Chapter 6 #4
Silence fell over the lab as all heads turned to him.
Lucien couldn’t meet any of their eyes. He exhaled, low and controlled, envisioning himself in a consultation room. He was used to keeping his composure even when delivering devastating news to families.
"You don’t need to be indirect," Lucien said quietly, finally raising his head.
Somehow—as always—his eyes found Vesperin’s first.
"You made it," Cyrus uttered. His voice didn’t hold a hint of accusation, yet it radiated from him in waves. "Harmony."
Lucien met Cyrus’s gaze, finding a raptness there he was unused to seeing in the incubus.
"I helped create it," Lucien corrected, wondering if that was the whole truth.
"I—I tried to walk away when I realized what my research was being used for.
" A shuddering exhale. "I wasn’t successful—not until I met Vesperin.
Even then, it cost my life. Both of our lives. "
Rhyden punched a metal table so hard the instruments on it rattled. Embers sparked around his knuckles. A ring on his thumb grew so hot from the fire that the silver started to glow white—yet his skin wasn’t red. He didn’t get burned.
"You fucker. I knew we couldn’t trust you after we connected you to her adoptive parents—I knew it.
She’s blinded by you, because you’re Soulbonds," the vampire sneered. "But I know, just because two Souls are bonded, that doesn’t mean they can’t goddamned hurt each other, lie to each other, steal, betray.
What else are you keeping from her? Any more fucking skeletons in the closet we should know about?
Besides the fact you’re a goddamned mad scientist."
Lucien started to shake his head, then stopped. "The last person I should explain myself to is you, after you drugged her and kept her captive here. Don’t pretend you have moral authority."
Vesperin made a soft sound, but it was swept away as they continued to argue.
"That’s fucking rich, Quenlan. What if it was all true?
" Rhyden’s piercing, red eyes swung to Vesperin.
"What if this bastard wanted you to think he’s all innocent and good, but he’s been playing you this whole time—what if he was one of the ones to experiment on you?
Would you forgive him? Somehow, I wouldn’t put it past you with your goddamned bleeding heart. "
Cyrus shot up to a stand, pointing a finger at the vampire. "Leave her out of this. I like you, Rhyden, but if you ever do anything to hurt her, I’ll kill you."
Rhyden barked a laugh. "I’d like to see you try—"
"Enough!" Vesperin’s voice rang out, silencing them all. Her face was pale, eyes wide with anger. Her heart rate was slightly elevated, beeping on the monitor. "I know." Her voice grew quiet.
"You… know?" Rhyden narrowed his eyes.
Vesperin nodded. "Yes, Lucien would never hurt me.
" Her hands jerked against her cuffs, and Cyrus leaned over to undo them, nipping at the tips of her fingers as he did so. When she was free, she placed her hand on the circular disc near her chest and shoved it away, ignoring Nessen’s mumbled warning:
"That is very expensive—"
She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the chair, standing fully. She was a force to be reckoned with, his V girl.
She pinned them all with a deadly look, shoulders firm, as if preparing for a fight.
"If any of you ever—and I fucking mean ever—breathe a word of Lucien’s research or using harmony on me to anyone, I will kill you.
He is the last person who would ever hurt me.
He wanted to save me." She pointed a finger at Lucien, and he felt the others’ eyes on him as she defended him.
Nessen mumbled his assent, swearing, "I would n-never. I am quite good at keeping secrets. I am employed by the leader of Noctis. None of what we do here is exactly legal. I would only implicate myself."
Satisfied, she turned her sights on Rhyden and Cyrus, seeming to be more preoccupied with Rhyden than the incubus.
Rhyden arched a brow. "Again with the old conversations, wife. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you’d have amnesia of this life—but no, just conveniently, your past lives."
"What are you talking about?"
"You, killing someone. You don’t have the guts."
"I may not have what it takes to kill someone"—as if proving his point, her voice wavered—"but I will do whatever it takes to protect my own."
Lucien’s nails dug into his palm as he tried to hide his satisfaction away.
She crossed her arms. "Besides, I do have an incubus more than willing to get his hands dirty for me."
Cyrus groaned loudly, and the sexual undertone made Nessen turn, flustered, as he fiddled with the monitors.
"I am much more than willing, doll. I’d kill for you."
Rhyden rolled his eyes. "Your little guard dog doesn’t scare me with his water tricks."
"Trust me, Rhyden, I have much more up my sleeve.
" A sudden, dangerous look befell Cyrus’s usually impish face.
He narrowed his eyes for one second, then looked to Vesperin.
"I am your guard dog, just so you know. Do you want to get me a leash? I only ask it has pretty jewels; otherwise, I’m yours to lead around. "
"Enough already." Rhyden waved his beringed hand to Lucien, the embers beginning to cool. "We are far from done here, Quenlan. Just because she supposedly knows and trusts you doesn’t mean I do. One more secret, and you’re out."
"You can’t just kick him out—" Vesperin started.
Rhyden looked down at her and placed his hand on her shoulder, thumb slipping over her collarbone. Lucien waited for her to hiss and flinch from the lingering heat of his rings, but she didn’t. Interesting.
"I can do whatever I want when it comes to you," said Rhyden. "And if he was a fucking trustworthy Soulbond like he says he is, he would agree."
Lucien’s jaw ticked, yet he dipped his chin in a shallow nod.
He wasn’t sure why Vesperin said she knew.
She didn’t—not truly. When they’d had sex, he had told her only a little; his thoughts had run away from him, and when he’d realized what he had begun to say, he had distracted her with pleasure.
But still, she had pieced it all together.
Rin drew in a sharp breath as the tension settled between them all.
Lies, stacked endlessly atop one another. Piles of secrets, so tall they threatened to topple and crush them all.
Lucien—her Lucien—had created harmony.
He had been a scientist—somehow she knew, recalling it only faintly, memories from their only life together. He had tried to tell her, and she hadn’t wanted to hear any of it, more concerned with the taste of his lips and the feel of his flesh than uncovering his secrets.
Nessen’s red gaze drifted to the medical fridge, fascination flickering behind his eyes as he reattached the electrodes to her temples.
She couldn’t help but remember when Kit had done the same…
Atlas observed it all.
And when the old doctor, Delayne Nessen, began to share the journal with the others, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Decades ago, Atlas had guided the vampiric doctor toward the study of Tarz and its illegal scientific pursuits, knowing it would be required for this precise moment.
A whisper of intrigue. A nudge of fate. A perfectly placed flyer for an underground auction, promising forbidden knowledge under the guise of scientific exploration.
Atlas ensured Nessen had sufficient funding to purchase the journal. And once in Nessen’s grasp, Atlas had watched as he read its contents enough to remember, but not enough to be tempted.
Because Vesperin’s Soulbond, Lucien Quenlan, had once been consumed by the pursuit of knowledge at any cost. Lucien was fortunate he had been spared the full memory of his life on Tarz—by deliberate hands, working beyond Atlas’s initial design.
Lucien watched as Nessen’s red eyes focused on Vesperin.
"Do you mind if I try something? It will not hurt, I promise," said Nessen.
Vesperin’s teeth dug into her lower lip. "What—what are you going to do?"
Without waiting for her approval, Nessen went to the small medical fridge. It opened with a hiss of cold air. He pulled out a tray of vials, fitting a syringe needle into one as he carefully extracted a small dose of blue liquid. He pressed down on the plunger, a precise stream shooting out.
"Liquid adrenaline," Nessen proclaimed.
"No," Lucien asserted. "Absolutely not. I will not allow you to put strain on her heart."
Nessen was unperturbed. "But it is nothing out of the ordinary. Her medications already utilize something similar. A concentrated dose of adrenaline to get her heart rate normalized. This is similar, but more streamlined. I will be here to monitor it. Nothing will happen."
Rhyden scoffed. "Like fuck are you going to inject that shit into her, Nessen. I was the one who gave you that supply of liquid adrenaline, and I know it’s not typically used in medical practices.
I torture people for a living. I know how to keep people alive—even when they don’t want to be. It’ll make her crash hard. Fuck no."
Lucien tensed at the reminder of who currently hosted them—where they were.
Rhyden Valkar had more blood on his hands than Lucien probably had in his body.
At least an hour had passed since their terse confrontation, and every second that ticked by, Lucien could feel the weight of the vampire’s dangerous eyes on him—even Cyrus seemed oddly reticent, watching Lucien closely.
Lucien could tell their patience was fraying. They needed space. They should reconvene later, but each time he opened his mouth to call it, something made him bite his tongue.
"For once, I agree with the grumpy vampire. You come anywhere near her with that thing, and I’ll make it so that you’re nothing but a withered husk." Cyrus smiled, as though the threat carried a private, esoteric joke only he understood.
Vesperin sat up, an electrode falling from her temple again. "Hey, what if I—"