Chapter 17 - Face of the DevilJulian slammed his elbow into Alexander’s ribs, breaking his grip. They scrambled up on the icy stone ledge, suspended between the crumbling burning castle and the bottomless pit below.
Wind howled at hurricane speeds. Rocks and debris rained down from the collapsing roof above.
Alexander pulled a jagged shard of glass from his belt, slashing wild furiously at Julian’s face. Julian dodged backward, the glass grazing his jaw, leaving a thin crimson line.
"You took everything from me!" Alexander shrieked, his mind completely consumed by madness.
"You threw it away, Alexander!" Julian shouted back over the roar of the blizzard and exploding stone. "You chose hate! I chose to protect my family!"
Julian stepped inside Alexander’s wild strike, catching his wrist, twisting it downward, and delivering a devastating body punch that sent Alexander flying back against the low stone balustrade.
The stone balustrade cracked under the weight.
Alexander slipped, losing his footing. He slid over the edge, his hands frantically catching the slippery ice lip of the cliff.
He was hanging two thousand feet above absolute death.
Alexander looked up, his scarred face filled with sudden, agonizing terror. "Julian! Help me! Brother, please! We share the same blood!"
Julian stood on the ledge, his dark tactical coat whipping in the storm. He looked down at the man who had tried to murder his infant son, who had destroyed his home, who had brought war to his life.
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Julian reached out his hand, stopping inches from Alexander’s desperate fingers.
"Blood makes you related, Alexander," Julian said, his voice piercing through the howling wind. "Loyalty makes you family. You failed both."
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