Prince of Shadows Read Online Free PDF Page B

both.
    Kendra couldn’t take her eyes off him.
    Backpedaling a few light skips, Cale faced Turow, who’d been calmly waiting his turn. The silent middle brother kept to himself, a bit of a mystery to everyone. That unknown had Cale regarding him cautiously as Turow held up his empty hands, then beckoned with his fingers. With a slow smile, Cale tossed the staff aside, the motion leaving him open.
    With a sudden running leap, Turow took him in the ribs with a heel, sending him sprawling backward. Turow rebounded with an agile flip while Cale rolled to his feet more slowly, protecting his side while he grinned, goading softly, “Let’s dance.”
    Turow was patient, hanging back to see what Cale would do, saying quietly, “You lead.”
    Cale exploded straight up, torquing his body into a tight revolution with enough height for his right leg to catch the side of Turow’s head, and enough momentum to twist as they both went down so that he landed with his other knee drilling into his brother’s solar plexus. A hard strike from Cale’s elbow effectively ended the competition just as the last bars of the song played out.
    Cale sucked a stabilizing breath, stepping over the prone figure to approach the wall. His father was applauding. He could hear nothing else over the pulse pounding in his ears as his blood sluiced, hot and wild as his ancestry. Slowly, he went to one knee and placed palms to the floor. “For you, my king.”
    A shiver of instinct gave him just enough warning to roll out from under Rico’s unexpected and unworthy attack from behind. He hooked his leg around his brother’s waist to bowl him over onto his back, coming up astride him with one hand about the throat as the furious features began to transform into the snarling visage of a beast. The competition had turned deadly.
    “Frederick!” Bram roared, coming to his feet. “You shame me and yourself with your lack of control. Stop this, now!”
    Kendra had come out of her seat the instant she realized the threat to Cale. Her hands gripped the railing as alarm panted from her, quick and anxious. She watched as he looked to his father for direction; receiving that slight nod, he struck with a vicious punishing intent until his brother’s features were unrecognizable.
    Kendra sank back into her seat, nausea roiling. She had to close her eyes. How was she going to survive in this ugly, violent world that had turned her former friend into a ruthless destroyer with blood on his hands and death on his soul?
    “Wasn’t that amazing?” Rosie gushed, squeezing her arm. Her voice grew dreamy. “Your prince slaying them all to have you.”
    This wasn’t about her. It was about power claimed through force, and that was something Kendra wanted no part of.
    To think she’d considered him beautiful. He was just as monstrous as the rest.
    She left her seat and hurried blindly toward the narrow stairs. She’d started down them when she came face-to-face with the event’s victor. Kendra couldn’t look at him without reliving the slaughter of her loved ones.
    “For you,” he told her with a low intensity as others begun to crowd in behind them. He offered his palm. “Be with me, Kendra. It’s what we’ve always wanted.”
    Because it had been, her pain was that much greater. She responded to his petition in a choked whisper. “How could you think I’d put my hand into one red with my family’s blood.”
    Cale went still, then expelled a harsh breath. His tone was concise and hard. “Hate me all you like while you bend over to receive my heirs, but bend you will.”

three
    Cale took another long pull at his beer and stared listlessly up at the stars. They’d been bright against that black sea when he’d first come out on the patio with a small group of revelers, but now, as he sat alone, he could hardly tell they were there. He closed his eyes, frustrated and discouraged. And lonely, despite being surrounded by family.
    He’d been properly