27. Predator and Prey
Predator and Prey
CASPIAN
The rocky terrain and the fog-drenched skies of Hollowmere would never prevent me from finding her. Nothing would. And if anyone were foolish enough to try, my wrath would swallow them whole, just as I planned to devour her.
Feeling Sorva’s violation pulsing beneath my skin, I pressed a hand to my chest. Thumb brushing over the royal crest responsible for marring my flesh, the veins beneath the split branches of lightning throbbed.
The day I’d noticed the blackening of my lineage was the day ink was etched along the entire left side of my body.
It served as another cloak for my truth, another layer over the mounting secrets I harbored.
But most of all, it displayed my desire to cling to the fractured remnants of my humanity, to hide the monster that lurked beneath the surface—the vessel of possession for the malevolent entity working to snuff out Wraelira and its people.
“Aw. Are you pouting?” Sorva mewled in the back of my mind, taking my father’s place.
“I am quite honored you made such a permanent decision, for when you are free of my clutches, that tattoo will only serve as a reminder of my presence and all you did for me without batting an eye. Such a good, dedicated boy.”
My jaw tightened at her utterance, words that proved I was far too pitiful to be anything other than her puppet. “As if you would ever grant me such a luxury.”
“That is where you are wrong, Caspian Vayne. Your essence is souring, and you’re becoming bitter, an empty husk. Soon enough, there will be nothing left of you for me to feast on, and I will move on to a far more… satiable soul.”
“Can’t wait,” I spat, training my focus on the steady drum of my footsteps against the cobblestone streets.
Expecting her retaliation in the form of sharpened syllables and heightened timbre, or a spike of anguish that would send me to my knees, I couldn’t help but loosen a breath when her looming proximity vanished.
In her absence, I dragged the bottom of my tongue across my canine, seeking comfort from the god whom I could no longer hear.
Elaros had fallen silent as soon as my knees had collided with the weather-soaked deck on Malrik’s ship.
Ever since my life force had spilled from my lips, only stillness had welcomed me.
That was, unless Sorva lingered in the shadows of my subconscious, ready to remind me of the leash she’d wrapped around my neck.
Cursing under my breath, I rounded the corner of the Hollow Lantern, a frequented tavern whenever I bothered to stop by the mysterious village.
My shoulder brushed the edge of the structure, the rustle of my clothes concealing the soft shing of metal as the sharpened point of steel settled against my pulse point.
“Captain,” Rohen crooned, the melodic hum of her voice a balm to my frayed nerves. “Rather reminiscent, isn’t it? Considering the last time we saw one another, I held this very blade to your throat?”
I licked the corner of my mouth, offering her the grin I knew she loathed most. “I suppose so, yes. Though every time we have found ourselves in this very situation, I’ve left rather disappointed, considering you’ve never stuck to your word, little siren.”
Her emerald gaze darkened with the annoyance she so readily carried, but she matched my taunting expression. “Who said I ever wished to see you pleased, Caspian Vayne? In fact, your displeasure is quite intoxicating, something that could satiate me for—”
Not allowing her to finish and unbothered by her dagger, I lunged as the fragments of my existence further fractured with her utterance.
They were a near-match to Sorva’s taunts, a reminder of all she’d stolen from me, and my crushing grip around Rohen’s neck served as proof of the detriment the Other had left ingrained on my essence.
With the gap between us nonexistent, her blade nicked my flesh.
I savored it, and part of me contemplated begging her to end my existence, to rid me of the falsified life I’d lived and the chains that shackled me to the dark deity commanding my fate.
Unable to utter my desire because of Sorva’s influence, I focused on the trickle of warmth that slipped down my chilled skin.
Nose brushing Rohen’s, I snarled a single word, “Don’t.”
“S-Something wrong… C-Captain?” she sneered, knuckles whitening as her hold on the weapon remained unwavering.
Lip curling, I squeezed tighter as indignation flooded my senses. “I certainly hope you planned on today being your last, Levitte, because—”
Her knee slammed into my groin, pain erupting through my lower abdomen.
Instinctively, my fingers unfurled from her neck, and I sucked in a rasped breath as the agony sprawled up and around my pelvis.
Nausea joined, my stomach twisting as I slapped my palm against the exterior of the building to keep myself upright.
“F-Fuck…”
She sucked in the oxygen I’d stolen from her before the heels of her hands drove into my shoulders with enough force to send me back a step. Slumped by the blow, I assumed a posture she used to her advantage.
Grabbing a fistful of my hair, she ripped my head back until our eyes locked.
Vibrant glare pulsing with rage, I didn’t miss the underlying emotion I shared, one I continuously tried to shove off because with it came chance, and with chance, hope followed—an optimism that did not exist in a reality such as ours.
“As you’re well acquainted, I have no issues cutting off a man’s prick. In fact, I rather enjoy it. Especially when they are idiotic enough to lay a godsdamned hand on me.”
Rohen yanked harder, and I had to swallow the groan of pleasure that threatened to follow.
By the gods, she was addicting, inebriating in a way alcohol had never been, as if the Damned had curated her essence to tame the monstrosity I had become.
Whenever she was near, all I wished to do was crawl for her, kiss the ground she walked upon, and let her have her way with me however she deemed and for as long as she saw fit.
I longed for her just as the moon longed for the sun, just as dusk chased dawn, and that was what infuriated me the most.
Not my silent yearning, but the knowing that I would never be granted the opportunity to have her in the ways I dreamed of.
She wasn’t safe around me, not with Sorva breathing down my neck, able to command the rise of my hand or the retrieval of my sword without me being able to do anything about it.
She was the reason I had harmed Rohen, and I viscerally revolted at ever setting a hand on her in any way other than those I fantasized about.
All I desired was to run my fingers through her hair, for her to settle her head on my chest and caress me in a way I knew she never would.
Instead, all I offered were harsh touches and bruised skin, my inability to control my anger none other than Sorva’s doing.
Finally, beneath Rohen’s mercy, I pressed, more than willing for her to spill my blood. “We both know you’d enjoy that task far too much.”
Preferred dagger replaced with a freed cutlass, the snarl she released became far more feral than human. Spinning the lengthened steel between her fingers with precision, her hooded glower found mine. Her emerald irises glistened with the bloodlust she promised, and I couldn’t help but grin.
Sucking in a breath, I pushed myself to stand fully. The throbbing ache in my abdomen remained, but I brushed it aside, too drawn into the violence she emanated and the wrath billowing from her in thick plumes.
I loved seeing her toeing the line of insanity, prowling along the cliff of vengeance without fear of taking a dive. It was exactly why she was dangerous; she matched me. Her darkness mirrored my own, and her anger matched mine.
If she were fire, I was air. She harbored the ability to snuff out my oxygen while I was more than capable of eradicating her essence with one blow. But together we became a wildfire, one that would leave nothing behind but decimation and eradication, for we fed off one another.
Sliding one saber from its scabbard, I licked my bottom lip. “You want to play, little siren?”
“Depends.” She circled me, analyzing every footfall, each rise and fall of my chest, and any slips in my demeanor. “Would you like to toy with me, Captain? You seem to rather enjoy playing with your food.”
Smile deepening, I angled the sharpened blade in front of me. Without hesitation, I tossed her a clue, a hint of the man who rested beneath the mirage Sorva had created, waiting to be seen. “That’s where you are mistaken, darling, for I would much rather be the prey than the predator.”