That was his thought until the gerent spoke up again. “Make sure to give her your number, then. A cheap skank ass bitch like that would hike her skirt and open her legs for anyone.”

With a snarl of rage, Kere slammed down on him. One second, Zarya held him.

In the next…

21

Darling went for the gerent’s throat so fast that no one could stop him. By the time they realized he’d made it past Zarya, he had the man on the ground, repeatedly pounding his head against the floor with a fury so strong, it crackled in the air around them.

Zarya was amazed the man’s head didn’t split open given the force Darling used. While she had seen Darling fight as Kere many times, she’d honestly forgotten just how ferocious he could be. This was a side of him that she never saw in private.

And he was about to kill the man on the ground.

Moving with an incredible speed, Nykyrian pulled Darling off the gerent and hauled him back. But that didn’t last long.

Using a move and strength no one expected, Darling flipped Nykyrian off him with an ease that was nothing shy of a miracle, especially given how much larger Nykyrian was. The throw caused Darling’s dark glasses to fly off his face and shatter on the floor.

Stunned by the unexpected counterattack, Nykyrian landed against the far wall in an unceremonious lump. When Hauk went in for a try, Darling caught him by one arm and slung the Andarion in the opposite direction. He cut through two of the gerent’s bodyguards before he returned to ruthlessly beat the man who’d insulted her.

“He’s going to kill Giran,” Maris breathed by her side.

By Darling’s lethal expression, she believed it. But what could they do? She glanced over to Nykyrian who was back on his feet and trying to assure his wife that he wasn’t hurt.

Three gerents moved in to stop Darling. Bad mistake on their part. It was only then that she realized he’d been holding back when he fought the gerents’ guards and Nykyrian and Hauk.

There was no such mercy for the nobles. Obviously, he’d been wanting a piece of them for a long time.

Darling caught the first one with a punch so hard, it made a resounding thud against the man’s chest and sent him straight to the floor. The second one took a hit to the nose that shattered it. The gerent staggered back, screaming like a girl on a playground as he cupped his face with both hands. The third lost his knee to one swift quick.

And as Darling cut through them with an ease that was scary, the nobility around them panicked more.

“He is insane!”

“You see! He has no right to rule.”

“Where did he learn to fight like that?”