King of Tides (The Immortal Iron Brothers #3)

Chapter 44

Split in Two

“ T hat’s Uncle Bardo. The dreams were real. He is an ice titan,” I say to Bourne through our mind link.

“I know.”

“Does that mean he really killed Mom and Dad?”

“Look at what he’s trying to do now.”

“But why?”

“I don’t know. He’s taking everything from us. Mom, Dad, our home.”

Anger fills me as I watch my uncle fight my mom. I don’t want to lose another mommy. Billy is good to us.

It hurts so much when you lose a mommy. I don’t want to feel that hurt again. I squeeze my eyes shut when Uncle Bardo sends a shard of ice flying at Mommy.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to let him take her from you,” Bourne says.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to fight him myself. For Mom, for Dad, for you.”

Before I can stop him, he starts to transform. I can’t let him do this. Bourne is needed as a sea guard. If he does this, he’s going to become an ice titan like Uncle Bardo.

The cage we’re in begins to lower as the weight of Bourne’s titan form makes it too heavy to hold us up. I go to transform too, and the cage drops faster.

“Wait, Bourne. We’re not supposed to reveal we can transform at will. Kenji warned us,” I try even as we both transform.

“You stay here. I can fight him myself.”

“He’s an ice titan. You shouldn’t. Not alone.”

“He won’t just kill Mom. He’ll kill our brothers. I have to kill him first,” Bourne growls.

I look to our mom and that’s when I feel them. I knit my brows and tears come to my eyes. I can’t allow this.

I won’t lose my family and Bourne won’t be the one to lose his heart. I begin to shiver as a chill fills me. I snap my eyes open as I feel my powers moving through me.

“Get away from my mom,” I roar as I step from the destroyed cage.

“Beck, no ,” Bourne cries out.

Ardan

I slow my breathing as I center myself. Billy and the boys are in an illusion with that bastard, but it’s nothing like one of Kenji’s illusions. I’ll be able to force my way in, I just need to split in two.

This is different from astral projecting. I need to be by Billy’s side in the flesh. I need to protect her and our family.

I have my mind’s eye on the fight as I work to send a part of me outside of this blessed iron cage. I’m not sure it’s even possible, but I need to try.

Billy is holding her own, but I know what ice titans are capable of. Bardo is playing with her right now. I need to get to her before he turns things up.

Suddenly, everything moves in slow motion. Beck and Bourne have transformed and are surrounding Bardo. Beck is blocking Billy with his frame.

No.

He has transformed into an ice titan. We have lost him. My heart fills with so much pain and sorrow.

He’s just a child. He has become my child. How can I banish him now?

So much rage fills me, I split in two with ease. One half of me remains in the blessed iron while the other heads for the illusion.

“Ben kralim,” I roar as I bust through the illusion.

I drop to one knee to slow my momentum and call on my sword to dig into the ground and stop my forward motion. As the sword halts my forward movement, I swing up and land on my feet.

The titans move to my sides as if to battle with me. I want to tell them to stand down, but this is their battle as much as it is mine. They have lost so much because of their uncle.

Their innocence, their parents, their home. The chance to just be two little boys. I will not take this from them too.

Beck is swift as he glides across me and Bourne to slice across Bardo’s middle with his ice sword. Bourne works in tandem with his brother, gliding by to slash Bardo from the other side. I go to run him through, but he drops to one knee.

A grin comes to my lips as I find Billy landing in a crouch, blood dripping from her blade. It is then I notice Carson. He is writhing in place.

I figure out quickly that my knights won’t deploy because I’m half of myself. I can’t send them to protect Billy and my unborn children. I need to end this fast.

Carson breaks free from his restraints, and in the next instant, he doubles in height as the woman beside him vanishes into thin air.

“Shit,” I murmur.

That woman is one of my kind. A gifted one. I know with all my heart she just possessed Carson. He’s now at least eight feet tall which would be the woman’s natural height as a queen.

“Don’t attack him,” I command.

To keep him from attacking, I surround him with a block of ice until I can figure this out. To my surprise, the woman reappears outside of the ice in her own body once again.

She pulls a sword and aims it at the block of ice I placed Caron in. She has her other hand wrapped around Mack’s throat. My heart races. If she strikes that ice, Carson will shatter into a million pieces. One wrong move and she will tear out Mack’s throat or pierce it with her claws.

“No one move or I will kill them both. Ice titan, get up and finish your job,” the woman says.

I shake my head at the twins as they look to me as if they are going to make a move. Billy will be destroyed and ?ntikam will be unleashed in all his fury if something were to happen to either man. My mate will lose her mind. I will lose two people I love to insanity in one battle.

“We need to melt the ice,” Billy’s voice comes through the mind link.

“I can throw an ice spear,” Beck replies.

“No. You will do the same thing she’s threatening to do,” Bourne says.

Bardo stumbles to his feet. He attacks Bourne first. I’m proud of Bourne as he holds his own. Billy goes to assist him, but the woman tightens her grasp on Mack’s throat.

“Move and he dies,” the woman barks at Billy.

“I think I get what’s going on here. They are trying to cause me to choose. It’s how intikam was created. Sevimli was forced to choose between his brother and his son.”

I growl. It seems she’s right. Billy will not lose any of us or her mind. This is a cruel tactic. Our hands are tied.

“What do we do?” Beck asks, sounding like the little boy he is.

“We save our family,” Billy replies.