The Ice King's Rebellion

11. A Midnight Fracture

Sienna gasped, a small shriek of terror escaping her lips as she stumbled backward, expecting Adrian’s rough hands to drag her back into the dark.

She closed her eyes.

Instead, she slammed into a solid chest.

Strong, stable hands caught her by the shoulders, steadying her trembling frame.

The grip wasn't violent; it was grounding. Sienna's eyes flew open, her heart beating against her ribs, only to meet a pair of sharp, intensely focused eyes looking down at her.

Julian.

The man she was desperately looking for.

The absolute shock in Julian's face lasted for less than a second before his gaze raked over her.

He saw her ragged breathing, the raw panic in her eyes, the dark, burning bruise already forming on her cheek, and the metallic smear of blood on her lip.

Then, his eyes dropped to her hands, which were desperately holding together the torn collar of her silk nightshirt.

Julian’s face went still, the blood draining from his expression until it resembled cold marble. He didn't ask a single question.It wasn't needed.

With a smooth motion, Julian slipped his heavy tailored jacket off his shoulders. He stepped closer. Completely blocking the dark corridor behind her, and wrapped the jacket securely around her frame. The fabric was warm.

"Stay behind me," Julian murmured. His voice wasn't loud .

But it possessed a terrifying, low vibration that Sienna had never heard from him before.

A heavy, uneven footstep echoed from her open bedroom doorway. Adrian stumbled out into the dim light of the corridor, his clothes disheveled. Hiss hand clutching his bleeding cheek where Sienna's nails had ripped the skin. His bloodshot eyes blinked in the darkness, a twisted, mocking smirk stretching across his face when he spotted them.

"Oh, look at this," Adrian sneered, his speech slightly slurred from the alcohol.

"The loyal little dog found a—"

Julian moved with a raw, feral speed , completely shattered his usual calm, professional demeanor.

He closed the distance between them pulling back his arm . His fist connected with the absolute center of Adrian’s jaw

.

A sickening c***k echoed through the silent hallway.

The force of the punch sent Adrian flying backward, his heavy frame crashing violently against the corridor wall, shattering a small decorative sconce next to him.

Adrian groaned.

But Julian wasn't done.

He stepped into Adrian's space, reached down, and grabbed his cousin by the collar of his shirt, dragging him back up to his feet with brute force.

"Julian—!" Sienna choked out, her voice raw, her hands clutching the edges of his jacket tightly against her chest.

Julian didn't hear her.

He slammed Adrian again, his knuckles driving directly into Adrian's nose.

Blood erupted from the impact, splattering across Julian's white cuffs. He threw a heavy, left hook into Adrian's ribs, followed by another brutal right straight to his temple.

Adrian’s head snapped back repeatedly, the raw, terrifying aggression catching him completely off guard.

Julian was moving with trained precision, treating his own cousin like a piece of garbage .

Desperate and fueled by a sudden spike of survival adrenaline, Adrian managed to swing his heavy arm blindly through the air.

His fist caught the side of Julian's mouth.

Julian's head jerked to the side, his lip instantly splitting open

Drawing a sharp line of crimson down his chin. Adrian capitalized on the momentary stagger, throwing his body weight forward and ramming a heavy elbow straight into Julian’s ribs.

Julian grunted.

The wind knocked out of him for a fraction of a second as he took two steps back.

Adrian wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

His face was a swollen, bloody mess, his eyes gleaming with a toxic, unhinged malice as he glared at his cousin.

"Who the hell is she to you?!"

Adrian snarled, his voice rising in an angry, defensive pitch.

He pointed a trembling, blood-stained finger over Julian's shoulder at Sienna.

"Why are you saving her?! She's just a slut we picked up from the streets—a toy for Alexander!"

His words snapped whatever remaining thread of familial mercy had left.

Julian caught Adrian by the throat, shoving him backward until Adrian's knees buckled.

Julian leaned over him, pinning his cousin down under the crushing weight of his knee against Adrian’s chest. The air in the corridor felt quite heavy.

Julian’s voice dropped to a freezing, absolute whisper ,

"I'm sparing you only and only because of your mother."

He shoved Adrian away like literal trash, stepping back and straightening his posture as Adrian rolled onto his side, coughing and clutching his fractured ribs.

Before another word could be spoken, a sharp, panicked gasp echoed from the far end of the corridor.

A woman rushed out from the shadows, her silk robe billowing behind her as she ran toward the commotion.

It was Adrian’s mother.

Her eyes went wide with horror as she took in the scene.

The blood on the floor, her son groaning in a heap, Julian’s bleeding mouth, and Sienna standing trembling against the wall.

She looked at Julian's dark, uncompromising posture, and then at Sienna's torn nightshirt.

In an instant, she read the horrific truth of what her son had done.

The sheer terror of the consequences flashed across her face.

She knew exactly what Victor would do if he found out someone had laid a hand on a woman under his roof.

Bypassing her own bleeding son entirely, she stumbled toward Sienna.

With tears streaming down her face, she sank straight to her knees on the cold floor, reaching out with trembling hands to touch the hem of Julian's jacket wrapped around Sienna.

"Please," she sobbed, her voice breaking in a desperate, humiliating plea as she looked up at Sienna. "I beg you... please don't tell Anyone . Please, Sienna, I beg of you..."

Sienna stood frozen, the weight of the mansion's dark secrets pressing down on her as the mother’s desperate cries filled the corridor.