Falling Into Ruin.

Meet

[Ciaran’s POV]

I watch as my little mate slowly moves away from me, her friend close to her side. Even if he was getting a bit too close to that which belongs to me, I was going to turn a blind eye for the time being. I wasn’t worried about him taking her, not when she was meant for me, but if I so much as found him trying anything funny, well, that was a different story.

Keeping my gaze on them, I wait until they’re out of sight before turning and heading back home for the evening. There was no reason for me to remain in the heart of the city since my business was complete, and even though everything in me screams to follow my mate and then wait until she is alone to have my way with her, I don’t listen.

When I return home, I head straight to the shower, washing the scent of human and alcohol off of me and then wrapping a robe around me. Still dripping, I head to the kitchen and prepare to have a drink but stop as the sound of wings rustling reaches me.

Ryu. Why was he here again when I usually only saw him every so often? Was Kiaran becoming that restless, and if he was, what the hell was happening?

Deciding it was better to just find out myself, I head to the balcony and pull open the door so that I find Ryu straightening his suit while staring at me.

“Are you going to speak?” I ask, eyeing him curiously. “Or are you just going to stand there and stare at me like a creep?”

“I think you know why I’m here.” He says slowly, sizing me up as if he is trying to determine if he should say what it is he is here to say.

“Just spit it out.” I huff, leaning against the doorframe. “Don’t waste both your and my time.”

“Kiaran wishes to meet.” He announces, his voice taking on a business tone. “It has been quite some time since the two of you have sat down and caught up.”

“Are you saying that my dear brother misses me?” I chuckle, knowing damn well that isn’t the case. “Then why hasn’t he graced me with his presence?”

“You know it isn’t that easy for him to leave.”

Of course I knew that leaving when you were the leader of the underworld was difficult. How could it not be when everyone was curious what you looked like? It was safest to keep your identity hidden and your hands clean. That was why he had me. I was his blade, and I was his shield, protecting him from whoever dared try to step against him and cleaning up whatever messes he left for me.

“When does he want to meet?” I sigh, running a hand through my still damp hair. “Since he keeps sending you, I assume it’s soon, right?”

“Tomorrow evening.” Ryu confirms, giving me a look of relief. “He wishes for you to come and have dinner with him.”

Dinner. Was that really all he was interested in? No. I doubted that. There was certainly something that he wanted, and that was the reason that he insisted on meeting with me.

“He isn’t intending to poison me, is he?” I ask half-jokingly, and when Ryu flinches, my guard goes up. “What the f**k is that brother of mine planning?”

As I speak, I move forward, all my instincts screaming to torture the answers out of the messenger before me, but since, like Kiaran, I too grew up with Ryu, trained with Ryu, and even suffered greatly with Ryu, I didn’t quite have it in me.

“Why do you always assume that someone is out to get you?”

The words leave Ryu’s lips like a whip, and they f*****g sting since he knew better than anyone why I had this way of thinking.

“Isn’t that how it works in our world?” I ask quietly, the phantoms of the past threatening to come and drown me. “You know that as well as I do, and for you to ask such a ridiculous f*****g question is actually amusing.”

Whatever calm I felt in the beginning is now gone, and I’m on edge, I’m f*****g alert, and I’m wanting to do whatever I can to make these memories subside and leave me the f**k alone, and even if Ryu was here for me to use, I wasn’t going to do that.

“You’ve said what you need.” I say slowly, clenching and unclenching my fist. “Now, I think it’s time for you to go.”

“That’s right,” Ryu chuckles, only adding to my bad mood. “Keep running.”

In an instant, I’m moving, my hand wrapping around Ryu’s throat so that I can slam him against the ground beneath me.

My breath is coming in slow puffs, my hand is trembling as I fight to not use enough strength to kill him, and my vision is growing blurry.

“I’m only going to say this once.” I hiss through gritted teeth while Ryu stares up at me calmly. “I’ve spared you until this point because you and I are buddies, but if you dare say anything f*****g unnecessary again, I won’t be so understanding.”

“My apologies.” Ryu says, his voice even, his gaze flat. “I overstepped my bounds.”

“f*****g robot.” I spit, releasing him and standing. “Get the f**k out of here and tell Kiaran that I will be attending his dinner party tomorrow.”

Nodding, Ryu gets up and straightens his suit once more as he flexes his wings, shaking off the dirt and grime that has gotten on them from my attack.

“Have a good evening.”

It’s all he says before pumping his wings and then rising into the sky so that he mixes with the bats and airplanes that hover high above, and it is only when he is out of sight that I move and lean against the banister so I can stare down at the city below.

“f**k,” I growl, brushing my hand along my face while my anger continues to ebb and flow. “What the f**k is wrong with you, Ciaran?”

‘Don’t you know.’

The voice is low as it speaks, and I know that even if it sounds like it is coming from just beside me, it is coming from within me. It’s the same f*****g voice that has always been with me for my entire life, reminding me to not let my guard down, to not trust anyone, and to kill whoever dared attempt to touch the darkest recesses of my heart and mind.

Turning, I see the phantom as she moves toward me, a wicked smile on her face as her arms wrap around me and her melodic voice speaks in my head once more.

‘My dear son,’ she whispers, her warmth that was once my greatest solace only making me feel empty. ‘Even now you still haven’t let go of everything. You’re still here in this dark place with me. You’re my treasure, Ciaran, my one and only light, and if you ever leave me, then I’ll be so lonely.’

Her words are like a knife, stabbing into my heart, and icy water that presses against my body, numbing me and making me remember that this world is f*****g cruel and to let anyone get close to me or provoke me is all but a death sentence.

‘That’s right, my love.’ She continues, her arms tightening around me along with the water. ‘Never forget that I’m the only person you can ever trust, and I’m the only one who can decide your fate. Stay with me forever, here in this dark despair that we have shared since you were a pup.’

Sighing, my gaze flicks toward the city once more, and when I look down at the street, I see a tiny figure there staring up at me, and even from this distance, I know exactly who it is, but why on earth was she here?