Ashes and Oaths
348 Words
The room erupted.
Some voices rose in protest, others in fevered whispers, but all were drowned beneath the low, dangerous laugh that slipped from Matt’s father’s lips. It wasn’t amusement. It was a promise.
“You think claiming her will protect her?” he said, stepping forward, shadows clinging to him like a second skin. “No, son. You’ve painted a target on her back.”
Matt’s grip tightened on Brittany’s waist. “Then they’ll have to go through me first.”
Brittany’s chest ached with each frantic beat of her heart. She wanted to speak, to tell Matt she wasn’t worth this war he was igniting—but his hand on her hip kept her rooted. As if he could will her to believe she belonged beside him.
The father’s gaze slid to her, piercing, predatory. “Do you even know what he’s done for you? What he’s sacrificed?” His lips curved in a cold smile. “Or are you just the flame he’ll let burn him alive?”
Matt moved before Brittany could answer, stepping between them like a shield. “Enough.”
But Brittany’s thoughts twisted. What had he sacrificed? What sins had he committed in her name that she hadn’t even known to mourn?
Around them, the crowd shifted. Some looked eager, ready to choose sides. Others glanced toward the exits, desperate to escape before blood spilled.
Then, from the far end of the room, a figure rose. A woman draped in black silk, her eyes like shards of obsidian.
“You’ve claimed her,” she said smoothly, her voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. “But do you have the power to keep her?”
Matt’s jaw hardened. “Try me.”
The woman’s gaze slid to Brittany, lingering in a way that felt like a touch. “Then let’s see how much she can endure before she breaks.”
Brittany’s breath caught. She didn’t know the woman’s name. But in that moment, she knew one thing with terrifying clarity—this wasn’t just Matt’s war.
It was hers too.
- Writer
