180: Phoenix's POV
180: Phoenix's POV
I hated knowing that my brothers had immediately jumped into bed with Ada and then had gone from that level of intimacy to wanting to wanting to confront Blade and Dagger. Sure, I understood it. I’d been there. But it had been months since they’d seen each other and they couldn’t even give her one night to just be present with them.
At this point, they knew the things that had happened— for the most part. Neither of them had asked follow-up questions or seemed concerned in the slightest for what Ada had gone through to get back to them. She had made insanely decisions and stepped into the role of a leader so naturally that I almost didn’t remember a time where she was different. I knew that had to be the reason they were so crass. Ada was stronger than before. She could handle it.
The problem is that I didn’t think she should have to.
As soon as the bedroom door shut behind us, Ada spun to look at Nik, Darius, and me. There was a fire in her eyes, a spark at her fingertips. She crossed her arms over her chest, which was heaving with each deep breath she was taking. It was obvious that she was trying to calm herself down. Moon Goddess knows that if she didn’t, she’d burn the cottage down.
“Let’s get one thing straight,” she snapped, her eyes shooting daggers into my two brothers, “Months. We were separated for months. I saw hundreds if not thousands of wolves die,” tears brimmed in her eyes, which only seemed to fuel her rage further, “I had to face my life-long abuser and acknowledge that he was too much of an asset for me to kill him. I did have to kill to survive these months,” Ada rolled her shoulders back, “I am not the same timid she wolf I was when I walked away from you on those shores. You do not get to take advantage of me physically and then turn around and pick a fight with two of the three people who kept me safe. Who backed me when I wanted to come for you.”
Nik snickered, growling as he took a menacing step toward her, “Ada I think it’s time that you remember—”
“It’s not time for me to remember anything,” she cut him off, her own shadows bursting forth and wrapping around Nik’s wrists and ankles to keep him in place. Her eyes rested on him, watching as Nik’s shadows tried to come forth and fight off hers... but couldn’t. My brother gaped, his body going still. Ada glanced at Darius, “I let you take control earlier. Darius, you wanted to know why things couldn’t be the same for the two of you and Phoenix?” she cocked her head to the side, “It has nothing to do with any of the reasons given, and everything to do with this.”
“What do you mean?” Darius whispered, watching her shadows pin down Nik in awe.
“Phoenix was there. He watched me grow and fight and change,” she avoided my gaze as she spoke, “He supported me. Even we disagreed on how things should be handled; he let me have my own opinion and trusted me to make decisions when he couldn’t. To him, I’m an equal. Neither of you view me that way.”
“You’re telling me,” Nik began struggling against his restraints, “That Phoenix didn’t have a single problem with the arrangement with the fae twins out there?” Nik laughed bitterly, “That he just fell in line and didn’t stake any claim over you?”
“We had several disagreements,” I interjected, smiling softly at Ada, “but they certainly weren’t settled by me tying her up and using her how I wanted, then forcing to go have a conversation that questioned her decision-making.”
“That’s not—”
“That’s exactly what you did, brother,” I countered, walking over to Ada and turning to face him and Darius, “I don’t know the details of the conversation you had, and I don’t need to. I can already tell that the two of you did the same thing you always do,” Ada’s shadows began to release Nik as I spoke, “You spoke over her. Instead of listening to what she was trying to say, you filled in your own opinions, manipulated the conversation, and then threw in some physical control as retaliation.”
Ada arched an eyebrow at me, the corners of her lips twitching, “I just want to have a conversation with the two of you that’s real.”
“Then start,” Nik grumbled, rubbing his wrists where the shadows had wrapped around them, “I know I can agree to be real and honest. Can you Darius?”
Darius nodded, his gaze never wavering from Ada’s face. She cleared her throat, nodding slowly, “Good. Let’s start with what happened to Georgina and Francine.”
“They’re dead,” Nik stated, cocking his head to the side, “That’s what you told us.”
I looked over at Ada, pursing my lips. Her mouth opened, but words wouldn’t come out. After another few moments of silence, I nodded slowly, “Ada killed them.”
Both of my brother’s eyes shot to me. They widened as they took in my flat expression. Darius crossed the room, sitting in the chair near the window. He rested his arm on the small library table, “I guess we could use some details for all of the things that happened. Not just a summary.”
Nik nodded in agreement, slowly making his way over the walnut dresser. He sunk to the ground, resting his back against the drawers. Ada and I turned to face where he and Darius were. She grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the bed, where she took a seat. I sat beside her, linking our fingers together.
My two brothers were focused on Ada as she began to speak, “To be clear, I only killed Georgina. Francine’s death was a fortunate repercussion of that choice.”