Chapter 20 Reverie #2
Sewer surfing? What were they talking about?
Jet wiped blood from his mouth. Then grabbed me from Nathan and hugged me so tight I had difficulty breathing.
After only a few seconds, Oren pulled me into his arms and buried his face in my hair. His voice was barely a whisper, shaking with relief. “You’re safe now, baby.”
I wasn’t sure if he saw me kill Kristine, but I felt like I needed to say something. After all, she was his stepsister.
“I killed Kristine.” I stared intently at his face, looking for any signs of grief. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. That bitch deserved worse.” He kissed me hard on the mouth. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
Over his shoulder, Torren stood at the edge of the group, sword still in hand.
Eyes still on me.
Expression unreadable.
He fought beside them. He saved my life. But I really didn’t think my men were going to be happy about his presence.
And I still don’t fully trust him, even after today.
By the time we make it deep enough into the woods that the glow of Bellona fades, my legs stop cooperating—the ground tilts. My knees give.
Oren catches me before the ground can. One arm under my knees, the other around my back, holding me like he’s afraid gravity might try to steal me next. He pressed his forehead to mine, breath ragged.
“You’re okay,” he whispered, voice cracking. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.” His arms shake.
Nathan crouched in front of me and carefully took one of my hands, inspecting the burn marks and brushing soot off my skin as if he could erase what happened in that arena.
“I want to kill every last one of those fuckers again,” he says softly, then sighs.
“That’s the last time we’ll be apart, even if I have to stitch us together. ”
By the look in his eyes, I wasn’t entirely sure he was joking. My psycho was absolutely capable of it.
Jet knelt on my other side, thumb wiping blood from my cheek. “I don’t know how to exist in a world where you’re not in it.”
Those words from Jet stole my ability to breathe.
Zane dropped to his knees behind me and slid his arms around my waist, pressing his forehead to my shoulder. “I’m going to kill everyone who held you here,” he murmured. “Never again will I be without you. I swear it.”
Zeke’s hand went to the back of my neck, grounding, gentle. “We should never have let them take you.”
Then out of nowhere, my beautiful Pantar appeared and wedged his enormous body under my free hand, rumbling protectively, tail thumping the ground.
“I was at the ready in case the men you’ve picked for your Faction did not measure up.
They are on probation after letting you be taken in the first place. ”
I’m surrounded.
Smothered.
Loved so fiercely it hurts. And for a moment, I let myself melt into them.
Oren’s fingers shake against my cheek as Nathan kisses the back of my hand.
Jet’s nose brushes my temple.
Zane squeezes me tight enough to steal breath, only letting go when Zeke cups my jaw and whispers, “We’ve got you, precious.”
I smile, shaky. “I missed y’all so very much.”
Five sets of hands tighten at once.
Then Oren’s entire body goes still. “Someone’s behind us.”
The men unfold around me in a heartbeat—Jet in front, Nathan and Zeke flanking my sides, Zane rising slowly with fire crawling up his arms.
Oren disappears in a blink.
I twist around.
Torren stands at the edge of the clearing.
Stormcutter lowered.
Bloody.
Breathing hard.
Watching me.
Not the men. Me.
Oren reappears in front of me, voice low and lethal. “She’s safe now. Leave.”
Torren’s gaze flicks to Oren—measured, cold. “You’re welcome.”
Nathan scoffs. “Welcome for what? We were the ones to get her out.”
Jet grabs the knife at his waist. “We don’t know you.”
Zeke’s eyes narrow to icy slits. “We don’t trust you.”
Zane just grins, enjoying the tension.
Torren doesn’t flinch. “I don’t need you to.”
He was either the bravest man I knew or the most arrogant. I suspected it was a little of both.
I stepped between them, heart racing. “He saved my life. Let’s all take it down a notch.”
Five voices combust at once, all in protest of my statement.
My mouth opens. “He helped—”
Oren’s voice slices the air. “We won’t take the chance.” He took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes at Torren. “We do appreciate that you were there when we couldn’t be, but we’ve got her now.”
“We were coming,” Jet growled, not appreciating Oren’s words.
“We always will,” Zeke added.
I swallowed hard. “I know, but he helped when he didn’t have to. That should earn him at least a little trust.”
I really didn’t know why I was fighting so hard for him because there was no doubt I didn’t fully trust him, either.
Torren lifted his chin slightly. “She wouldn’t have survived long enough to get to the coliseum without me.”
I didn’t know about that, but at this point, I wasn’t going to protest his statement.
Nathan’s smirk is dark. “Maybe, but my Nexi is strong, and even without you or us, she would have found a way.” His smirk shifted into a sweet smile as he looked at me. Then he turned back to Torren. “So kindly fuck right off.”
The tension was about to go from a small flame to a wildfire out of control—then a twig snapped.
Everyone turned.
Chloe burst out of the trees, Oliver, and (is that the guy from the dining hall?), breathless and pale and covered in ash. “What the fuck, you assholes? That wasn’t part of the plan at all!”
“Chloe?” I murmur. Not really believing my eyes.
“Reverie!” She screamed, sprinting towards me.
Before any of the men could move, Chloe threw her arms around me, sobbing against my shoulder. “You’re alive—you’re alive—I thought—you badass bitch—don’t scare—”
Zane picked her up mid-hug to get her off my bruised and battered body. “Careful. She’s just been through a battle of epic proportions.”
Chloe ignored him completely and pulled out of his arms to kiss my forehead. “I will buy you a cake, a new minion bra, and get tickets to the fucking Catalina Wine Mixer if you promise to never scare me like that again.”
“I knew that it was you who sent him to deliver a message to me.” I nodded in the direction of the guy from the dining hall.
She smirked, “He’s my other Faction member, Deshawn. Two and counting.” She waggled her brows.
Oliver exhaled, “I aged ten years tonight.” He frowned at my men. “Why make a plan if you’re just going to do what the hell you want to anyway?”
Deshawn walked up to me and held out his hand. “My dad speaks highly of your parents.”
“Damien?!” I snapped my fingers. “You look just like Damien.” Deshawn jumped at my enthusiasm and then grinned.
“There is a slight resemblance.” He suddenly grabbed his shoulder and fell to his knees, followed closely by Chloe.
“She has earned a Faction through her loyalty as your Aegisseer.”
Chloe pulled her shirt down, revealing a beautiful Nexus mark that looked very similar to my mom’s. Deshawn stared at her in awe, then pulled his collar aside and saw the tree of life surrounded by a circle.
“Now we match.” He mumbled to his Faction, clearly in shock.
Oliver dropped to his knees and put his arms around them both. The rest of us were too stunned to move.
After a few moments, Chloe stood and pulled me into her arms, and when her eyes met mine, they were glassy and fierce all at once. “You just made me whole. Ancestors help anyone who tries to hurt you—because they’ll have to go through us first.”
Oliver and Deshawn echoed the vow, then pulled their new Nexus back into their arms, not wanting to lose the connection to her for a second.
“You have Aegisworn?” Torren asked, clearly stunned by what had just happened.
Before I could reply, Oliver, Chloe, and Deshawn glanced at him, only now noticing his presence.
“Who’s the tall, sketchy guy? Do I need to kick his ass?" Chloe examined him from head to toe, then grinned at me. “It would be a pity, though—he's quite the snack."
Both of her men growled.
Oren stepped between Torren and the others, shoulders broad, voice lethal and calm. “He’s leaving.”
Torren looked at me. Only me. “The forest won’t stay safe. They will come looking for you as soon as they regroup.”
No threat or fear.
Just the truth as he saw it.
Oren’s voice dropped to a whisper lined with steel. “Don’t stare at my Nexus. We decide as a group whether you stay or go.”
Chloe leaned near my ear, “Say the word and we’ll bury him. Ride or die. Your choice, bestie.”
Torren's voice remained steady, not wavering at all. “I’m staying.”
Silence snapped through the clearing.
Oren stepped forward, shadows slithering around his body. “You don’t make that decision.”
Torren's eyes lock onto Oren’s stare without a blink.
“You don’t know this forest. I do. They’ll send everything they have to find you.
They’ll set fire to this entire forest to smoke you out.
” He glances at me—just a quick flicker of connection, brief and careful.
“I know where the old tunnels are. I know which rivers flow deep enough to hide tracks. I know which cliffs won’t support weight.
You don’t.” He smirked slightly. “And I know where there might be a portal that’s open. ”
Pantar stepped up to him at his full height and growled low. “I can take his head for you.”
“That won’t be necessary.” I smoothed my hand down his side.
Jet’s eyes narrowed. “So, you’re volunteering to be our guide?”
“No,” Torren sniffed. “I’m far from a lowly guide.”
And there was the arrogance.
“But I’m not leaving, so you might as well use my knowledge to keep your Nexus safe.”
Zane spat on the ground. “You’re really asking to die tonight, huh?”
Nathan rolled his neck as his hands burst into flames. “I’ll help.”
Oren’s jaw flexed, hands twitching with barely contained power. “We can keep our Nexus safe. We don’t need anything from you.” Shadows began slithering around his body. “You can tell us the way.”
“I’m not here for you.” Torren showed no concern despite Oren’s display of power. “And you won’t be able to find it without me. I’ll make sure of that."
A ripple moved through the group—anger, shock, disbelief.
Then he looked at me—only me. “You’re not safe yet, Reverie. So, I stay." He turned to my men. “They saw what I did in that arena, so they’ll kill me on sight, anyway.”
My heart was pounding so loudly, I swear they could all hear it. Not once did he mention that he’s my Potential. It was nice that he waited for me to start that conversation.
Oren steps half an inch in front of me, voice low, lethal, final. “You don’t touch her, ever.”
“Not unless she asks,” Torren said with zero inflection.
Every man in the clearing froze.
But Torren turned and smiled gently at me before quietly sitting down at the base of a tree, sword across his lap, back straight, eyes on the darkness beyond us—protecting us as if he belonged there.
Like he’d done it a thousand times.
“I’m not leaving, so you might as well get a few hours of rest.”
Oren snarled. “This isn’t over.”
Torren nodded once. “I didn’t think it was.”
And for a brief moment, so short that I couldn’t be sure… I thought I saw a malicious gleam of satisfaction in his eyes.