Chapter 10 #3
A flash. The same white bottle, lying on a familiar marble countertop. The label, Rest. Reset. Repeat.
"Vesperin?" Keir called. Rin opened her eyes, finding them both staring at her with concern etched into their faces. "Are you okay? I’m sorry. We’re probably too much for you. You’re still grieving, and we’re talking about stupid shit. I’d hate us, too."
"No. It’s fine. I just remembered something…" Rin tapped a finger on the counter, aware that she needed to get back to her room to Cyrus, but the sight of the pill bottle made her stay. "What’s that?" She pointed at the small bottle.
"Oh, that. Those are mine." Xara’s cheeks grew dark as she lifted the bottle and turned to put it in the cabinet, next to all of her other things. Rin had one, too, on the other side of the fridge, where she kept her favorite snacks and drinks, a few cups she didn’t want anyone else to touch…
"I’ve been struggling to sleep lately. Somnocept helps. My doctor recommended it to me."
Rin hummed. Maybe she could do with some of that, too. Somnocept. The name echoed in her head, rattling around like the soft clinking of pills.
Rin grabbed her juice, along with a package of honey potato chips, just in case Cyrus was hungry. She waved them before her. "I’m going to turn in for the night. See you later?"
Xara nodded. "Goodnight! We’re going to stay up a bit longer. This is due by midnight." She returned her focus to her laptop, the blue light shining on her face.
"We’re here if you need us, okay? Night, Vesperin," Keir called, brows drawn low over his face as he watched her walk back to her room.
She had to temper her pace so she didn’t look desperate.
But as soon as the door was opened, she shut it behind her, turning the lock.
"Cyrus?" she whispered, walking deeper into her room.
She sighed in relief when she saw him lying on the floor on the other side of her bed, head pillowed on his arm, and chest rising and falling steadily.
His black shirt slipped, revealing elegant collarbones.
He hadn’t brought much with him, just a few items of clothing, which Rin took care to hide away when she washed them at the laundromat.
The low-slung, breezy black pants were a favorite of hers—she loved how they made him look so carefree.
But what stole her attention over all of this was the soft trickle of water as it swirled midair around his raised fingers. The tendrils of blue weaved between his fingertips and danced over his wrist, making swirling shapes in the air.
Not opening his eyes, Cyrus murmured, "Took you long enough. I’ve been wasting away in here."
"You’re a Waterborn," Rin breathed.
At that, Cyrus cracked an eyelid, the purple depths eating her alive. "I sometimes forget you don’t remember." He let out a heavy breath, voice quiet as he sat up and said, "You used to love it when I would trickle the water over your breasts. I could tease you like that for hours."
"Why do you always have to turn everything sexual?"
"Do you realize who you’re talking to, doll?"
Rin knelt by his side, handing him the chips and juice.
He took it with a wink, tipping back the rest of the orange juice with a low hum of appreciation.
The same bottle her lips had wrapped around.
It didn’t matter, he had been inside her, after all—a fact he loved to bring up, watching her blush and stammer, and she loved to pretend never happened.
Sitting close to him, she tucked her skirt under her thighs, her knee brushing his outstretched calf. She studied him as he quietly opened the bag of chips and ate, offering her one, which she declined, stomach still roiling. There were deep shadows under his eyes, and… were his cheeks more hollow?
"Have you been sleeping okay?" she whispered, aware of Xara and Keir outside her room. She sounded like Lucien.
"As well as I can. Don’t worry about me, doll. I’m right as rain." To punctuate his words, little droplets of water splashed from his flicked fingertips, speckling her collarbones and dripping below the neckline of her blouse.
"Cyrus," she grumbled, "don’t deflect. You don’t look okay."
"I could say the same of you." He crunched on a chip, licking honeyed salt from his fingers. She watched his tongue, entranced.
He wasn’t wrong. Rin wondered if she’d ever be okay again. "Did you hear them?" She changed the subject.
Cyrus hummed. "Your little roommate will be staying here more often, then. I don’t suppose she’d be okay knowing you were harboring a runaway Prince?"
Rin scoffed, whispering, "Definitely not. Xara never needs to know. I can’t say that I don’t trust her, but I’m not sure what she would do." She didn’t distrust Xara, but something held her back. If she wouldn’t share this with Lucien, she doubted she would feel comfortable sharing it with anyone.
"Well," Cyrus whispered back, "looks like you’ll be having to smuggle me food more often. I could just eat you, though. Save us both the trouble." His heavy-lidded eyes fell to her thighs.
"I’m not on the table," she quipped, the comeback falling easily from her lips. Cyrus made the heaviness in her stomach abate, replaced with a quiet, sultry fuzziness.
"You can be."
"Enough of that. Eat your chips—not me." Rin stood, straightening her skirt. Cyrus’s head tipped back, blinking up at her as she passed by him. It was a tight fit; his breath was warm on her thighs.
She quickly grabbed an extra blanket from her bed, stretching over it, a foot aloft behind her as she reached for her laptop on the other edge.
She unhooked the charger and tugged it toward her, holding it close to her chest as she sat back down beside Cyrus, the blanket dropping on her lap.
Cyrus grabbed the other end and unfolded it, ensuring she was cozy; the smallest end barely covered half his legs.
Rin opened her laptop. "Since we’re stuck here for the night, want to watch something?" She pulled up a streaming service, clicked on the first movie that popped up, and let it play in the background.
After a few minutes of terse silence, save for the intro song of the movie, Cyrus shifted closer to her, his arm pressing against hers.
Her throat grew dry—he just had that effect on her.
As Rin moved to get more comfortable, her back leaned against the side of the bed, and she felt something poke her spine.
She winced, reaching behind her, hands fumbling for something uneven.
She turned fully, Cyrus watching as she lifted the end of the comforter where it draped over the side of the bed.
A small folder was stuck between the mattress and the box spring.
Rin tugged it free, hands shaking. "Oh my god."
"What is that?" Cyrus asked.
She didn’t answer. The file folder fell open, revealing the crumpled note stuck inside.
To the girl with Stars in her eyes.
Rin traced over the words. She had forgotten about it. After Kit had…
She had forgotten all about it.
Wide-eyed, she stared up at Cyrus. "This is evidence."
It was past midnight, the only time Rin could sneak out of her dorm. But this time, she wasn’t alone.
An incubus was by her side.
Cyrus wore his dark sweatshirt, the hood pulled over his head to hide his bright red hair. Rin was also dressed in all-black, but she had her Hunter registration card, so if she was stopped by the police or another Hunter, she had reason to be out—Cyrus, not so much.
Under her large zip-up jacket, her harness-style holster held her Echogun, along with a few knives. Better to be prepared. It was against the law to be out after dark for a reason.
Rin kicked the stand of her motorcycle, leaning it against the side of a small alleyway she had stopped in. She threw her leg over the side, removing her helmet. Cyrus did the same, careful to keep his hood secured as he set his dark helmet next to hers on the back of her bike.
"I’ve never ridden on a motorcycle before. You’re a good ride." Through the shadows of his hood, he grinned.
"Quit it. We’re here for a reason. Lucien’s at his apartment, but he could be called back to the hospital at any time if there’s an emergency.
We have to be quick about this." Rin motioned for Cyrus to follow her as they left the alley, passing by dark shops and cafes, metal grates pulled over the doors and windows.
There was no one around. Rin tried to walk confidently, but still kept to the shadows.
The flashing emergency sign above the ambulance entrance to Solar City General Hospital loomed before them.
Rin held up a hand, making Cyrus still behind her, bumping into her back.
She breathed him in, whispering, "Stick close to me. I have my identification. If anyone asks, you’re an associate.
The night shift doesn’t know me, so we’ll be okay.
Once we’re in, we stick to the medical stairwell.
It’ll lead straight to the ninth floor, where his office is. "
She still couldn’t believe they were doing this. After the whirlwind of the last month, she had all but forgotten about what the Soul Searcher had left for her. But finding it, seeing the damning words, Lucien’s signature printed on the classified pages, she had a renewed purpose.
Cyrus had been brought up to speed. Rin figured there was no use keeping him in the dark. He knew about the enigmatic Soul Searcher, the clue he had left for her, and her next-door neighbor, turned doctor, turned… something else she couldn’t put a name to quite yet.
It hurt. It hurt so bad that Rin felt like the little air she had found after Kit’s death had been stolen from her, once more. The thought of Lucien being a part of something like illegal, unethical experimentation… She couldn’t fathom it. She wouldn’t believe it. Not without more evidence.
"You’re so hot when you’re bossy," Cyrus purred. "How else could you boss me around?" He held out his hands. "Want to tie me up?"