39. Soren
SOREN
The air cracks with tension, and it’s suddenly clear to me that no one in this room is going to get precisely what they want.
Sable lies in the bed, and we can’t afford for this to break out into a full-blown fight that might result in her being hurt.
Though I am positively sure at this point that Hadrian drugged her because not even the dead could sleep through this.
“You fuckers broke my finger, I’m going to break his and see how well he plays then.
” A pang of unease runs through me. Hadrian’s music is everything to him, and maybe I don’t hate him quite as much as I’d like because the idea of taking that from him makes me sick.
“See how good it feels to touch Sable then.”
He takes an aggressive step toward Hadrian, but Orion and Lex continue to hold him back.
“That’s enough, Parker,” I say, hating the fact that compromise truly seems to be the only way forward.
“We are all entitled to access to Sable. Whether we choose to use it or not is also up to us.” I hope they hear what I’m saying.
That I don’t use her, and they should stop trying to force it down my throat.
The fact that I desperately want her is a thorn in my side that they simply don’t need to know about.
Parker’s mouth drops open like my suggestion is a betrayal. The idea of working with the man we all hate so much doesn’t sit well with me either, but I’m nothing if not realistic, and if we don’t come to an understanding, this will be an explosion waiting to happen for as long as we’re all here.
“You, of all people, want to claim rights to the Offering?” Incredulity spills from his lips as he looks at me. “You want to claim your rights so you can reject them?” Parker is much quicker than most people give him credit for.
“That’s the benefit of having power, isn’t it?
” I ask, pinning each of them with a disappointed glare.
“I have a right to her whether I want it or not, just like Hadrian does, whether we want him to or not.” Parker’s face falls, and I feel bad for that, too.
He’s been so freaking loyal to me that the last thing I want is for him to think I’m choosing fucking Hadrian over him.
“I do not want to be here any more than you want me here. However, if you think I’m going to live in hell and ignore the fruit, you’ve lost your minds.” Hadrian looks at us all like we’re beneath him, and I know that’s what he believes. Parker rolls his eyes, not one for the dramatics.
“What the fuck is so bad about being here?” I ask. I know why I hate it, but he hasn’t even been here long enough to form an opinion.
“Let’s talk somewhere else. This is distracting,” Lex says, eyes quickly darting to Sable’s filled cunt and away.
Parker leads us into his room, a line of black monitors sits on his desk, and I raise my eyebrow since I don’t remember them being here before.
Once we’re all inside, he closes the door and flips on all the lights so we can really see one another.
Blood vessels have burst around Hadrian’s eyes, his lip bleeds, and I can’t wait for tomorrow when it really looks like he’s been put through hell, but beneath that petty enjoyment sits a sliver of guilt.
He looks at me with more fondness than I’d like.
“So what do you suggest then, Soren?”
“Well, there are five of us, and classes run five days a week. We each get a day to take her to classes, and the weekends can be divided between the four of you. I don’t need one.
” I’m acting like an egalitarian leader, but my fingers tingle at the idea of having my own day with her.
I won’t take it. She won’t be following me to my classes, but the fact that it will be there at all excites that dark place inside me that’s becoming obsessed with her.
“So you think that just perfectly solves everything?” Parker asks with a pissed-off tone. “Just cut him in and we’re done.”
“No, I don’t want a day at all. That’s not perfect.”
“Seems perfect to me,” Hadrian says, setting my teeth on edge.
“Trust me, it won’t be. We all hate your guts,” I say.
Parker’s lips kick up in his first smile of the evening.
“If Hadrian gets Sable,” he says through gritted teeth, “then he needs to respect the game.”
Lex nods. “No taking her when it’s not your day. No undoing anything that we do. No interfering.” He’s clearly talking about his collar, and it takes everything in me not to roll my eyes.
“Fine,” Hadrian agrees. “But the same goes for me. I have the same rights.”
“Do we all agree?” I ask, and everyone does. “Good, then I’ve had enough of all of your shit for the night.”
Parker shakes his head. “Aren’t you a fucking ray of sunshine?”
“You’re the one starting shit, Parker,” Orion comments as he heads back to his room.
“Fuck you too,” he says.
“Don’t make an enemy out of everyone just because you’re ugly now,” I tell my best friend, hoping he doesn’t let this get to him. He can be scary when he feels cornered.
“What do you mean I’m ugly?” His eyebrows push together, the giant split opening.
“Look in the mirror.” Lex laughs before he leaves, too.
It’s just Hadrian, Parker, and me, but this doesn’t deserve any more of my time, so I turn to leave.
“I know,” Hadrian says to Parker, and my eyebrows shoot up as I stop in my tracks.
“What do you know?” Parker says, fear crossing his features.
Hadrian smiles once before he leaves, shutting the door behind him. I give Parker one last long look, but he doesn’t clue me in to what Hadrian means, so eventually, I go back to my room and shut the door.