XIII
SILAS
It’s a perfect night.
Crisp, dark, moonless.
The sky above is endless.
Augustine becomes mine once the sun sets. It’s one of The Decrees, promises given to adherents of The Order of the Holy Sacrament. This sacred power is why thousands of men before me, and thousands after me, have given themselves to The Order.
In the absence of life, The Spirit within comes alive.
Every part of this campus. From the twisting corridors, the shadowed courtyard, the hollow silence in the halls…
It all belongs to me—and there’s nothing that can take it from me. I’m staring at the stars in the sky, scattered like diamonds, when nearby footsteps draw my eyes to something far more precious.
Eden moves toward me with cautious steps, her silhouette bathed in silver moonlight—like a fallen goddess still cloaked in an otherworldly glow.
She’s changed out of her school uniform, into a modest short-sleeved velvet dress. But I can still make out the curve of her breasts, the shape of her thighs and the softness of her stomach.
I’m seeing her for the first time.
Her coily auburn hair is held back by a bejewelled headband, uneven and brushing her shoulders. Her lips glisten, her lashes light and feathery, complimenting her brown eyes that look almost black in the moonlight.
There’s an inexplicable pull that I can only attribute to one thing. The vision The Spirit gave me. Eden doesn’t just look beautiful tonight. She looks like mine.
I watch as she approaches me, her steps a bit unsteady but purposeful nonetheless. She stops just short of me, as if waiting for my approval to approach.
So obedient.
I lick my lips, beckoning her closer with two fingers.
“You came.”
A simple statement that has her blushing shyly.
She’s so… innocent . How did I not notice this sooner? The Spirit revealed what was right in front of my eyes all this time. I knew she was pliant, moldable—but alluring wasn’t high on that list.
Now? I’d fuck her every day of the week, multiple times per day.
And maybe I will.
“You invited me.” Her gaze is soft, shaded by her beautiful eyelashes.
A slow smirk tugs at my lips. My darling Eden still thinks she had a choice. However, after tonight—she’ll realize she doesn’t. And for someone like her, who believes so earnestly in the rigidity of Catholicism, she’ll enjoy the idea of relinquishing her choices to me. She won’t even realize the moment her reverence for me outweighs what she feels for her God.
“There’s something I want to show you, love.” I reach for her hand. She hesitates momentarily before letting me take it.
Good girl.
Her fingers are cold, but they grow warmer with each step we take through the courtyard. She’s a single step behind me at all times, as I lead her through the maze of shadowy rooms and old wooden doors that creak under their own weight.
She asks where we’re going in a soft, wary voice.
“Do you trust me?”
“I do, yes.” No hesitation.
I look back, giving her a small smile.
“Another one of my favorite secret spots.”
Finally, we are at the north tower.
Like the old chapel, the north tower is no longer used—as it was a place for the Academy’s guards to stand watch. The others are crumbling, but this one is much better preserved despite the cracked gray stone, creeping ivy and moss on the outside. We enter through a set of heavy stone doors that have fallen off their hinges.
The way Eden is clutching my hand, I know she’s nervous, perhaps even scared. Shifting her hand in mine, I place my thumb over her wrist. Her heart is hammering, like a rabbit trapped in a cage. It calls to something primal in me.
I lick my lips. “This was another place I discovered last year,” I say to her as we begin the climb to the tower room. “The climb is worth it for the view. ”
The steps are uneven, spiralling upward in a suffocatingly narrow space. Eden’s breath grows heavier—I have her ascending ahead of me in case she misses a step—and her pulse is still quickening.
But she doesn’t complain. Not even when the dust thickens. Not even when the air turns stale with the scent of aged stone and forgotten things.
Finally, we reach the top.
I step in front of her, pushing open the heavy wooden door.
The moon spills inside before us, casting elongated shadows across the room.
The tower room is a relic from a different era—forgotten, but not entirely abandoned. The walls are lined with ancient portraits, watching us with hollow eyes, their faces distorted by time. There’s half a suit of armor, a few shields and even a spear still in here.
An ode to times past.
But we aren’t here for a history lesson.
There’s a single arched stone window that overlooks the entire campus. From here you can see everything —the front gates, the dorms, the library, the grand chapel, the observatory and even the graveyard.
I guide Eden towards it with a firm hand on her shoulder.
A quiet gasp slips from her lips.
Augustine looks like something carved by the hands of The Spirit from this vantage point, with its winding pathways illuminated by lamplight, and the lake rippling like liquid silver.
While she watches the view, I watch her.
She steps closer, holding on to the thick stone frame of the window .
“It’s beautiful,” she murmurs.
I’m behind her now. Close enough that the scent of her hair—cinnamon and something faintly floral—fills my lungs. Close enough that I could press my hand against her waist and feel how her body fits against mine. I start to feel the same way I felt that night during the ritual.
Desire coils in my chest, dark and hungry.
“Claim what’s yours.”
The voice in my head doesn’t sound like mine, but I don’t really care. My blood is rushing straight to my cock, warmth spreading from there to the rest of my body. The tension growing in my arms needs release.
I grab Eden’s hand, pulling her toward me with such force she stumbles, hitting my hard chest. She gasps—fright or shock, who knows—but I don’t let her go.
A hand wraps around her waist, while the other tilts her head. Her heartbeat is in sync with mine. But her breaths are shallow, fluttering beneath the delicate skin of her throat. She knows what’s coming next.
I give her a devilish smile.
Then I lift her slightly so our lips collide.
In that moment, something snaps .
The kiss is searing, urgent—my hand grips the back of her head, forcing her into me, consuming her. She gasps into my mouth, but I don’t even give her space to breathe. Instead, I press her back against the cold stone of the tower wall, caging her.
My hand tangles in her hair, pulling her head back to deepen the kiss. Eden is soft, warm and impossibly sweet. My tongue glides against her mouth, coaxing her lips open before sliding into the slick, warmth of her delicate mouth. Her resistance is melting by the second .
It feels like this is her first kiss—and it’s so fucking maddening. When I sink my teeth into her lower lip, I swallow her cry.
Her hands slam against my chest, a futile attempt at pushing me away. A growl rumbles low in my throat as the metallic bloom of blood finds my tongue. She gasps for air, and I give her just a single mouth full before I claim her mouth again.
She’s warm, wet and iron-sweet.
The kiss turns messy, feverish. My lips and teeth move against hers again and again, deepening the wound, smearing her blood between us. Eden whimpers in pain, grabbing fistfulls of my shirt. She tries to writhe away but I press my body against hers.
There’s nowhere for her to go.
Her cheeks start to feel wet against mine.
Tears, perhaps.
I don’t know how long the kiss goes on for—all I can focus on is the taste of her, the softness of something so fragile. But when we break apart, there’s a trail of crimson down her chin. Leaning down to lick the blood from her face, I smear some of it on my tongue with my thumb.
“You’re mine, Eden,” I murmur.
Her eyes are wide. Her face, stained with tears. Her lips bruised. She’s taking heavy breaths—but no words. The look of her awakens something in me. Something dark and wild. I pull Eden toward the window, and just like that?—
She’s teetering over the edge.
“Silas…” Her voice is small, tinged with fear and pain.
I bend her so half her body is hanging out the window while I grip her waist.
“Silas!” A scream, this time .
That won’t do.
I undo my tie with a single hand, then I gag her with it, pinning her in place with my hips before making a hasty knot at the back of her head. She shudders, but her cries are muffled against my tie as I hike up her dress with one hand. She’s trying to clutch at me—nails digging into my arms, panic flashing through her blown pupils as she tries to turn around, to get me to stop.
Is she begging? I can’t tell. But I know she’s crying, and my cock twitches in my pants. She’s afraid of what’s about to happen next. It’s a pleasure to see the look in her eyes as she realizes that she’s about to lose her innocence.
“Claim her .”
I hold her there—suspended between the safety of the tower room and the ever present danger of falling to her death below—while the wind whispers through the open window. The night swallows her muffled whimpers.
“Shh,” I whisper.
Her dress is hiked up to her waist, revealing a delicate pair of lace underwear that I tear through with a single rip. I stash them in my pocket before unzipping my pants. Her body starts to tremble. Despite the gag, she’s trying to scream.
“You beautiful girl,” I learn forward just enough that my hot breath skitters across her skin. “Promise you’ll be good and take all of me.”
With a kick, I spread her legs—then I sink into her tight warmth from behind. She’s slick with wet heat. Her mind might be doing one thing, but her body tells no lies. Broken whimpers and gasps fill the tower room as she takes me, inch by inch. I tighten my grip on her waist, my fingers pressing into her so hard I know she’ll have bruises in the morning.
With each thrust I go deeper.
Even with the gag, I can tell she’s screaming my name. She doesn’t know it yet, but soon she’ll whisper it like a prayer. Thrust after thrust, Eden’s slick cunt contracts around my cock, and I stretch her more each time.
She’s flailing through the open window, body writhing from pain and lust as I thrust into her with more force each time. My cock grows impossibly harder, and I lose myself in the rhythmic feeling of our bodies moving together.
So much so that time slips away from me. But eventually, Eden stops fighting me, bending herself more through the open window. Does she like the thrill? She spreads her legs wider, almost lifting them off the floor as she takes all of me. Fucking her feels like the fusion of our souls. My eyes roll over, a bone-deep shudder taking over as I finish inside her. Warm, milky liquid spills out of her, coating my cock.
I grab her by the neck, pulling her back inside.
Her eyes are red from crying, hair sticking to her sweat-coated temples, her plump lips bruised and bloody. She’s dazed and perfectly ruined.
She hurries to pull down her dress as I untie the gag from her mouth. After fixing my own clothes, I stand there, running my hand along her temple, a hand around her waist crushing her into me. I rest my chin on top of her head.
My body is buzzing with emotions I’ve never felt before. Each finger a livewire, every limb light as a feather. This feeling only proves that last night wasn’t a dream—it was a vision of the future. Everything feels right about this moment.
Eden starts trembling against my chest again.
I pull away enough to take a look at her face.
“You just?—”
I cover her mouth with two fingers. She winces and looks up at me, wide-eyed, tears brimming by her water line .
“You took me so well,” I whisper roughly. “You’ve been such a good girl, my love.”
Her lip trembles, and she looks down at her shoes—trying to hide the blush that’s heating up her cheeks. I pluck a handkerchief from my pocket to dry her tears. But the cum dripping down her leg—I want her to have it as a reminder. As I clean up her face, I notice blood on the corner of my white shirt.
It’s not from our kiss. It’s from how I claimed her.
I kiss a wet, sloppy line down her cheek, nipping at her skin when I get to her neck. She bares her throat to me, a low hum vibrating against my lips. I leave behind bruises and scrapes. I growl like some sort of animal.
She wraps her arms around me, her legs unsteady. “From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you would be mine.” I pull lightly on the golden cross hanging around her neck, holding it up in front of her. “We’ve been united before the lord.”
She focuses on the cross.
And then I kiss her softly. Eden stands on her tiptoes, reaching up to kiss me. I pull her up even further by grabbing her ass. Her hands wrap around my waist. I run my tongue over the bruises, soothing them.
“Do you promise?” She pulls away ever so slightly. “That you want me? That I’m yours?” There’s a desperation in her eyes that I recognize instantly.
She’s never been truly wanted in her life.
And that is where I see my opening. “I promise, love. I’ll always want you, and you’ll always be mine.” I kiss her on the forehead. “You have my word.”
Tears spring from her eyes again, and she buries her face in the crook of my neck. I rub soothing circles into her back, balancing her weight with one hand. Eden is so fragile, and now she’s mine to ruin. Forever .
“It’s getting late,” I whisper against her skin. “We should go back.”
I feel her nod, but she doesn’t say anything. And she doesn’t seem to want to move either. So I shift her weight, holding her ass in my palms and carrying her down the stairs with careful precision. Eden grips my shirt tightly.
Her quiet mannerisms endears her to me more. Small talk after sex has never been one of my interests, though for some reason I wish she would say something . But she must be overwhelmed—and she’s already gotten the answer that she desperately needs.
It’s late enough for me to get away with carrying her to her dorm room like this, but I’d rather not, given the fact that Dana was found less than 24 hours ago.
“Can you walk?”
She nods. “I can.”
I set her down lightly where the paths to the dormitories diverge.
Eden gives me a longing look. Devotion? Of course—I just made her mine and promised her forever. It might even be adoration. I lean down, giving her a kiss on the forehead. She stands on her tiptoes, so I give her a peck on the mouth. That’s all I can manage without losing control.
“Text me when you’ve made it back to your room, love.”
I stand with my hands behind my back, watching her until her silhouette disappears into the night. Only then do I turn, exhaling slowly. I didn’t even notice I had been holding my breath.
The night air does little to cool the fire burning beneath my skin. Now that I’ve had a taste of Eden, I want more. What we shared tonight—I need it for the rest of my life. As I walk to my room, I thank The Spirit for this gift.
“It’s only just begun.”
There’s a sense of finality that’s settled on my shoulders. Unfamiliar, but comforting all the same. Now that I’ve claimed Eden, I feel more…relaxed about everything. For the first time in a long time, I don’t have the weight of the Peregrine-Ashford name on my shoulders.
All that matters in this moment is Eden and her devotion. I saw it in the way she looked at me—her eyes wide, dazed and filled with something she doesn’t yet understand, but wants more of. Something that I put there.
Rolling my shoulders as I walk along the path to my dorm, I smirk to myself. My tie is still damp from when I used it to keep her quiet, and my shirt clings to my skin—from a mixture of sweat and the wrinkles from her fisting the fabric.
Eden was so soft in my hands. She trembled, taking every inch of me like a good girl as she hung halfway out the window, suspended between fear and surrender. She even took her feet off the ground, trusting me not to let her fall to her death.
A slow, possessive heat starts curling through my chest.
I ruined her.
Nobody else can.
My dorm is dimly lit.
When I get to my room, Cedric is seated at his desk, the faint glow of his laptop illuminating the peaks of his face. He doesn’t look up immediately, but when he does, “You look like hell.”
I chuckle, dragging a hand through my hair—it’s soaked with sweat. “I feel like heaven.” I start unbuttoning my shirt.
His sharp gaze sizes me up. I grin when his eyes land on the stain in the corner of my shirt—the dark, telltale smear of blood.
He raises a brow. “Should I even ask?”
I peel off my shirt, tossing it onto my bed. The stain stands out starkly against the crisp white fabric. This is proof of what happened tonight. I’m not going to wash it. This is a symbol of us.
“I made Eden mine,” I say with a smirk.
Cedric seems slightly surprised. “She let you fuck her without even an engagement?”
A beat of silence.
“I promised her that she’ll always be mine,” I say.
“The Spirit gave us all visions, but how can you be sure this is the way you ought to go about it?” Cedric exhales, shaking his head. “You’re insane.”
“I felt The Spirit’s guidance. I might be insane, but I always get what I want.”
He doesn’t argue because he knows it’s true.
The Spirit hand-picked Eden for me .