nape, dragging it up the edge of my skull. I gritted my teeth as blood trickled down my back. Jude's eyes widened, pure rage filling them.

"Get the fuck away from her!"

Before he could get to me, Father shoved me to the floor and managed to sneak in a hard stomp on my gut. I didn't make a sound. Jude snarled, raising his fist. I broke my silence.

"Jude, stop!" I yelled out.

He stilled, his fist stopping midair while our father merely stood there. His face was expressionless but I knew, if we were alone, he would have brought me to the edge of death already.

Jude turned to me, his fist shaking.

"Don't," I said. "For your sake."

He huffed out a harsh breath, lowering his fist and swiping a hand over his hair, his eyes firmly on our father. His shoulders leveled, loosening. His face softened, calming. His eyes became blank, emptying. And with one steadying breath, he grasped the controls of his rage.

"I assume you're done, then?" Father asked with an air of non-chalance. "Now, I want you both to understand me very clearly." He shifted his gaze between us. "Their lives are in your hands. If you ever go near them, if you make any sort of contact with them, if I even hear either of you speak of them, I will end them and we shall face each other at war. Do you understand?"

"We understand," Jude said through gritted teeth, resigning to our fate. "But don't think I won't know if you tried to harm them. One wrong move and I will destroy everything. Starting with you," he said, his voice cool but the threat in his words was evident.

He stepped around him and held out his hand for me. I took it, letting him pull me up and keeping my head down. He bent low, reaching into my boot and taking out the knife tucked against my ankle.

I didn't turn. I simply kept holding his hand as he slit the throat of the dying man I had unleashed myself unto. My brother was kind enough to take what life remained in my behalf.

He took out a handkerchief from his pocket, wiping his hands clean and handing it to me before turning to face our Father.

"I'll let this pass only because she's here. The next time you dare to lay a finger on her, I'll hurt you in ways even you could never imagine and I won't show you even one drip of mercy, Father," he hissed, looping arms together. "We're leaving. Thank you for lunch."

He turned, exiting the dining room. I kept my head raised as we passed the guards. One of them stepped forward, holding out my jacket and gloves. Jude wordlessly took them without pausing in his step and we headed for the elevator in silence.