Chapter 35 Reverie
Reverie
The stone ceiling swam above me.
Cold air.
Wards humming.
Magic pressing against my skin like a warning.
And then—
“Reverie.”
His voice. “Torren.”
I jolted upright.
Trent sat at the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees, hands clasped so tightly the veins stood out. Shadows clung to him—shifting, restless. His jaw was clenched hard enough to crack teeth.
The man was beyond attractive. Long hair, as dark as my own that spilled down his back to his waist. He had to be at least Oren’s height at 6’5, with green eyes that could pierce your soul. Nothing like the man I had fallen half in love with.
Torren.
His eyes lifted.
Ancestors.
They were burning. And no sanity whatsoever shone from them.
I pushed myself back against the wall. “You—you took me, my family, my—my friends—”
“They’re all alive,” he smiled. “I even brought Tanya and her men here with you.”
“Why?” I snapped. I knew there had to be a reason.
He flinched.
I wasn’t expecting that.
Trent Storm did not flinch.
“To keep you company.” The sly smile he displayed suggested something else entirely.
I blinked. “I can’t trust you.”
His jaw ticked. “You shouldn’t.”
“What?”
“You shouldn’t trust me,” he repeated, softer. “Not after last time. Not after… before.”
Before.
Meaning:
Before this life.
Before Reverie.
Before the curse.
Lilibet.
Kratos.
My throat tightened. “I saw it.”
He closed his eyes, as if the words physically hurt him. “I know.”
“You killed your Faction.”
His breath hitched. “I didn’t mean—I didn’t want—”
“You defied the Ancestors and caused misery for thousands of years!”
“And I would again,” he whispered, voice breaking. “That’s the problem.”
Something inside me stuttered.
He looked away—shame, fury, longing, and madness flickering across his face like a storm. “You don’t know what it’s like,” he ran a hand down his face. “To suddenly understand that you’re the one who ruined an entire population. Lost the one person you were born to love.”
His voice cracked into something jagged.
“You don’t know what it’s like fighting off insanity every day and being split three ways.
” He pressed a palm to his temple as if he could physically hold himself together.
“Part of me wants to shield you from everything.” His hand trembled.
“Part of me wants to run before I hurt you again.” His eyes lifted—shattered, feral, terrified.
“And part of me—the part you saw in the vision—” His breath shuddered.
“That part wants to burn anyone who looks at you.”
Silence.
Heavy. Crushing.
I swallowed hard. “Which part brought me here?”
A bitter laugh slipped from him. “All three.”
Then his expression shifted—just slightly—into something darker. “But if you’re asking which part wanted to keep you close…” He lifted one hand, stopping inches from touching my cheek. “Kratos.”
My heart hammered.
“I’m not asking you to trust me,” he pushed his silky hair off his face. “But right now? The only one who can lead you to Rue—” His eyes flicked upward, savoring my surprise, pupils shrinking to a thin, inhuman ring. “—is the monster you’re afraid I still am.”
I swallowed. “Are you that monster?”
He smiled.
Sad.
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
“Yes,” he whispered. “And I’m trying to find a way to be your monster.”
Something inside me cracked open.
“How did you know about the letter?”
“Through the bond, how else?”
But before I could answer—
A distant thud echoed in the fortress.
A shout.
A Draxon’s roar… two Draxon to be exact.
Trent’s head snapped toward the door, expression darkening into the predator he tried to bury. “I guess they woke up. Seems they’re stronger than I gave them credit for.”
I stood.
“I’m sorry, little Bellator, but they’re not part of my plan.”
That word sparked a memory, but it was gone before I could hold on to it.
Cold stone touched my cheek.
My eyes snapped open.
For one breath, I didn’t know where the hell I was.
Then everything slammed back at once—
Trent. Shadows. A hand over my mouth. The world tearing sideways.
I sat up too fast, head spinning. My wrists were bound by thin metallic cuffs that hummed faintly—null cuffs. They didn’t tighten, didn’t bruise, but they swallowed my abilities whole.
Tanya was slumped beside me, still unconscious, Razor and Malik on either side of her, wrists cuffed to the same black stone table I was.
Torches flickered along walls that looked carved from the rare shimmering stone used only in ancient ruling halls—silver flecks of crushed crystal rippling through the surface like starlight trapped in rock. High-tech and archaic at the same time.
My heart hammered.
Shadow-travel. He used shadow-travel on all of us.
That ability wasn’t normal.
It was far from ordinary.
It wasn’t even supposed to exist outside myth.
Only Kratos and the old royal Factions were believed to hold it. Oren mentioned it to us one night while we were relaxing together.
I swallowed hard.
Trent wasn’t just skilled. He wasn’t just powerful. He had Lilibet-era abilities.
Just like me.
My breath left my body.
Where are my men? My parents?
Footsteps echoed from outside the chamber.
And then he walked in.
Trent.
Hair loose.
Eyes sharp.
Shadows curling around him as if they adored him.
“My darling Reverie,” he lowered his voice, silky and wrong, “awake at last.”
I jerked away as far as the restraints allowed. “You kidnapped us… again.”
He didn’t deny it.
The fucking crazy man actually smiled. “Only temporarily.”
Razor lunged, metal clanging. Trent barely flicked two fingers—and Razor froze, breath choking in his throat.
“Don’t,” Trent said pleasantly. “I prefer to keep you alive.”
Tanya burst out, voice shaking, “Please—don’t hurt him!”
Trent sighed, genuine irritation flickering across his features before he smoothed it away. “I’m not here to harm anyone. I’m here to save someone.”
He stepped behind me and the temperature in the room dropped.
A ripple of shadow rolled outward like a black tide, forming a sphere of void in the center of the chamber.
The hair on my arms rose.
The shadows tore open—
And Rue fell out.
My father.
Alive.
I only recognized him from photographs; he was older now and looked like he’d lived a thousand lives since those were taken, but it was him.
“What the hell?!” I whispered, unable to believe my eyes.
“Stay calm, little Bellator. There is no need to be angry with me. I’m here to help.” He strolled to my side of the table and leaned down to kiss my cheek.
He was weak, bruised, and barely conscious. But he was ALIVE!
He collapsed onto his hands and knees, shackles smoking around his wrists, ability-disrupting cuffs cracked from Trent’s interference.
“Rue—Rue!” I screamed, fighting the restraints.
Rue lifted his head, his beautiful blue eyes glassy but trying—trying—to focus on me.
“Adelaide…?” His voice was racked with pain.
I lost my breath. This man knew nothing about me. He hadn’t even known my mother was pregnant with me before they were separated.
“Not Adelaide…I’m your daughter… Reverie.” I spoke in a quiet voice, knowing just what a shock this was going to be to him, and frankly, he looked like he’d been through enough.
Trent stood over Rue like a proud magician revealing his final trick. “You see?” he whispered, crouching beside him. “Alive. But not for long unless she comes with me.”
“We don’t have a choice, Reverie.” He turned to Tanya.
She shook her head violently. ‘No, this is wrong—this is—”
“If you don’t,” Trent said softly, “Rue dies on this floor.’
Rue swayed, wheezing but never taking his eyes off me. “Reverie… my sweet baby—” The look on his face was pure loss and devastation. “My life isn’t worth anything he’s asking of you.”
Trent trailed a finger down Rue’s spine, shadows sparking beneath his touch.
Rue arched with a groan.
“STOP!” I shouted.
Trent grinned and winked at Tanya, “If you don’t do this, I’ll end your men. You know how effortless that would be for me.”
Tanya sobbed, looking between Razor and me with complete sorrow, and I couldn’t stand to see it. “Do it. You can’t lose Razor.”
The green glow began to form in her hand. “I’m sorry…” she whispered as a tear fell down her cheek.
Trent came back around to me and reached out a finger, dissolving my cuffs.
I took the opportunity to call fire to my hands, but when I started to burn him, my ability just fizzled out. It was almost like now that we were bonded, I couldn’t hurt him. I brought up my knee and threw a punch at his throat simultaneously, but neither landed.
He threw back his head and laughed. “I do so love your spirit, little Bellator.” He grabbed me around the waist. “Now, Tanya, I don’t want to wait any longer.”
“Please forgive me.” She raised her hand and closed her eyes. The green glow spread from her palm and enveloped us both.
I felt my heart break, and I knew things would never be the same. Too late, I connected this to the dream I’d had months ago, never realizing it had been a warning from the Ancestors.
A BOOM shook the chamber.
The torches guttered.
The shadows recoiled like something huge had just stepped into the room.
Tanya’s magic flickered out.
Trent went rigid.
The door blasted inward—
—Ubel Brummond stormed in with six Dark Faction guards behind him, blade drawn and crackling with energy.
“TRENT!” Ubel roared. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!”
Right behind him, Selene, pale hair wild, eyes glowing with lethal fury. “If you think we’re letting you undo years of containment of that man—” she hissed, pointing at Rue. “—you’ve finally gone insane.”
Trent straightened, shadows coiling around him like living armor.
“Oh,” he smirked in amusement, “I’ve been insane for a very, very long time.
His serum saw to that.” He motioned at Rue, who looked horrified at everything taking place.
“But no worries, I’ve found my Nexus, and together we’re going to fix everything wrong with our world. ”
Selene flicked her wrist—and the guards surged forward, weapons drawn.
Ubel’s voice thundered: “SEAL THE ROOM! GET HIM AWAY FROM HER!”
Trent stepped in front of me. Shadows rose behind him like wings. “Try it,” he whispered.
And the whole room exploded into chaos.