Chapter 7 #3
Her eyes caught on Lucien’s closed door, right across from hers. Maybe she should tell him…
Rin was slammed against the wall until her spine pressed harshly into the stone. The flames danced over the side of Rhyden’s face, making his sharp jaw even fiercer. The line of his nose was long, harsh. Everything about him was jagged angles—but somehow, it seemed to just fit him.
"What are you doing?" Rin tried to make her voice strong.
"Trying to figure you out."
She tipped her face up. "What do you mean?"
He laughed at her. "Bravery doesn’t become you.
I think you’re much more enticing when you’re weak.
" He lowered his head to hers. "When you let someone else tell you what to do.
I saw you, you know? Both of you. I saw you let that damned liar inside your body, and I watched. " His voice was a low rumble.
Rhyden brushed a finger against her jaw.
He only wore one ring tonight—a simple white gold band around his thumb.
The flames in the sconces flickered, seeking out the Fireborn vampire.
The ring on his thumb turned white from the heat coursing through him as he held her face in his grip. She didn’t feel it.
She resisted the urge to smirk. "I’d say a part of you cares for me." Her eyes dipped to his hand.
"I just admitted I watched you get fucked, and that’s all you have to say to me? No moral objections or buttoned-up bemoaning?"
Well, she had been. But now she sure as hell wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her ire.
"If you wanted to watch me, Rhyden, all you had to do was ask." A low heat suffused her cheeks. She pretended it was from the fire.
"What’s so different about us?" Rhyden jabbed a finger behind him, to Lucien’s closed door.
"He lied to you, and you lied to me, and I want to hurt you for it—but your doctor?
He wants to hurt himself for it." He exhaled, and she felt his scent envelop her.
"So why do you let him fuck you, but you can’t even look at me? "
That was what this was about? Was he jealous?
"Because he didn’t swear to get revenge on me for something I don’t even remember doing. Because I trust him—and you, Valkar? I can never trust you."
Rhyden’s voice dropped as he moved closer.
So close, she felt the shift of his chest as he breathed, swore she could feel the beat of his heart, pressed against her.
"What did I say about using my name? Trust isn’t fucking enough.
Not for everything we’ve done. You say you don’t remember, but when you dreamed, I heard you speak. You want to know what you said to me?"
She didn’t answer.
"You said, I’ve paid your price. The same thing you said to me in our past life together.
When we first met, it was at a bar. I saw you, and I coveted you.
I slid a drink across the counter to you.
I wanted to know your name, so I tempted you with a drink—something sweet.
I never knew you’d be so bitter. Even as a human, you didn’t shy away from a vampire who only wanted to fuck you and drink your blood.
I still remember every goddamned word you said.
Now that I’ve paid your price, pay mine.
You wanted to dance with me. Me, a vampire who could drain you dry before your weak vocal cords could make a fucking sound. "
Rhyden’s finger slipped over her lips. "That means you do remember."
"I don’t," Rin whispered. Her head began to pound as the hallway elongated around them, as if worlds were colliding in her mind, fighting for space.
"You may not know"—he touched her temple—"but it’s all there in that brain of yours. When you remember, I know this sweet, innocent act will fall away. And when it does, I’ll be the first to say I told you so."
Rhyden breathed her in.
Something in his fractured, goddamned mess of a Soul called out to her. He saw how her pupils expanded with lust. It reminded him too much of how it had been on Sangreal, when it was just the two of them.
She was still such a force to be reckoned with.
He’d admitted he watched her have sex through the crack of the open door, and she barely reacted.
If he didn’t know her so well, he might have believed she didn’t care. But her pulse jumped. She’d been affected.
Rhyden knew then how he could get his revenge: make her want him.
"You don’t remember using me. So I’ll let you feel what it was like.
" Rhyden heard her breath catch, the stutter to her heart.
"You want me, don’t you?" His lips ghosted over hers, and he nearly punched the fucking wall at the soft feel of them, the cherry scent that clung to her, making his cock swell.
He shifted his hips forward, letting her feel what she did to him.
It was all part of his plan. "Tell me you want this. Say it, wife. Say, I want you. Just beg, and it’s yours. "
"I…" Her tongue poked out to wet her bottom lip.
The fire in the sconces flared dangerously, sparking as embers scorched the carpet.
She yelped, stumbling away from him. The spell was broken, turned to ash.
"What just happened—that was not because I wanted you. My Soul may want you, but I don’t," she said hoarsely.
He bit back a scoff. Revenge would be so sweet.
Rhyden pulled away from her, not doing anything to hide the bulge in his pants. "Fine."
He turned toward the hall, but her voice stopped him.
"Are you jealous?"
He didn’t turn around.
"I didn’t know you cared," she continued.
"I didn’t either," Rhyden mumbled. But the sight of her, naked, glassy-eyed, and panting, had dominated his mind all week, igniting his fantasies.
"Come on, let’s go. We need to be done with this before the others wake up."
Rin tugged on the collar of the full-body suit. It clung to her every curve, revealing her insecurities. Her small breasts, the slight dip of her hips. At least, now she knew why Rhyden had told her not to bother with changing clothes.
The room hummed softly, monitors casting a cold blue glow over the image of the chained Rogue on the largest screen.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Rin hedged.
Rhyden tore open a packet of swabs with his teeth, spitting the small plastic piece on the floor, then moved to stand before her.
He shoved her hair aside, but a few shorter strands that framed her face fell over her cheeks.
He huffed and gathered her hair at the back, procuring a small elastic from his wrist—her eyes widened as she wondered why he had it—and tying it back for her.
The antiseptic cloth tingled as he wiped her forehead. His knuckles brushed her skin as he fixed an electrode to each temple. The wires fed into a small pack beneath her suit, resting at her lower spine.
He stepped back. "Believe what you want, but I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. I’m invested now—I don’t let my investments go to waste."
"Right. Your revenge. Can’t have me dying, because then you won’t get it."
Rhyden smiled cryptically.
She turned, one hand reaching for the door. Her ponytail swung at her back as he caught her by the elbow, stopping her. His eyes traced over her as she turned to stare at him.
He looked at her like he was starved.
"I’ll pull you if your heart rate spikes." Rhyden gestured to the monitors. "I’ll be watching."
He didn’t let her go.
As she stared at him, she remembered how his lips had almost touched hers. "How do you know how to read it?" she asked, just to break the tension.
"It’s not fucking rocket science. Besides, I’ve seen Nessen with Aetherborns enough to get the gist of the shit." His features hardened at the mention of the dead vampire.
Rin hadn’t seen him shed a tear, even after he’d supposedly known the male for years. How could he be so cold? Did anything affect him?
"When you hear me knock on the door, that’s your signal. If you don’t come out in thirty seconds, I’m coming in for you."
"You can’t," she started. "The Rogue could kill you."
Rhyden let her go. "Then you better obey me."
Rin nodded jerkily and pushed open the door, revealing the chained Rogue inside. The door fell shut with a clang. It unfurled from its spot on the ground, scratching at the concrete as it huffed.
A reddish brown stain, barely the size of her hand, was near the far wall. She grimaced.
A dull yellow bulb swung overhead, flickering as the shadows stretched on the walls.
She took a tiny step forward, and the Rogue tipped its head back and bayed loudly, the sound rattling her brain in her skull as it echoed in the enclosed space. The chains clinked.
Rin froze, feeling her heart thunder in her chest. No.
The Rogue did not move further.
The room began to spin.
Shadows yawned in the corners, growing, growing.
And a hand pressed against the wall, making the concrete mold to its shape like putty.
The lightbulb’s flickering grew more frantic.
A swift knock sounded on the door behind her. Again. And again.
Rin tried to move, grab the handle, but her feet were leaden.
Sweat dripped down her spine, and the suit suffocated her.
She drew in a shaky breath and—
Pure white light rushed out of her like a storm.
The Rogue’s roar died, and she fell to her knees, barely registering the thud. The last thing she was aware of was the sense of utter peace and rightness that enveloped her.
Atlas knew the Rogue would not harm a hair on her head, but that did not stop his fear at her vulnerability.
If Rhyden Valkar was not such an important piece—and important to Vesperin—Atlas surely would have killed him for this.
The Rogue dropped, killed by Atlas’s Nova inside Vesperin’s body.
He had seconds to act.
The Celestial blinked, and the small camera tucked in the corner exploded, sparking as the feed died. He stepped out of the shadows, his dark coat billowing as he sank to his knees beside her.
She lay on the ground, eyes closed. Atlas’s hand trembled as he reached for her, barely brushing the side of her cheek.