If you do like what you see here, check out the rest of what's posted on my site. In this one, Kyra confronts her brother about an odd ring.
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"What is this?" Kyra asked archly, holding the silver ring toward her brother.
The Sidhehan lord was in his leucistic phase; silver hair, milky skin, and icy blue eyes. Kyra preferred his true albinism with his crimson eyes. But since she had returned, Ulrin had worn blue eyes more often than not.
"It's a ring," he said, returning to his book.
"Yes, it's a ring." He voice became glacial. "Why does it look like our family ring?"
"Because I'm marrying her."
Kyra sagged. Her vision dimmed, her head spun, and her stomach roiled. A sword through the gut had caused her less distress. "Marry?" she whispered.
"Indeed." Ulrin kept reading.
"Bloody hell." Bile coated the back of her throat, and Kyra managed to find a chair before she retched. "What is in your head?" Her pulse raced, and the blond woman felt her skin grow clammy.
He sighed, setting his book aside. "Is it that hard to understand?"
How can he do this to me? How can he put me aside for his little halfbreed? Tears blurred her vision. "How can you..." She couldn't finish the question as a sob rose.
He approached her slowly, locking hands behind his back. Kyra bit her lip, clutching the arms of the chair. Never one to rush to my despair. Will he kiss her tears away? Will he comfort her, and tell her it's all right, and make her smile? Her world was coming apart, and she was powerless to stop it.
"Kyra?" Ulrin had stopped before her. Fighting back sobs and panic, she stared up at her big brother. Her beloved brother. She'd killed and maimed at his side. She'd destroyed their people with him. She'd been his companion for ages, been the one to pull him out of his despair. "I'm in love with her."
And now he was leaving.
"I'm not leaving you." His whisper was tender, full of the love they'd shared for so long. His face softened, eyes lit by emotion. "I'll never leave you."
"But her?" Kyra still couldn't speak his spawn's name. To say her name would legitimize their relationship. "She's a killer. A wild beast."
"Yes."
"She killed half your generals. Your allies aligned to bring her down."
"But she came back on her own."
"She killed Revkah." The last was hissed, and Kyra's heart ached anew with the loss of her best friend. Ulrin could have lost all his generals and all his allies, and Kyra wouldn't have cared one whit. Revkah was irreplaceable, and that hybrid wench had eaten her heart.
"Revkah sacrificed herself."
"Your daughter's a monster!" she snarled.
"So were you."
Ulrin's words were soft, barely above a whisper, but they stilled her better than any shout. Tears stopped, emotion died, and Kyra was left dumbfounded.
He held her gaze, kneeling before her. "You killed every servant we had just to seduce me. She killed my generals because I drove her to rebellion. You've maimed and tortured and slaughtered. You killed Mother with your favorite knives. Morri is not so different from you."
Kyra cringed, and her brother claimed her hands. "Why Morrigana? She was a pet, a tool. A project only."
He lowered his eyes, emotions welling between the siblings. "It's so hard to explain." He squeezed her hands. The pause grew, and Kyra wanted to hold him, to comfort him. Keeping her brother from pain was one of her life's missions.
"She's stolen my heart. We both knew there would be another after Sehmorelle, but I grew black. My heart was useless, and I forgot it existed." Kyra freed a hand to run through his hair. Ulrin hugged her legs and continued his confession.
"I didn't expect this. Neither of us expected this, even when she was obviously different. I never saw her coming, and she found something I'd thought was lost." He looked up at her, his eyes filled with passionate love. It was a light that had died with his betrothed, that had been lost for aeons. "Kyra, I'm in love with her, and I can no longer live without her. I will have her as my wife."
She straightened her spine, withdrawing her hands. "I shall allow you two to live in peace."
Ulrin tightened his arms around her legs, eyes flashing. "You'll do no such thing."
His vehemence startled her. "But you have your wife. You no longer need me."
He laughed, keeping his grip on her legs. "Kyra, you're wrong."
She rose, burned by his laugh. "You've got a heartmate. You have no place for me." Kyra slipped into the aether, escaping her brother.
I won't be here for this. I won't watch him forget about me as he plays with his girl. And when he tires of her, I won't take him back. She stepped from the aether to her room, and Ulrin was already there.
He caught her in his arms, kissing her soundly. Kyra struggled, denying the heat between them. "Let me go," she growled when the kiss broke.
"Never. You're my sister. I want you. I need you at my side."
She had to admit that Ulrin was much more passionate with Morrigana around. The girl affected him in strange ways, but they weren't all bad. "I won't let you replace me."
He nuzzled her neck. "You think my daughter could ever replace what we have? There is no replacing you, my dear sister." Ulrin bit her.
Kyra gasped as he fed, pulling hard on her. She clung to him, thinking of all the times she'd been his whole sustenance. They'd have never come so far if they hadn't done so together. He needed her.
But he had a new love he needed too. He had hundreds of aeons of loneliness to work through, and an eager young woman to work with. If Kyra were the one to heal his heart, it would have been healed so long ago.
Morrigana was meant to be with Ulrin. He needed her vibrancy, her innocence, and her lust for life.
Ulrin was many things, but he wasn't a liar. If he said he needed his sister, Kyra knew he meant it. But that knowledge didn't stop the ache in her heart. Their lives were changing, and she needed some perspective.
"I'm leaving after the wedding," she whispered, breaking the thrall of his bite.
He was frowning when he pulled back. "You can't leave me."
Kyra cupped his cheeks, smiling even as tears welled in her eyes. "I'll be back. I just need to think. I need to come to terms with this. It's not an easy thing to suddenly adjust to your new mate."
Pulling her into a hug, Ulrin guided her to the bed. "Just don't stay away too long. I missed you the last time."
Kyra allowed him to seduce her. The last time she'd left had been to cure insanity. This was merely to cure a broken heart.
Surely it would be easier.
