Chapter 25
Leona sat and stared at the specks of dust littering the stone walls of her dungeon. She didn’t know how long she’d been there. She was hungry, weak, and broken.
Mostly, she was furious.
Rage filled her more than it ever had before, but she was too physically weak to fight back or do much about it. Yet again, this monster was trying to keep her in his prison. She wasn’t shackled to the wall, which surprised her. He must have had some sort of pity on her after she’d passed out following his assault back in Louisiana. Looking down at her grimy hands, she clenched them together so hard, her nails punctured the skin of her palm and made her bleed. The liquid was a deep red, darker than she’d ever seen come from herself before. She chalked it up to her hunger. Her eyes were probably a deeper green than usual, too — not that she’d be brave enough to catch a glimpse of her reflection anywhere. More than likely, she wouldn’t even recognize herself.
Once upon a time, his castle had been so full of light. Not physically, of course, but the way it was decorated, the way it felt when she walked around, the way she imagined her future being here with him forevermore. Her parents had even come to visit once, while she was still human. Little did any of them know, Gideon had murdered his own parents and ripped their heritage from them eons before. Her parents had approved of him, as they always would have, as he always intended. She had been so smitten, so in love, and hadn’t seen any of the warning signs. He was far too good to be true, and in hindsight, she wished she would have listened to the warning bells sounding off in her young, naive head. She wouldn’t know Sebastian now, of course, but she also wouldn’t be putting them both through this pain.
She thought about him and wondered what he was doing. What did he think happened? Did he think she left him for Gideon? In her bones, she knew that wasn’t true, but the poisonous demons whispering in her ears were trying to convince her otherwise. Logically, she knew he would have gone to their friends, and Whitney and Piper would know where she’d been taken. More than anything, she prayed they kept Sebastian safe and far away from this place.
But knowing that man — that sweet, generous, kind man — he wouldn’t sit idly so easily.
Leona screamed out in agony and frustration, slamming her fists back against the wall behind her so hard, dust rained down above her. Stone cracked against her hands and her body trembled with the effort. The last thing she wanted to do was cry, but it was becoming increasingly difficult not to. She didn’t want to seem weak. She was not weak. She just didn’t know why she of all people had been destined to this life of hell. In her mortal years, she had behaved as she should have: she was a virgin when she met Gideon, she had never kissed another person before him, she obeyed her parents, she wore respectable clothing, she did the chores asked of her. She thought she had done everything right and that Gideon was her reward of eternal happiness.
And look where that reward got her. A prison cell.
Briefly, it crossed her mind to just give in. If she gave in, her friends wouldn’t have to risk themselves, and Sebastian would be free to move on and find someone who wouldn’t hurt him this way — who wouldn’t potentially drive him into a suicide mission.
Her thoughts were interrupted when a lock clicked and the steel door trapping her in creaked open. In walked Gideon, looking too smug for her liking. She wanted nothing more than to claw his fucking eyes and throat out.
“You’ve looked better,” he said with a smirk, leaning against the wall near her with his hands in his trouser pockets.
“Go to hell,” she spat, pushing herself to stand. “They’ll be here. They’ll?—”
“Oh, will they? Where are they then, Leona?” Gideon said whilst raising his eyebrows, a look of pure amusement on his face. He glanced around, then looked up to the ceiling, then the floor. “Are they hiding in the cellar? The back garden? Behind one of the statues? They’re doing a pretty shit job of rescuing you if so.”
“They have gotten me back every time before. They’ll do it again. You can’t keep me. You don’t own me. How many times do I have to prove that to you? And Sebastian, he’ll?—”
“He’ll what, little flower? Throw some punches? Photograph me to death?” he scoffed. “You never learn, do you? How many times must I teach you this lesson by bringing you back? One day, you’ll learn. Your friends are not a threat to me. Your boyfriend isn’t.”
“He should be.”
At this, he barked a laugh. “Pardon me,” he said dismissively, putting a hand on his chest. “How silly of me. You’re right, Leona. I’m positively quaking in my boots about your human sex toy.” He closed in on her, causing the woman to back up against the wall. Slowly, Gideon trailed his finger down her cheek. “Where are you standing right now, sweetheart? Who have you been loyal to since your conception?” he smirked, forcing her gaze to stay on him. He could sense her internal struggle. “Me. Enough with this Sebastian shit. That’s done. You’re staying here. You will not leave my side again. I have been patient with your childish games, but my patience has run out. You have broken my trust and my heart far too many times,” he added. Leona snorted derisively, and Gideon harshly grabbed her cheeks with one hand, his long nails digging into her porcelain skin. “How am I to ever trust you with an ounce of freedom again? You’ll be a caged bird for the next hundred years, and even then…”
As he trailed off, Leona forced a smile through his grip on her face. She laughed quietly, which caused Gideon to pull back in confusion. She just couldn’t help herself. He was delusional. “You honestly believe that I could ever see you as anything other than a beast? One day I will rip you ear from ear. I will end you, Gideon. I will be the last thing you see before the light leaves your eyes and you’re banished to your own personal circle of hell. You can keep me here in your pit all you want, but you will not own me. You will not break me ever again. I have experienced love, friendship, true loyalty. I have felt happiness that fills my body in such a way, I’m overwhelmed. I have felt all the things I longed to have since I was a girl. Sebastian has given me?—”
Crack!
Leona’s head smashed back against the stone wall, and she slowly slid down, her vision nearly blacked out. Blearily, she blinked up at Gideon. He had always moved much faster than her, which made him so difficult to fight. That, and her body had always willed her to pull her punches against him. The metallic twang of blood filled her nostrils and her glands salivated at the release.
“Your friends aren’t coming for you. And if they do… I will ensure they — and you — regret it.”
Leona opened her eyes slowly, having passed out from Gideon’s earlier assault. She looked down at her tattered dress, noting stains that hadn’t been there before. Judging by the ache between her legs, she assumed that monster had raped her again. She couldn’t even remember. She felt somewhat helpless, being as physically weak as she was. With the rest of her remaining strength, she was trying not to be mentally weak. She was trying to stay strong, to have faith and hope; her friends had come for her all the other times, and they’d come for her now. No matter how long it took.
Though, the thought scared her. It scared her because she didn’t bloody know what they were going to be walking into. Gideon was right, his patience had run out, and she doubted he’d let her go so easily this time. Perhaps he stopped having fun with this game they’d been playing for the last few centuries. Maybe she truly hadn’t even seen the real him yet.
That terrified her.
Her eyes roamed to a rat that scurried across the ground. She was too weak to even reach out to grab it, let alone pounce on it and feed from it.
It was the first time in a long time that she was mildly convinced she’d actually die. It wasn’t the worst thought in the world, given any circle of Hell would be better than this place, but… her thoughts always roamed back to Sebastian. She knew it was selfish and she knew she ought to let him go, but she couldn’t.
She just prayed that if her friends came after her again, that somehow, some way, they convinced him to stay home. But as she thought already before… she knew deep down he wouldn’t let them go without him.
She was pulled from her reverie at the sound of the door opening again. Her stomach flipped in reaction and instinctively, she plastered herself back against the wall where she sat. Gideon’s tall, imposing form came into view, but he was carrying something with him. Papers? Pictures?
“Figured I could give you a little history lesson as we wait,” Gideon cooed, leaning down to toss the papers on her lap. “Recognize any of those texts, darling?”
Leona looked down and skimmed over the words, her vision slightly blurry. Blinking a few times to rid herself of the grogginess, she focused. “A vampire hunter? So what?”
“You don’t recognize him at all?”
Leona focused on the picture, then flicked her eyes up at Gideon. “This is the one you made me go after when I was first turned. Because he was targeting you and nearly got you,” she said.
“I wouldn’t say nearly, but yes. Recognize anything else? How about that surname?”
Leona was tired of the back-and-forth with him. Why did he always have to test her about everything? It was his condescending nature that made her bloody skin crawl. She looked down at the words by the picture, then furrowed her brows. Her eyes quickly cut to the picture, and she held it closer to her. Blinking a few more times, she wanted to make sure she was actually seeing what she thought…
“Ah, now you’re with us. Bravo,” Gideon said sarcastically. “I always knew you were a masochist, but I didn’t know it was to this extent. Fucking a vampire hunter. Or at least… a watered-down version.”
“Just because this bloke looks like Sebastian and has a similar surname doesn’t mean they’re related,” Leona said as she tossed the documents down on the ground. “What is the point of all this?”
“Well, I wanted to do some homework on your toy is all. Imagine my surprise when I come across this juicy detail. You know, when I saw him, I thought I knew him from somewhere. I just couldn’t place it. I wouldn’t say he’s his double, but… the comparison between your beloved Sebastian and our darling Xavier is rather hard to ignore, don’t you think?”
“He’s not a vampire hunter. He’s a regular man. Is that what this is about? Wiping out the lineage?”
“I thought we already did that, but it appears that insect got busy between murdering my friends,” Gideon sighed, leaning down to pick up the papers. “It’s not wholly about him — most of it’s about punishing you — but now I’ll take even more pleasure in killing him when I see him again. I’d rather save that for the grand finale though. Make sure everyone is there to see it. You especially.”
Leona bit back her curse, knowing it would only land her in hot water. She could barely even keep her head up and her eyes open, she didn’t need to be bashed against the wall again.
“How could you not have noticed while you were fucking him?”
Leona did scoff at that. “I never fucked Xavier. I wasn’t exactly thinking of the people we’ve killed in the past while I was in bed with Sebastian.”
Though, all of this made sense. It explained the pull she had toward him right at the beginning, right at that first sight. She had thought it was true love, but now she felt silly. It was because her natural instincts were screaming at her to either go to him and take him out, or run as far away as she could from him.
Gideon had been saving face. Xavier had been close to killing him. At least as close as anyone else had ever gotten. She couldn’t believe she’d forgotten about that. It had been so long ago, and she hadn’t known any better. She hadn’t known the true danger they’d been in; but thinking back on it now, how feral and panicked Gideon had been… No wonder he was so bent out of shape about Sebastian now. It did go deeper than his possession over Leona.
“I’ll take great pleasure in ending his short, miserable life. I’ll take even greater pleasure ensuring you watch every second of it,” Gideon said. “How does that make you feel?”
Leona didn’t respond. Any response had the potential to piss him off, and she needed no help doing that at the moment. Gideon, seemingly disappointed by her not taking the bait, left the room and let her be. The redhead sagged in relief and closed her eyes.
All she could hope for was a miracle at this point.