Destruction’s Desire (Broken Souls Trilogy #2)

Chapter 22

Rule twenty-two: Do not report your partner to human resources.

T he next few days go by in a blur of sweat. Sin has taken over all my training, and unlike the others who were more than happy to have me flitting between them during the day, he does not share my time. I’m kept busy from sunup to sundown and always at his side. The only time I see the others is at mealtimes, and even then, I’m so exhausted that I barely pay attention to their banter.

After my first ‘easy’ training day, Sin started pushing me harder in the arena. When I hold back, he’s relentless in pissing me off until I give everything I have. He isn’t particularly nice about it, but I know he’s doing it to keep me alive. In those moments, I think of him more as a vaccine.

Just another necessary prick.

At least our working relationship is becoming somewhat less toxic. Sin hasn’t called me a whore since the day I got my memories back. And I’ve committed to keeping things professional, not wanting to sexually harass him again.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Sin has stopped sexually harassing me. He hasn’t cut back on making sexually charged comments. If anything, I think he’s gotten worse. When I tried to lodge a complaint with my human resources representative (Morgana), Sin had me doing sit-ups for an hour, lecturing me about solving my own problems. When I asked him why his hormones were my problem, he threw me around extra hard in the arena. He wasn’t even remotely grateful when I offered him a tampon.

Sad.

Despite Sin’s general moodiness, I’ve now seen him laugh twice. The first was when I told him I’d stab him in the eye if he made me do any more planks. The second was when I was supposed to tackle him, and I took a second to warn him that this might hurt. He laughed hard after that.

Insulting? Yes.

But after going through years of solitude and finally making friends who made me laugh all the time, I’m not ready to lose that. Especially since Sin and I are set to be partners for the foreseeable future. I’ve made it my mission to break through his walls and make him laugh.

If he’s a vaccine, then I’m determined to be an incurable plague.

I’ll wear him down .

Mercifully, Sin has drawn the line at making me run since my leg is still healing. Damien has also stopped coming to my door to wake me up for our morning runs, and I’m not bringing it up with him. I assume it’s because my leg has a giant gash across it. Unfortunately, that means I have the warlord-wannabe invading my personal space every morning.

He’s here now, tossing a knife and catching it as he leans against the wall beside my dresser. He took one look at me after apparating into my room and has been staring at my floor ever since. I assume it might have something to do with the lace bralette I’m wearing. I threw the blankets over me the second he arrived, but I’m guessing he caught a peek because he’s back to looking uncomfortable. And honestly, it serves him right for refusing to believe in boundaries.

“The Mortal Realm has this thing called weekends,” I argue. “I have been working non-stop since getting here, and I want a day off.”

Sin’s jaw flexes, and he tosses the knife again. “You are going to be fighting supernatural creatures much more powerful than you. You need to get stronger.”

“And if you don’t give me a break, I’m going to burn out,” I argue.

My body is screaming this morning, with knots appearing in places I didn’t realize existed.

“Burning out is better than death. Stop being a whiny princess,” he counters.

I throw a pillow at him. He dodges it easily, smirking. “See, you’re still slow. ”

“Just the morning then. Please?” I’m not above begging at this point. I want a long hot shower and coffee instead of jumping right into training.

Sin’s jaw works, and I think I might actually get what I want. But then he starts shaking his head and I snap.

“Sin, I am going to get up and take a relaxing, hot shower, and unless you want to watch, you are going to leave my room. Now.” I grip the blankets as if to pull them off, to drive home the threat.

At my words, Sin’s eyes flare, and a ghost of an unreadable emotion crosses his face. But then I blink, and he’s gone.

Was it an empty threat?

Absolutely.

But even with his sexually charged comments, I think Sin is all talk. The moment we are in a potentially compromising position, he backs off or looks uncomfortable. I can’t be sure, but I think he uses the sexual comments to rile me up. It’s annoyingly effective, so I’m proud of myself for finally throwing it back at him.

I’m going to call the strategy ‘tactical nudity.’

After a deliciously long shower, I dress in my own clothes rather than the fighting leathers that Sin keeps me in all day. I choose a deep green A-line skirt and a loose-fitting cream blouse. It’s sleeveless, and I usually avoid wearing it, but with the scratches on my arm and shoulder, I don’t want fabric getting stuck to them.

I slip into some black ballet flats to complete my outfit. And I don’t miss my chance to put on underwear. I dig through my collection, settling on a tan bra and lacy matching thong.

No more advocating for going commando. I’m proud of my underwear addiction.

Feeling light and happy, I skip down the stairs to breakfast. Sure, my world is still a dumpster fire. But I celebrate the little things.

My smile crashes when I swing into the dining room.

Rosie is crying, and Damien is trying to comfort her. Magnus has his head in his hands, looking beaten. Morgana is rigid at the head of the table, but I don’t miss the way her hands shake. Sin is cracking his knuckles, looking like he might want to kill something. He’s glowing.

“What happened?” I ask, terrified of their answer.

Morgana turns and indicates for me to come in and take a seat. I go to my chair, and Rosie looks up at me with red-rimmed eyes, only to start sobbing louder.

“What’s going on?” I ask again, feeling more anxious by the second.

“We just got some intelligence about a member of our team. It’s not good,” Sin answers grimly.

I look between him and Morgana, hoping they feel comfortable enough to tell me more.

Morgana won’t meet my eyes. She stares down at the table.

That’s a bit weird. Morgana doesn’t seem to be the kind of person who shies away from eye contact.

There’s something they aren’t telling me.

Rosie hiccups beside me, her sobs slowing slightly. “Vivian, I’m so sorry,” she says between sharp inhales .

I frown at her, wondering what on Earth she’s apologizing for.

“Is this about me getting hit with an arrow? I already told you it was my decision, and you have nothing to be sorry for,” I say, hoping to ease whatever she’s upset about. Rosie felt terrible about my getting hurt in her realm, and I’ve hardly seen her since.

Rosie sobs harder. “No, it’s not, it’s not that.” She breathes hard. “It’s Arianna. They have her, and we didn’t tell you,” she finishes with another round of sobs.

The name immediately brings back flashes from Cassandra’s life.

There’s a little girl with white-blond hair and frightened blue eyes. I take her away from the groping hands of the Guardians. She climbs into my bed for months on end every time she has a nightmare. Then I see her again as a scabby-kneed pre-teen, training with swords with me in the temple of Atlantis. Another flash, and she is a teenager who watches out for the other children when I leave on missions.

The first child Cassandra ever saved from the Guardians. The girl she raised and considered a sister until her dying breath.

“My Arianna?” I yell, my voice cutting over everyone in the room.

I spin between Morgana and Sin, waiting for them to tell me I’m wrong.

Sin looks grim as he answers, “Yes.”

My vision darkens. Am I about to swoon ?

Absolutely not. I refuse.

Instead, I plant my hands on the table and spin back to Morgana. “How?” I ask, my voice hard.

This is a big secret. One that they should have told me the moment Cassandra’s memories were restored. My fingernails dig into the table.

Morgana finally looks up at me. “The night Atlantis fell. You sent the priestesses and children off the island through a passageway in the mountain that Sin and I didn’t know about. They got out. You bought them enough time, Vivian.”

My shoulders sag, relief washing through me. Cassandra had done it. She’d bought them enough time to escape.

Morgana continues, but her expression is pained, “When Leon sunk the coastline, I sent the forsaken to look for survivors. I couldn’t believe how far he’d gone. And I was partly to blame for releasing him. I thought he’d killed everyone, even sunk the boats, but my forsaken found some. Two small boats, full of women and children. We couldn’t leave them, not when the Council wanted to eradicate every trace of Atlantis. So, we brought them here.”

My hands shake, and I release the table, sinking into my chair. “You saved them?”

“We did,” she whispers. “We let them stay as long as they wanted. Most of them returned to Moon Goddess temples in other cities. We found good homes for the children, but Arianna…” she pauses, looking guilty now, “Arianna didn’t want to go. She was so angry at learning of the Council’s existence and that th ey’d ordered the destruction of her home. She wanted to stay and fight.”

I shake my head. “No. No, you did not let a teenager get mixed up in all of this,” I whisper in complete dismay.

“We didn’t want that for her either. When she refused to return to her own realm, we brought her to our city so she could make a new life here,” Morgana answers.

Sin continues, “She didn’t take well to being dismissed. She made it through the forest of the forgotten dead and demanded we not ignore her.” He smiles a bit at the retelling. “After that, we took her more seriously. She’s the only person, besides Morgana and me, to have ever made it through that forest without being shredded, and she was mortal. We continued her training here, away from any real danger, until she was older.”

“Arianna had a gift for moving through the shadows. She was incredibly stealthy, especially given she was a mortal. She was the perfect spy,” Morgana says.

My gut twists inside of me, but Morgana continues, “We needed more eyes in the Council, and Arianna wanted to go. She knew she would need to work her way into their inner circles. She posed as a mortal from one of the poor villages in the Otherworld. Then she snuck into the Council’s castle, completely undetected. She made it all the way to Need’s bed chambers before anyone ever realized she was there. When Need finally saw her, Arianna said she was there for a job. That she could be of use to them. ”

A slight twinge of pride wedges through my anxiety and fear. Of course, Ari could get through the Council’s castle. She was always great at blending into the shadows.

“Arianna exchanged her services for immortality. The Council granted it, seeing her value to them. With immortality, her powers grew, and she was able to control darkness. It wasn’t something the Council had ever seen, and they valued her skills immensely. She worked for them, integrating herself deeper and deeper into their inner circles, sending us back intelligence every chance she got. Until…” Morgana tapers off, the guilt crushing her features once more.

“What happened to her?” I whisper.

“About two hundred years ago, she was caught trying to send us a message. The Council had her arrested and thrown into the prison underneath their castle,” Morgana answers.

My stomach churns, and I might be sick. “She’s been a prisoner for two hundred years, and you haven’t gotten her out?”

I’m yelling again.

Morgana shakes her head slowly. “We’ve tried. All our spies were unsuccessful, getting caught in the process.”

“Then you go get her!” I yell back at her.

Morgana smiles weakly. “I can’t – not yet.”

“Why the hell not?” I yell, pushing off from the table and standing.

“Need is at the head of the Council, but her reign is mediated by the other members. There are rules to keep the realm leaders in line. As the head of the Shadow Realm, I have never attacked the Otherworld. Sin has not caused any trouble in their realm, either. We’ve both tried to stay as hidden as possible since Atlantis fell, giving them no reason to think we are a threat. Because so long as Sin and I act peacefully, they can’t send an army to the Shadow Realm. They can’t attack. The Council won’t allow a multi-realm war without just cause.”

I frown. “But Need, she wanted Leon and me to find you guys.” I turn to Sin, grimacing. “We were supposed to kill you.”

Sin winks at me in response. “Good luck with that, kitten.”

My cheeks heat, and I turn back to Morgana. “Why would Need want to instigate such a fight now?”

Morgana narrows her eyes at me but doesn’t look angry, just thoughtful. “Was Need working on behalf of the Council?”

I close my eyes, trying to remember my meeting with Need. “No, she said that the Council couldn’t be trusted and that she was using me because I could.”

Morgana nods. “Then she’s going behind the Council’s back. She wanted to kill us quietly.”

I frown. “But why? Why now? Why not just use another mortal, centuries before me, to act as a secret Keeper for Leon, to take you guys out?”

Morgana sighs. “That I don’t know. And I’d really like to find out.”

I nod, relieved to not be the only one who’s in the dark.

“There’s more,” Sin continues ominously. “Arianna has been in the prison below the Council’s castle for centuries. Until last night. Last night, they brought her out.”

“That’s great news!” I exclaim. “Now we can free her!”

Sin shakes his head. “No, we still can’t get to her. And this fate is worse than the prisons.”

My heart drops at his words.

Rosie speaks, her voice soft, “I left three days ago to spy on the Council. We can’t apparate into there, and I have to be very careful, because they’re looking for me. But there’s a garden there, and I can sometimes project my energy through the mycorrhizae.”

I remember the garden, but Rosie’s lost me.

“I’m sorry, the what?” I ask.

“Sorry – the mycorrhizae,” Rosie repeats. “They’re an underground network of fungi that connect plants together. I was able to apparate into the Otherworld, far from the Council’s castle, and send my energy through the network. It took ages to find a route to the Council’s garden, but I found it. I’ve been listening for days, and then this morning, I could hear them. The guards were laughing about having Arianna back outside. They put her into their maze and were making bets on how long it would take for her to kill herself.”

Recognition dawns. The maze next to the Council’s garden – the one Leon helped build. Where soldiers go crazy, wandering for days, thinking they keep getting lost and not finding the exit.

“We can’t enter the maze. It’s a trap. There’s no escaping it unless you already know the way out. They’re trying to draw us out, no doubt, to get you back, Vivian,” Morgana says, sounding dejected .

I’m still standing from my earlier outburst. But my mind is far away, remembering walking through the tall hedges with Leon. I try not to think about what else we did in there.

“I can,” I whisper.

Sin hears me. “You can what?”

“I can get her out,” I say, looking at them all. “I know how to get through the maze.”

Chaos erupts at my words.

Damien and Magnus start yelling about how I’m too injured to go. Rosie starts crying again and Sin is lecturing me about the corrupted Keeper bond.

They keep getting louder, but I ignore them, my eyes locked on Morgana. She says nothing either, watching me appraisingly.

“We can’t help you once you’re on Council territory,” she warns.

The others go quiet at her words.

“Morgana, you weren’t here when Vivian arrived. The corrupted bond causes her so much pain that she can’t even walk if she’s away from Leon. She will crumble the second she’s back in the same realm as him. It won’t work,” Sin argues.

I whirl on him. “I’m not the same person you picked up outside Leon’s castle, Sin. I have Cassandra’s memories back, and it’s made me much more resilient to pain. I can handle it.”

Sin crosses his arms, taking me in like he’s deciding whether to believe me.

I narrow my eyes at him and glare at everyone at the table. “Let me make myself clear. If you want any chance of working together to bring down the Council, you will apparate me over to the Otherworld. I will not abandon Arianna.”

Morgana sighs. “If Leon knows you can navigate the maze, then this is most certainly a trap.”

A shudder passes through me at the thought of Leon waiting for me.

“Then I need to be faster than him,” I answer her, keeping my voice level.

Morgana stares at me a moment longer until finally nodding. “You leave in an hour. How are we doing this?”

I step back. “I’m going to need a jar of peanut butter.”

With that, I leave the dining room to change for the mission. A-line skirts are not mission-appropriate wear.

I just about scream when I swing open my door and find Sin leaning against the far wall next to my dresser, yet again. The shock wears off instantly, though, and I storm into my room, closing the door behind me.

He apparated in. He can poof himself right out.

“If you’re here to talk me out of this, then you can save your energy and get out,” I snap, heading to the chest at the end of my bed.

Sin doesn’t look happy, but he isn’t angry either.

“Why are you ready to risk yourself for a complete stranger?” he asks, sounding suspicious.

I frown at him. “She isn’t a stranger, she’s –”

“From Cassandra’s life. Not yours. You didn’t wake up from regaining your memories loving Leon. So, I know you aren’t sharing a consciousness. Now, I want to know. Why are you risking yourself?” His eyes are narrowed on me, and he’s looking at me like he’s trying to solve a complicated problem.

His question has me pausing before I answer, “Because I know how much Cassandra loved her. I feel it. It’s different with Leon. Whatever Cassandra felt, it’s twisted up with my own memories and our combined issues with him. Arianna was important to Cassandra, and she’s important to everyone here. That makes her important to me, and I will not stand by and do nothing. Not when I can help.”

He looks thunderstruck before quietly answering, “I’m not going to try and stop you.”

I pause when he doesn’t move. “Then why are you still here?”

Sin moves from the wall, stalking towards me.

This would feel much less arousing if there wasn’t a bed behind me.

Stupid dirty mind.

My breath catches as Sin kneels before me, reaching under my skirt. His hand feels scorching as it grazes along my inner thigh. His eyes are locked on mine as his other hand lifts my skirt. He’s moving slowly, giving me a chance to stop him.

Okay, maybe I don’t have a dirty mind. This feels overtly sexual.

Sin’s gaze is heated as he watches me for any sign of hesitation. He inches my skirt up further until most of my thigh is exposed.

I watch, my heart thundering inside of me and my brain short-circuiting as he lifts my leg so that my foot rests on his thigh .

My bandage. He’s checking my injury.

My face feels like it’s on fire as embarrassment sweeps through me.

Sin glances up from my injury, looking perfectly self-satisfied. “Enjoying the view, kitten?”

“You did that on purpose,” I huff back at him.

Sin smirks before looking back at the bandage. He pulls out a leather square from his pocket and some leather bindings. His hands find my thigh again, and he takes his time placing the leather over my bandage.

“This will help you run. I’m going to add some pressure to the bindings. It should help stop the stitches from pulling,” he says as he starts wrapping the leather bindings around my thigh.

Every time his fingers graze my inner thigh, I think I might combust. I should look away, but I can’t tear my eyes from the man kneeling between my legs. This is the universe’s way of making me pay for not being attracted to mortal men.

Sin finishes wrapping me up and takes great care when lowering my skirt, his hands continuously brushing against me. Once finished, he stands, still looking smug.

Absolutely not.

Sin does not get to tease me and walk away, thinking he’s won. That would be terrible for our partner dynamic.

I frown at him. “Do you suffer from long periods of memory loss in a day?”

He quirks a brow questioningly. “No, why?”

“It’s a symptom of multiple personality disorder,” I answer. “I think you should get yourself checked out. One minute, you’re swearing that you wouldn’t touch me, even if your life depended on it, and the next, you’re making comments about eating me out on a table.”

Sin laughs, and I mirror his eyebrow quirk from a moment before.

“I wouldn’t touch a Council whore,” he corrects.

“I am not –” I grit out, annoyed to be back to this.

“I know,” he cuts me off. “I didn’t before, but now I do.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, frowning now.

“You’ll figure it out,” he answers, winking at me before apparating out of the room.

Alone now, I let out a groan before pulling my fighting gear out of the chest.

One problem at a time, Vivian. I remind myself.

Sin’s mood swings are a problem, yes. But considering I’m stuck with him, I’m categorizing him as a chronic annoyance – like period cramps. Meanwhile, I have a bigger issue to worry about. Namely, there’s a decent chance I’m about to be captured by the Council and forced into becoming Leon’s personal sex slave.

I shudder at the thought and pull out a few extra knives.

Over my dead body.