Chapter 20
Eden’s first day had gone smoothly enough, but he’d admittedly been distracted all throughout his final class.
Getting to know the students and learn names had helped some, but whenever a pocket of time presented itself where he didn’t have anything that demanded his full attention, he felt his mind wandering back to his conversation with Ares.
Which then made him curious if that’s what the Black Hart experienced on the regular.
Was it a mere focusing issue? He doubted that possibility hadn’t already been considered.
From the sounds of things, both from his conversations with Ares and the brief ones with Zar, they understood exactly what was wrong.
Even if Eden was struggling to comprehend it.
He’d stopped believing in the supernatural or things he couldn’t see and touch when he entered his teens.
The day his family was killed, he’d pulled back from Light and quit attending church, so religion was also a thing of his past. Now, he found himself presented with things like past lives, reading the future, and breaks in the universe.
He supposed there was science in these things as well, which did aid in their believability, but still. How had his life ended up so tangled so quickly? Meeting Ares had sucked him into this cyclone, where everything was a whirlwind, and half the time he couldn’t tell up from down.
Right from wrong.
Real from fake.
Eden recalled feeling that way in the days after the murders. All through the funeral and talks with police, he’d kept thinking how unreal it felt. How it had to be a joke.
How they couldn’t be gone, and this couldn’t be his life.
But he’d clearly been in the denial stage of grief. What about Ares? Was this merely a way to cope with whatever trauma he was carrying? By believing he’d developed some sort of superpower?
The worst part wasn’t even the fact that Eden wasn’t sure what to put his faith in, it was that the larger part of him didn’t care one way or the other. Maybe Ares was crazy, maybe he wasn’t.
What mattered was that his disposition had led to their meeting. He’d sought Eden out because of it, and while he didn’t take any pleasure in knowing the Black Hart had been struggling, he also couldn’t wish things had happened any other way.
He felt bad for the Ares of the past, but Eden didn’t know him.
He knew this version, the present one. The one who was already broken and cracked.
The one who whispered wicked promises in his ear and eventually held him down and took.
The fact they’d only had sex once—albeit spread over the course of almost two days—was boggling.
That was Eden’s doing. He’d turned Ares away last night, too worried he wouldn’t be able to walk straight into class today. Surprisingly, the Black Hart had accepted that.
Would he tonight?
Or would he shove Eden down and—
Eden loosened his tie, trying not to think about how it was the same shade of crimson as Ares’ eyes, and picked up his steps. Castle Black was just down the path. He’d go inside and see if Ares was home like he’d told him to be at the café, and they would take things from there.
They had to finish their conversation; that was the most important thing.
Not getting dicked down.
No matter how badly Eden wanted it.
It didn’t even make sense how hot and bothered he suddenly was from just briefly thinking about it.
He’d always been a sexual creature, but the ache in his lower back from their fucking nearly two days ago should have put him off.
He should not be eager to climb back onto Ares’ cock and willingly cause himself suffering in exchange for a bit of pleasure.
Okay. A hell of a lot of pleasure.
But still.
He—Came to a halt at the end of the driveway when he noticed one of the garage doors was open, and he could see Ares bent over a hoverbike.
Shirtless.
Damn it.
Clenching his hand around the strap of his briefcase, Eden forced himself to move forward, pulling his shoulders back and trying to morph his expression into something passable.
The Black Hart kept tinkering, not taking notice of his presence until Eden was practically standing in front of him on the other side of the bike.
“Paradise.” Ares straightened slowly, like an uncurling cat after a long nap, and tapped the wrench he held in his right hand against his left palm. “How was your first day?”
Eden scoffed. “I’m not a child.”
“Don’t lovers usually ask how each other's day went?” He tipped his head and gave him a searing once over, the mirth in his gaze causing Eden’s toes to traitorously curl in his loafers. “You don’t seem upset. Tense but not upset.”
“I’m not tense.”
Ares chuckled but left it at that. Turning, he replaced the tool and grabbed another, then picked up working on the bike.
The garage appeared to take up the entire level beneath the house, with over two dozen vehicles parked in neat rows. A glass box with doors to the left showed an elevator and a yellow door that no doubt led to the basement, another area Eden had yet to see.
“When are you going to give me the tour?” he asked, spinning in a circle to take it all in, searching for signs of which area belonged to the Black Hart currently sweaty and covered in grease stains.
Which was not sexy.
That would be so cliché.
Damn it.
“Those are mine.” Ares pointed straight ahead to a row of five vehicles: two cars, a jeep, and two hoverbikes.
“Didn’t ask.”
“Not with your voice, anyway.”
Eden clicked his tongue. “The tour?”
“After. Nyoka needs this done tonight. He’s picking Fisher up from the hospital.”
“Your friend Fisher?” The one who called him A.
Ares grinned. “Don’t pout, babe. For the record, while he and I can be called friends, he was Nyoka’s first. He’s Nyoka’s in more sense of the word than he is mine, it’s just the idiot isn’t willing to admit it quite yet.” He stood. “We’re not all as straightforward as I am.”
“Hate to break it to you, babe,” he drawled as Ares gave him his back to exchange tools yet again, “but you’re not exactly straightforward.”
He hummed as if conceding. “I like to lead you to your own conclusions, that’s fair. Things are so much sweeter when you think they were your own idea though, don’t you agree?”
Eden’s eyes narrowed. “I—”
Someone burst through the glass door leading inside, skidding across the concrete floor. He looked like he might be a student, and he paled when he saw Ares and Eden standing there, glancing between them and the exit.
Inside, the elevator doors dinged and opened to reveal Zar. His hands were in his pockets, and he didn’t seem nearly as rushed as the other student. The second he took a step toward the glass doors, the first man bolted.
He raced past Eden and Ares, curving his path to give them a wide berth. Unfortunately for him, the garage was so huge, he’d only just made it ten feet from the open door when Zar stepped from the glass attachment.
“Shoot him,” Zar’s voice was low and deep. Unhurried, same as the rest of him. He presented a quiet stillness that somehow made him appear even scarier than if he’d given chase.
Eden didn’t have much time to ponder over this, however. No sooner had Zar spoken than Ares reacted.
Lucfier’s hidden blaster was in his hand in a flash of motion, aimed, trigger pulled, all before Eden could fully process what he intended.
The gunshot echoed loudly, rattling the metal tools hanging from the walls, cracking against the concrete. The hiss and curse were almost drowned out by it, only audible because Eden had been paying attention.
The student who’d made a run for it fell, blood oozing from where the bullet had lodged itself in the back of his right thigh. Tears streamed from his face, but he appeared to be angrier than anything else. That fury only intensified with every measured step Zar took toward him.
“You can’t do this,” the injured man growled.
“I didn’t do anything,” Zar said.
“All you ever do is use Creation to alter your reality for you,” he spat. “Coward.”
Zar paused a few feet away and seemed to be considering his words. “Do you feel wronged? Why?”
“You shot me!”
“I—”
“Gods! You’re so fucking infuriating! You having him shoot me is the same as pulling the trigger yourself!”
“I could never,” Zar disagreed, but before Eden could misunderstand that statement for affection, he added, “Torture is a waste of time. I needed you stopped, so I asked Creation to stop you. That’s all. The fact that it resulted in injury was never my intent. You’re the one who ran, Jackal.”
“If you fucking touch me, I’ll gouge your one good eye out, I swear!”
“Which one is that? Be specific.” Zar started forward again despite the threat.
He reached down and captured the man’s arm, pulling him onto his feet.
When that elicited a cry of outrage, he swooped down and hoisted him over his shoulder, turning to carry him casually back the way they’d come.
“You’ll bleed out if you aren’t careful. Calm yourself.”
Zar nodded at Eden in greeting and then brought the man back through the glass entrance and straight into the elevator.
“What the hell was that?” Eden demanded as soon as they were alone again. He stared as Ares picked up where he’d left off with the bike, as though nothing had happened and he hadn’t just shot a person. “Who was that?!”
“I don’t know.” Ares shrugged. “I can ask Zar later if you’re that interested.”
“You don’t know?” A strange emotion flared within him. “You shot a stranger without any hesitation just because?” That wasn’t right, and he knew it.
Ares confirmed as much when he frowned. “Zar asked me to. It’s not like he wanted him dead.”
“What if he had?”
“Then it would have been a headshot. That’s the only way to guarantee—”