Realm of Wind and Vines (Flame and Thorns, #4)

by Marion Blackwood

can’t bring myself to care.

I squeeze my eyes shut and try to shield myself from the horrible regret that is eating me from the inside. It doesn’t work.

regret, I’ve come to realize, is the most brutal emotion of them all.

It’s too late now. Too late to go back and redo it.

on, it’s too late to change what you should have done before.

I should have gone to see my parents straight away. As soon as we left the Unseelie Court, I should have visited them and checked if they had my magic burning inside their chests. But I didn’t. And now, they’re gone.

They’re dead. They died within seconds. Without warning. And now, I will never know.

will never know if my parents actually hated me or not. I will never know if they truly resented me because of who I am and what I did, or if they actually loved me and only hated me because I had accidentally forced a flame of hatred into...

I will never know if my parents loved me.

I should have gone there straight away. I should have checked on my parents straight away. But I was just so busy.

There will never be enough time. There will always be another crisis. There will never be a perfect time to do something.

I should have prioritized them. And now, it’s too late.

It’s going to kill me. These emotions are going to kill me.

If I thought I was angry and ruthless when I left the Unseelie Court, it is nothing compared to the utter mercilessness that now consumes me.

I’m going to kill the Icehearts. I’m going to kill every single one of them. Their entire clan.

I feel like a demon. And fuck, it feels good.

We need to kill Lavendera.”

“I’m going to kill them.”

“Do you understand? I’m going to kill them all.”

“I don’t want justice!” I snarl. “I want revenge!”

“I’m going to kill Lavendera.” I push off from the table and stalk towards the door. “Either help me. Or stay the fuck out of my way.”

we can’t all be cowards.”

“He has been through enough.”

“If you ever rifle through my head like that again, I will fucking kill you.”

On six insane idiots who have nothing left to lose.

Lyra is grinning openly, her orange eyes glittering in a ray of golden sunlight as she watches Alistair while he can’t see.

She likes himmm

For a few precious seconds, I can see him. I can see Draven in his eyes. The way he used to look at me. The way he used to touch me. The way he used to tease me and flirt with me and banter with me.

“Because you always ruin everything,” he says. “And I don’t trust you not to screw this up.”

always ruin everything. My parents. Him. Us. Everything I touch.

I will never get it back. I will never get any of it back. So now, all I want is revenge.

I just want someone else to feel the pain that I constantly have to live with.

They have no idea who she really is. What she really is. A traitor.

The people who chained Draven’s wings together. The people who murdered my parents.

should have prioritized them. I should have gone to see them while I could. And now, it’s too late.

“I don’t care. She needs to die.”

Having his body this physically close when his heart is so far away is making me want to scream.

I stare at the sharp blade that now rests on Draven’s shoulder, wielded by the soldier behind his back who had aimed the sword at my neck.

Fury roars through me, so intense that my vision flashes red for a second. Fury at the world. Fury at the whole universe. At the cruel gods and goddesses who let me have a small taste of happiness and love before ripping it all away and turning it into a constant mental torture that is worse than anything I’ve ever experienced.

This is where he belongs. This is where they all belong.

It gives me a sick sense of satisfaction to know that this man would never have begged and whimpered like this of his own free will. Nothing would make an elite soldier of his caliber break down like this. Nothing natural.

what is free will, when I can literally change the way he feels?

I want to be the one who kills her.

I want to be the one who kills Lavendera. I need to be the one who kills her.

“You can always have whatever you want from me. I thought you already knew that.”

“Shut your mouth. Right now. Or I swear to God, I will drop you right here and leave you behind.”

Dravennnnnnnnn

The house. My parents’ house.

It would’ve taken me less than five minutes.

I should have done it. I should have⁠—

It feels as if my heart was ripped out of my chest again. As if it’s now lying there on that doorstep outside my parents’ house,

They might have loved me. All my life, they might have actually loved me. And now, I will never know.