The Seven Sins

26. A Fight Between Brothers

"Just fine."

"I saw you press it against Pride's neck."

"He had it coming." Wymond raised an eyebrow. "He saw my ring this morning." I pulled it out of my tunic. I glanced at Pride from the corner of my eye and saw him narrow his. "He accused me of being betrothed to you without his knowledge, that we did more than kiss. When I said I was engaged before..."

"Yes?" His voice ruff.

I took in a deep breath. "He told me, and I quote. "You keep the ring on your neck because you're still sad a poor mortal man left you. I think he's better off."

I should have figured he wouldn't let his brother get away with it. But I was too late to grab his arm as he stood up and marched to his brother. Wrath's temper was even worse than Pride's if you got him the wrong way. Pride stood up and opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Wymond had punched him on the jaw. The sounds echoed loudly in the clearing. Then Pride punched back, but Wymond blocked his hand. The other princes jumped up and pulled them apart.

"I knew you have grown soulless over the years, but this must be the cherry on top." Wymond sneered at his brother. He was trying to get out of his brother's grip, but they held on tight.

Pride was standing still, his body tense. "I didn't know."

"Did you ask?" He scoffed. "Of course not. You just started accusing her!"

"What are you talking about?" Gideon asked. It seemed like he was the one trying to get peace between them. Wymond's head snapped to him but pointed at Pride.

"When he spotted Ava's ring, he accused her of being betrothed to me behind his back, of us rolling around in the sheets. Then when she said she was engaged before, he practically told her she shouldn't feel sorry for herself, and he left her. That he was better off without her."

He was seething, his breaths came heavy in his chest. But all the others looked at Pride with shocked expression maybe even disgust at his behaviour. Then his brothers let him go and Wymond pounced on him. I stood up and was ready to break them apart, but Leon stopped me.

"Don't." He said quietly. "There is a lot of tension between all of them. Let them sort it out." He pulled me next to him under the tarp and handed me a loaf of bread.

There was blood and bruises, cuts and maybe even a few broken bones before Wymond stopped. He had a few bruises himself, a cut here and there but nothing as bad as Pride. His eye was swollen, and his nose bloodied and broken. He was wheezing his breaths, so probably a broken rib or two.

When Wymond spoke again, it was in a hushed voice. "You keep Elmir and Leon apart because of the curse, but you're the one who's losing us the chance to break it."

I woke up before the others. It was Leon who slept with me last night. His arm was curled protectively over my stomach. I felt safe, but it wasn't the same as when Pride held me. I slipped from under his arm and passed the firepit that was only simmering now and made my way to the trees. After a few minutes, I stopped at the banks of the pond. I rolled up my breeches and sat down on a boulder, my feet dangling in the water. I leaned down to cup water in my hands and splashed it over my face. My mind wandered to Pride, and I wondered where this left us.

I heard a branch crack, and I spun around to see Pride standing there. Perfectly still and bloodied up. I turned back around. The prince didn't move for several minutes before he sat down next to me. He splashed his face with water and scrubbed some of the blood off.