by Brianna West
Bernie grinned, gold bursting out around him in warning. “I wish it didn’t have to come to this, Danny.”
“This was the only thing it’d come down to, Bernie. It’s time to surrender the title the rightful way.”
Chapter Eighteen
~***~
My hand tightened around the handle of my sword as I lifted it in the seconds after Danny uttered his challenge, knowing there was nothing left to say.
Bernie’s hands fisted as he passed a glance over the tigers closing in. “If that’s what you want, Danny-boy, come on over and get it.”
“Well, this isn’t exactly fair odds,” someone called out, triggering me to glance behind us. A familiar body formed in the midst of swaying grass and inky darkness. His matching amber eyes glistened and his body was already partly transformed like Bernie’s. “Didn’t think you’d come here to our hometown and start something without including me, did you?”
Carl.
“My big brother does love me!” Bernie shouted happily, staggering the threatening air with his returned exuberance, “I knew you couldn’t stay away, you soft-in-the-middle twin of mine.”
Carl sighed, easing to our sides and taking a quick glance around us. “And let you get Nyla in trouble because you’re an idiot? I don’t think so.”
Aw, he was seriously the sweetest!
My lips twitched as they bantered, feeling the unease and cold nonchalance drain from the air around Bernie with his brother’s arrival. Reinvigorated with Carl’s support, I eyed the leader and used the distraction to swiftly cut through the space between us and knock out his two Seconds that loomed in close to his side. My blade cut into them before they had any chance to react, lofting their bodies separately within breaths hundreds of feet into the air before they landed unconscious on the floor with a resounding impact.
Bernie’s eyes sparkled as I shot a look over my shoulder. “Ain’t she just the prettiest gosh darn thing you’ve ever seen when she’s taking someone down, Carl?”
“I’m not one who likes to agree with an idiot, but right now, I’ve never agreed so much with one.” Carl’s lips slid up into a playful smile—one that reminded me of Bernie as soon as I saw it.
“Hey, no getting any fancy ideas there, Carl. She’s mine,” Bernie grumbled with a wink my direction.
Carl’s head shook, but he didn’t retort. Just crossed his bulky arms against his chest and regarded the tiger leader that was still stricken and unmoving with his confusion, unable to fully recover from my swift attack on both of his Seconds.
If I weren’t so wary of the other tigers, I might have been inclined to smirk smugly. My speed was surely nothing to underestimate.
When Danny finally came to, mostly as a result of Bernie appearing in front of him, he had already lost. Bernie had immediately taken hold of him, grasping Danny around the throat and lifting his large form into the air with an ease that gave my body an inappropriate jolt of admiration.
He was so strong!
“I’ve let you get away too many times because of our past together,” Bernie said, his face strained with emotion before his amber eyes narrowed. Gold and red wafted around their joined form, imprisoning Danny’s limbs. “But this ends tonight. Anyone who threatens her deserves nothing less than his due punishment. So, either we have this out like men, or you take the coward’s way out. Either way you have it, you better make the decision a snappy one.”
The Guardian at Bernie’s side nodded my direction, the intention clear in the action. We needed to move quickly and take out the help. Without hesitation, Carl and I struck out at the rest of the tigers with swift, accurate precision. Neither movement nor time was wasted as we cleared the others away.
I realized in the moments afterwards that even though the tigers appeared similar, they were not. Carl and Bernie were a mix-breed and could use magic. Much like Danny had upon first meeting. These tigers were limited to their were-tiger abilities. A version of pureblood, I assumed. Though they had quick reflexes and healing, they were nothing compared to myself and the other two. After discerning the limitation of their power, overcoming the number was nothing for Carl and I to defeat by ourselves.
I dealt out one blow after another, my speed and strength far outweighing my foes. It was rather disappointing, really, to the part of myself that relished in a good fight. But I was glad that it didn’t require much to even our odds and put an end to the threat sparking in the air.
However, after realizing their weaknesses, I put less power into my hits. I didn’t aim to kill because something told me that it wasn’t Bernie’s wish to harm them to that end. He wanted to send a message to these tigers, but not wipe them out. That much I understood about Bernie, because he hadn’t hurt them freely the first time they intended to attack.
Something told me that he hoped that this fight might persuade them to surrender their desire of attaining whatever ill-conceived vengeance they sought.
Carl’s magic and dagger only left superficial wounds, knocking many of our enemies unconscious. Each of our attacks only disabled them enough that they wouldn’t recover this night. It was evident in the way Carl knocked out each tiger that lunged at him that he was immobilizing them rather than ending their lives, confirming my first deduction, so I also sought to immobilize my foes to that end.
Bernie had made capturing Danny seem effortless, and he still had the leader grasped around the neck and immobilized, held aloft into the air. Neither spoke as Carl and I finished the rest of the looming foes and reappeared at Bernie’s side. It had only taken us minutes, which left the leader and his tigers at a great disadvantage. One that we all knew would determine whether or not Danny lived or died this night.
Having killed before, it didn’t feel wrong to me to be left to that simple decision. But I knew that there was a past between them that I still didn’t quite understand. It was the very reason that Bernie hadn’t delivered the killing blow. Danny had lost his advantage in numbers and was very obviously outmatched when it came to a one-on-one spar with Bernie by how easily the Guardian had subdued him. And with how quickly we took out his group and then captured Danny, I knew that Bernie was holding back even when he said he wouldn’t.
It made my chest burn for my Guardian. I wanted to touch his shoulder and soothe away the pain etched into the lines of his face. I knew that sort of pain, but I hadn’t a right to determine how he dealt with his. This was Bernie’s decision, and his alone. The fate of Danny’s life rested on whether or not his transgressions of the past could be forgiven.
“Why are you really after the title, Danny?” Bernie asked, voice demanding an answer with a gravelly tenor. “You’ve never cared about anyone but yourself. Leading all the tigers, what’s your real goal?”
By the skepticism on Bernie’s face, Danny must have betrayed them before. That sort of wariness was often the result of dealing with a traitor. I’d seen it many times in my kingdom, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the way Bernie regarded Danny was due to that very reason.
“None of your damn business,” Danny spat out, his voice cutting off when Bernie’s hand grasped him tighter around the neck. “You didn’t give a damn either. Why do you care now?”
Carl stood silently beside me, eyes trained to Danny as Bernie’s lips lifted into a smile that lacked his usual happy glee. “Where’s Frank, Danny? I left the tigers to him.”
“Frank’s dead,” Danny said shortly, not the least bit upset to be saying so, “Has been for a while now. I took over the tigers nearly twenty years ago.”
Who was Frank?
Carl’s jaw ground down as Bernie’s gaze narrowed. “What’d you do to Frank?”
“You mean after you guys exiled me and left me for dead?” Danny hissed in a raspy voice, fixing Bernie with a spiteful glare.
His windpipe was still being crushed in Bernie’s hold, making it difficult for the leader to speak loudly. Danny cringed and hissed with pain, convulsing slightly and drawing my gaze downward. I finally realized that
Bernie had a dagger buried in Danny’s abdomen. His hand twisted, making the tiger leader groan. Danny continued to speak when it was clear that Bernie intended to torture him until he answered the question.
Danny’s eyes glowed as he bit out the words through the pain. “Did you know that your title can’t just be given away?” he asked through a tight jaw, “Only the Alpha gets to have it. Ain’t no way to get it other than that. Whoever kills the king gets the title.”
Bernie’s anger faltered as Carl watched from beside me, obviously surprised by the information. I kept my eyes trained to the two, wondering silently how Bernie had obtained the title.
Was this how he accidentally fell into becoming the king? By killing the King of the Tigers? My interest in the matter intensified, causing me to listen closely as Danny fought through the pain he was in at present to say his piece.
“So, when you gave away your title, it didn’t work. No one listened to Frank. No one recognized him. He came looking for me, hoping I might be willing to help him. No matter what, I’m still one of the best fighters in our group. I was even more curious when he said you’d gone off to join some self-proclaimed Guardians or whatever. Funny that, you two running off without checking in on Frank.”
Bernie’s expression soured. “He never mentioned a word of it to me. But then again, it wasn’t Frank’s way.”
Bernie appeared to be visibly troubled with Danny saying so. It was evident he hadn’t realized that Frank was struggling to do what he had left for him to do. But after a moment, Bernie’s face drained of emotion entirely.
“But I don’t think that’s what I asked, Danny-boy. What’d you do to Frank?”
“Why do you automatically assume it was me?!” Danny replied angrily. “I was there for him when you weren’t. Even though he helped you toss me out, I still came back and helped the grumpy old man.”
Bernie’s eyes searched Danny’s face for a second, his chest rumbling as his tiger eyes glowed. “You’re lying. As your king, I command you to tell me the truth.”
My Guardian’s voice was ice-cold again, his entire body exuding the beast within as he twisted the blade in Danny’s abdomen, drenching the already saturated shirt the tiger leader wore with blood. The violent baritone penetrated the air and the space around us with its intention to deliver the worst kind of pain should Danny disregard his order. I’d never felt anything like it. The very sound of it shook me to my core.
“Ah!” the tiger leader squealed, fighting to get away. Bernie’s hold on him never faltered. “Okay! I killed him! I thought I could get the title from him. Didn’t even hear a word of it not working until he was dying on the floor. It’s useless unless I kill you.”
Carl growled. “You’re a real bastard. You’ve always been power hungry!”
Bernie shifted the blade submerged in the leader’s abdomen. “Who are you working for?”
My eyes darted from the floor, where I’d been lost to thought, to where Bernie stood, panting with rage. I wasn’t quite sure what had given Bernie reason to suspect Danny was working under someone, but I didn’t have time to ask as the tiger leader growled and shot his gaze over to me briefly before Danny had managed to break through the magical hold on his arm and was slipping a dagger out of his pocket, then sending it straight into his own chest.
“You’ll never…know…if I’m dead…” he said before the glow faded from his eyes. The life clearly drained from him, Danny went limp inside Bernie’s hold.
So, he was working under someone. For what purpose, though? I pondered it quietly as the two Guardians beside me started mumbling to each other.
Bernie’s face darkened as he dropped Danny to the floor like the trash he apparently thought the man was and looked over at Carl and I. “I’m still their king, Carl. He would’ve told me who if he didn’t take the coward’s way out,” he gritted the words through a tight jaw, his eyes still blazing with rage. “He’s working for someone. Whoever it is, they were helping him track us for the title, so they had a reason for helping him.”
Carl nodded his head, cradling his jaw contemplatively. “He was never very clever, and even though he was a fairly decent fighter, he would have never been able to kill Frank by himself. We have to assume that whoever helped him find us also helped him kill Frank.”
“Probably some sort of Dark,” Bernie mused gruffly, his body reverting to normal. Bernie strode away from the man lying lifelessly on the floor and took me into his arms, pressing his face into my hair and breathing me in.
I didn’t push him away. I couldn’t. It was clear in the way that he held onto me that he was seeking something to calm himself. My heart ached for him as I disregarded my station and embraced him in return. The subtle shake in his body was telling, triggering me to tighten my hold and hopefully ease the pain inside his heart.
Carl sighed deeply, scanning the area when I finally drew away and looked over his direction. His face gave nothing away, seemingly unsurprised by our embrace.
I was grateful he didn’t plan to make more out of it than it was. Of course, with them being twins, I suspected he knew just how deep the pain from this interaction and their past ran. It was very likely that he knew his brother was desperate for the comfort and didn’t question why I had offered it so freely.
Why would he, though? He had already discovered this supposed bond Bernie and I shared. Carl was obviously very intelligent and would likely deduce that. Even though I’d argued otherwise, I had at least somewhat returned Bernie’s affection since I’d slept with him.
Cheeks flushing, I was suddenly faced with the reality of what I had done. In all the madness, I’d conveniently forgotten that I had not only lost my chastity to Bernie, but it had been discovered by his brother and overseeing angel.
Oh god.
“So, you’ve still got the title. I’ll speak with Victor. See if he knows another way to transfer it. Then, we’ll look into what happened to Frank and the reference he made to werewolves,” Carl said softly, smoothing out his vest and sheathing his dagger onto his belt.
I finally spoke up, returning my sword to where I normally kept it. “How was it that you came into the title in the first place?” I asked, knowing it wasn’t my business to inquire, but unable to contain my interest.
Bernie’s expression faltered as his eyes strayed over to Carl. The other Guardian nodded, taking a phone from his pocket and dialing.
“I’ll get Victor here. You two go on to the realm, but be careful. If Danny was tailing any one of us, whoever he’s working for knows as well,” Carl said with a sad smile. “You better tell her about our father and how you got the title, since I have a feeling that this is all somehow connected to the high-demon who’s chasing her.”
Bernie put on his hat, sighing and slumping his shoulders. And as if we hadn’t just finished a fight where an old acquaintance—friend at one time—had been killed, he perked up and dropped an arm around my shoulders. “What do you say, darling? Are you up for a little walk through this sad cowboy’s past?”
My brow furrowed as grey and blue magic fled my body and vortexed ahead of us, forming a portal to my realm and appearing like a shifting body of translucency; similar in appearance to a mass of floating water.
My heart was nearly shattering my ribcage with how devastating his smile was, though it appeared just like always to those who were not as keen as I. Still, I wanted to know everything about him. His pain. His misgivings. His heartbreak. I wanted to share in it all. So, for that very reason, I couldn’t let this chance pass me by.
“Please tell me everything,” I said tenderly, taking hold of his hand in a brave moment and leading him towards the awaiting portal.
Bernie’s smile faltered to disbelief and then widened goofily, a boyish spark in his expression. “Are you seducing me, princess? Whatever will my brother think if I have to attack you right here?”
Before I had a chance to retort, Bernie snuck in close and stole a kiss before pushing us all the way throu
gh the portal. We were sent tumbling into the twisting, teetering vortex that would take us straight to the In-Between realm.
My home.
Chapter Nineteen
~***~
“Ain’t this just so exciting, princess?!” Bernie shouted, his arms pinning me down to his chest as he laid out, legs spread as far apart as they would go and his head covered in red earth from the graceless fall through the portal we had just landed from.
I wanted to kiss those smiling lips and embrace the giggling man right then and there!
I had to calm the girly squealing in my head with how incredibly adorable he looked while sprawled out over the floor with a polar opposite expression from the one he had sported only a few minutes prior. His spirits had lifted some way or another, and I couldn’t be happier to see him back to the Bernie I had come to…
Love?
Oh god. I didn’t know what I felt for him, but the word was the only one I could think of anytime I looked into the beautiful amber eyes of the Guardian whose every glance was filled to the brim with overt, undeterred affection for me. Even though I tried desperately to ignore it, I could perceive it in the way Bernie spoke to me.
It made me feel guilty for keeping my own feelings locked up inside myself, never allowing the words I wished to say to be uttered out loud. It burned my throat with the emotion I’d held onto so desperately. But even I knew that it was only a matter of time before the word ‘love’ came spilling from my lips, further imbedding me into the situation I was now knee-deep in.
Love.
Bernie had said the word to me a few times, with that playful flair he naturally added to everything he said. And with Bernie, it was said so lightly and so often that I wasn’t quite sure how much meaning it held in relation to his own feelings for me. While our time together had been short, even someone without keen perception would notice that Bernie very easily spoke the words to friend, family, and short acquaintance. If I were honest, it bothered me greatly how loosely he said the word.