Chapter 13 - Judgment on the Fiftieth Floor
The last of Declan’s hired muscle lay bleeding on the shattered floor tiles. The ballroom was completely silent save for the wailing wind whipping through the blown-out skylight and the distant sirens echoing from the flooded streets fifty stories below.
Declan backed slowly toward the edge of the terrace where the rain poured down onto the open balcony. His gun clicked empty. He threw it aside, his chest heaving, his immaculate suit ruined by water and soot.
Val stepped onto the terrace, lowering his weapon. Rain plastered his dark hair against his temples, his breathing steady, terrifying in its calm.
“You were a brother to my father,” Val said, rain streaming down his face. “You watched me grow up. You held Mia the day she was brought home from the hospital.”
Declan laughed, a bitter, coughing sound that ended in spat blood. “Your father took the kingdom that belonged to both of us! I built this city’s underworld with him, but he gave everything to you! A spoiled prince who went soft the moment he had a child!”
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“I didn't go soft, Declan,” Val said, closing the distance between them until he was barely an arm’s length away. “I found something worth burning the world down to protect.”
Declan lunged forward, drawing a hidden combat blade from his sleeve, aiming straight for Val’s throat. Val didn't step back. He caught Declan’s wrist with his left hand, crushing the bones until the blade slipped and clattered against the wet stones. With his right hand, Val grabbed Declan by the lapels and slammed him back against the low safety railing.
