God of Fury (Legacy of Gods, #5)

by Rina Kent

I was terrified that she’d do it again. So I ran to Lan’s room. Ironic, really, since I was the one who demanded we have separate rooms two years prior. Lan never wanted that and he became so petty afterward. However, when I stood in his doorway, he immediately knew something was off. He jumped from his bed and asked me what was wrong. I whispered, “Nothing. Can you hug me?” The moment his arms wrapped around me, I broke down. I cried in his chest for so long that I think I passed out. My brother held me through it all, and even though he doesn’t know how to soothe people, he was patting my back the entire time. He carried me to his bed and let me sleep in his arms. He whispered, “Tell me who did this to you so I can end them.” Then he begged me for the first time in his life. I didn’t tell him the real reason. Instead, I poured my heart out about how I was struggling with art and school and attention. I also admitted out loud that I hated how I wasn’t as strong-minded as he was. That worked for a while, but I don’t think he ever believed me. Then the experimentation phase I went through bit me in the arse and some homophobes started mocking me and calling me slurs. Lan thought the breakdown was because of that, and I saw firsthand how he targeted them and turned their lives into a nightmare. To this day, not one of them is a functioning member of society. For a long time, Lan kept watching me, but I was already good at building façades and perfecting my image.