Chapter 16 #5
"What a fucking pair we make." Rhyden cut off her air again, and she lost herself in the sensation as he took her against the wall.
It became a race in her mind.
Could she reach her peak before he loosened his hold and air flooded her tight, desperate lungs? Or would pleasure elude her for another set of choked sounds, spluttering flames, and thrusting hips?
Rin lost count of how many times Rhyden stole her breath.
She was dripping around him, and sweat coated her skin, making her hair stick to her nape and temples from the heat in the room, the heat of their bodies.
She was almost…
Rhyden let his hand fall away from her neck before he replaced it with his forearm, pressing her against the wall.
"Now, fucking come," Rhyden ordered, voice a tight hiss.
At his insistence, she did, with a cry falling off her lips.
Her lids fluttered shut, unable to keep them open against the fiery pleasure licking against her. She felt him come inside her, hitting something deep as he released with a near roar.
The flames spluttered, then grew, fed by him.
Dazed, Rin’s head tipped back against the wall, while his forearm fell from her neck. Salty sweat dripped into her eyes as she cracked her lids and looked at him.
Rhyden blotted out the blue glow entirely until all she saw was red and flames.
It was then that she felt it. A memory, rushing over her.
Vesperin placed her hands on a firm back. She felt the stiff fabric of a suit bunch beneath her fingers.
Two men stood near. Vesperin did not let herself look at them. She hated them—the one with the brown eyes like hers. Her father. He was no father to her. He was a tormentor.
Self-loathing filled her, replaced by waves of regret as doors banged open.
Red-eyed vampires rushed into the room.
Her hands fell to her sides, fingertips brushing the tufted edges of her beautiful white wedding gown, crafted just for her.
"Apprehend them!" she heard her husband yell. He met her eyes; the red was like home to her.
He didn’t seem scared for himself, even though the vampiric authorities on Sangreal held silver cuffs in their gloved hands.
They were not here to hurt her.
Her father crooked a finger at her. She stepped away from Rhyden, forced to watch as the authorities pounced.
Rhyden did not have a chance; he was wrestled to the ground and cuffed. Still, all he could do was plead for her. "Vesperin! Vesperin!" Rhyden called for her, not yet realizing she was unharmed, untouched. "Leave her alone! Don’t touch her!"
Her father came to her. Smugness radiated from him as his hand fell to her shoulder. It was her own set of cuffs, shackling her to him just as her husband was being cuffed and forced to his feet.
"Good. Keep quiet, and he’ll live," her father said harshly into her ear.
When Rhyden was standing, anchored by the authorities, it finally seemed to register with him that she was not cuffed like he was.
They had not known each other for long in this life.
Vesperin had been sent to that bar the day they met.
That was all she was good at—conning, lying.
She cloaked herself in lies and made herself appealing because it was all she knew.
Dressing up, going out, talking pretty, and giving compliments. From planet to planet, she would con.
On Sangreal, she had gone back to rooms with vampires who had deep pockets, letting them do whatever they wished to her.
Drinking, fucking, taking. She was nothing but a shell.
And when they grew besotted with her, lavishing her with jewels, she would take them all and disappear, dumping her gifts and stolen coin into the hands of her father: the one who forced her into this life.
It was all she’d known since she was a little girl. It was hard to run from what was home. Even if that home was broken and filled with clenched fists, split lips, and bruises.
But then, she and Rhyden’s hands had touched, and she had discovered they were Soulbonds.
That had changed everything for Vesperin and nothing for her father.
For now, Vesperin would be forced to lie to her Soulbond, with the intention of stealing from him, even as she began to fall so deeply in love.
The plan culminated on their wedding night.
She had thought she succeeded in putting her father off, making him see that they could play the longest con of all. Vesperin could marry Rhyden and be with him forever, meeting with her father in secret to give him swindled jewels every few months. It was the best she could think of.
Happiness was so close she could taste it on her tongue, nothing like the bitter bite of briux.
Bitterness was all she knew, as her father had orchestrated this.
She wanted to kill herself. Maybe if she had died before she ever met her Soulbond, she could have saved him from herself.
Her father’s hand tightened on her shoulder as Rhyden stared at them together.
Betrayal colored Rhyden’s voice. "What? Vesperin? What is this?"
Her father spoke before she could. She didn’t know what she’d say anyway, if she could find her voice. "She apprehended a criminal, of course. Who knew the acclaimed Rhyden Valkar was dealing in illegal blood trades?"
It felt like cold water had been tipped over her head. She glanced down at her wedding dress, swearing she’d find it coated with ice, but it was untouched. Beautiful.
"No, you never said—" Her voice shook.
"Shut up," her father warned.
One of the masked vampires stepped forward, a silver sword dangling at his hip. "We’ll take him to the jails for the night, but the illegal sale of blood is a criminal offense. He won’t be coming back to hurt you."
"I’m so thankful that my daughter found out this monster’s plans," her father replied. "I can’t imagine someone wanting to trick a human into marriage just to sell their blood to the highest bidder."
Her stomach twisted. She was going to be sick. The sound of her heaving sobs filled the room. She didn’t feel like she was in her body.
Rhyden—her husband, her Soulbond, the male she loved—looked at her like she was a stranger, as he was led away. His eyes were clouded with shock.
"Forgive me," she said brokenly, but the door closed behind him.
Rhyden was… gone.
Vesperin wanted to sink to her knees in her wedding dress, rip it off, and burn it to ash. Her father kept her upright, spinning her around to face him as her tears streamed down her cheeks.
"How could you?" she sobbed.
"How could I?" her father echoed. "How could I not?
You gave us the perfect opportunity. This"—he waved a hand to the whole room, glittering jewels, paintings done with gold-flecked oils; things that Vesperin never wanted—"is now yours by law.
Your Soulbond will rot for centuries because we set the stage for it all. "
Her uncle, a large, mean man, grinned. "It was fucking easy to forge the documents. Sangreal rules are harsh. Funny, considering it’s a vampire planet. Think they’d believe their own kind more." He ran his finger over the dresser, making a glass cup of crystals wobble.
Vesperin’s tears were replaced by anger. She shoved at her father’s chest. "So that was your plan? Let me fall in love and marry Rhyden, just to get him sent away?" Reality was setting in. Oh god. Her Rhyden. He was—
She stepped away from her father, and he let her. Her fingers tangled in her hair, messing the styled waves; she didn’t care.
"There has to be a way to undo this. Isn’t there?" she asked her father. "I’ll go to the authorities. I will tell them it was all a setup. I’m Rhyden’s wife." She raised her chin. "If I, a human, advocate for him, they will believe me. They’ll have to," she whispered almost to herself.
Her uncle stepped toward her. "Know we can’t let you do that."
Her father pinched the bridge of his nose. "I thought you would see reason, Vesperin. Are you going to keep being difficult?"
She tightened her jaw. "I will fight you every step of the way if it means setting Rhyden free. You are the one who should take his place in prison." Her voice was strong, yet thick and wavering with emotion.
Her father and uncle shared a dark look.
Then, she realized, maybe she should have gone along.
Her uncle stormed toward her, and she couldn’t get away in time. She tripped over the long hem of her wedding dress. She was caught with a hand around her nape, then thrown against the wall.
It was not her uncle who held her there, but her father. His brown eyes—just like her own—were filled with malice as he pressed his forearm over her neck and cut off her air.
"I can’t let you ruin this." Her father held up a dagger. The blade was crude and rusted. "Sorry you couldn’t revel in the riches with us, daughter. I guess family doesn’t mean what it should to you."
In one swift move, her father ran the blade across her neck, slitting her throat.
It took a few seconds for the pain to register, but when it did, she gasped wetly. Blood sprayed from her neck, filling her mouth. Her father dropped her, and she fell to the floor.
She stared at her father and uncle’s dirty, worn boots. Blinked, then her eyes lowered. The skirts of her wedding dress were stained red. She was lightheaded. She felt no pain now, only a cold shiver.
Her next blink was slower, sluggish. It was harder to open her eyes.
Something enveloped her, then. This great sense of peace. Like the shadows that were cast on the floor, slithering over to her.
Her last thought was of her husband and what would become of him.
Rin gasped as the memory filled her throbbing head.
"Rhyden." She stared at him and felt such horror at what that life had wrought—upon them both.
Time and bitterness had turned them both into something else entirely.
She reached up and took his face between her hands.
"Rhyden," she said again.
"You’re shaking." Rhyden’s breath fluttered over her from how close they were.
Her hands were shaking. "I remember."