Spartan Heart by Jennifer Estep

Author:Jennifer Estep
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jennifer Estep
Published: 2017-11-16T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Contrary to what the Protectorate and everyone else thought, Drake Hunter was very much alive.

At the sight of his older brother, all the color drained from Ian’s face, and he swayed on his feet, as though he were about to topple over and pass out from the complete and utter shock.

I glanced at Zoe, but she was still staring at Drake with wide eyes, so I concentrated on what I could hear through my earbud. Takeda and Mateo had made it from the van up to the mansion, although they were stuck somewhere downstairs, yelling at the kids to get out of their way. They didn’t realize what was happening yet.

Well, I didn’t know Drake, and I wasn’t as shocked as Ian and Zoe, so I did the smart thing and started sizing him up as a warrior. As a Viking, he would be strong, probably even stronger than Ian, given that he was two inches taller and much more heavily muscled than his younger brother. A long sword was belted to his waist, along with that dagger he’d brandished at Ian.

A large ruby flashed in the sword’s hilt, catching my eye, and I noticed a blood-red spark in the center of the gem. The longer I stared at that spark, the brighter it burned, like it was about to ignite into a raging fire. I didn’t know what that ruby was, but it was obvious that it was much more than a pretty decoration. I shivered and looked away from it.

“You—you—you’re here. How did you get here?” Ian sputtered, his face still white with shock. “I saw you die, Drake. I—I killed you.”

Drake raised his golden eyebrows. “You mean when you stabbed me in the chest and left me to be buried under tons of falling rubble when the warehouse exploded?”

Ian grimaced.

“Well, lucky for me, Sisyphus was there. He pulled me to safety, which is more than I can say for you,” Drake said. “You know, I never thought my own brother would leave me for dead. But you did, Ian. Just like that.”

He snapped his fingers. Ian flinched at the harsh sound and swayed on his feet again. Two of the Reapers stepped up beside him and latched onto his arms. Not so much to guard him as simply to hold him upright.

Drake walked over and stopped right in front of his brother. “You could have been a part of this. You could have been a part of our victory against the Protectorate. You could have fought alongside me the way you always did before. But you chose the Protectorate over me, your own brother. You’re a fool, Ian. Such a sad, stupid, shortsighted fool.”

That last insult roused Ian out of his shocked daze. His face hardened, his chin lifted, and his entire body straightened. Once again, he was the proud Viking warrior I’d come to know.

“You’re a Reaper, Drake,” Ian snarled. “You didn’t give me a choice. You told me to either join the Reapers or die.

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