Chapter 22
Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Artemis
I gasped, panting heavily as the bitter taste of bile filled my mouth. I pried my eyes open, trying to blink away the feeling that they were filled with glass. Panic bubbled up in my chest, the chilling reality of my predicament sinking in as I saw the chains around my wrists. I tried to calm my racing mind, to think, but the searing pain in my arms made it almost impossible to breathe.
The metallic clink of the chains around my bruised wrists and battered ankles echoed through the dark, damp room. I realized with dread that I was chained to the cold cement floor, my head pounding from the drugs they injected into me. Panic coursed through me as I struggled against the restraints.
A sharp jolt of electricity shot through my body, and I screamed. I was left trembling.
I fell back, gasping for breath, lungs working like bellows in overdrive. The taste of bile was sharp and acidic in my throat. My eyes stung with tears of pain. My face pressed against the cold cement. The shackles around my wrists felt cold and foreign, and I could feel the poison of whatever drug they gave me to keep me calm, coursing through my veins.
A steady clicking sound grew out of the silence, echoing off the walls and slicing through the thick air. Each step sent tremors through the ground, announcing someone’s approach. I struggled to lift my head, but it felt like weights held me down, and I could only watch as a figure in stiletto-heeled leather boots emerged from the shadows.
“Do I have your attention?” A low, gravelly voice broke through the darkness, causing me to jump. My heart raced as I strained to see who was speaking. It wasn’t familiar—a man’s voice, but one I did not know. “Are you going to cooperate?” he asked again, his tone commanding and intimidating. I clenched my jaw and narrowed my gaze, determined not to show any fear or give in to his demands.
His voice grated against my eardrums, like rough sandpaper rubbing against wood. I could smell the sharp tang of tobacco and the rich scent of leather wafting from him, making me dizzy. Trying to ignore the churning in my stomach, I took a deep breath and smiled through my rising gorge.
I struggled against the chains that bound my wrists and ankles, feeling the metal cut into my skin. My throat was parched, and my voice came out hoarse as I asked, “Who are you?”
My words were barely audible. My fingers were still tingling from the electric jolt they had received.
“I’m the one in charge here, now,” the beautiful man said to me with a sadistic smile. His voice was taunting, amusement rippling under the harsh tone. I heard a flick—the lighting of a cigarette. The smell of smoke wafted to my nostrils, mingling with the stale, metallic scent of the cell. “And you, my dear hybrid, are all mine.”
His high-heeled boots came into view again as he moved around me, the black leather shining. He took another step towards me. My eyes followed his body when he stopped a few feet from me. His gray eyes looked over me. His features were chiseled. I could see he was human but was almost so beautiful he shouldn’t have existed. His features were perfect and symmetrical, like someone had created him out of clay.
I blinked slowly. My vision blurred from exhaustion and shock. He drew on his cigarette, leaning back slightly and surveying me from under hooded lids. The ember glowed brightly in the semi-darkness, illuminating his otherwise obscured face.
He exhaled slowly. “Do you know why you’re here?” he asked. Smoke curled around him like a spectral hand, gently caressing his angular cheekbones and melting away into the darkness.
I shivered at his voice, the words chilling me more than the cold cement floor beneath me. Why was I here? The question echoed in my mind, bouncing off the walls of my subconscious. I didn’t answer him.
“Where is the captain?” I asked.
His deep, menacing laugh reverberated off the grimy walls. “Ah, the captain,” he mused. “He is no longer in charge.” A smirk played on his lips. He flicked an ember from his cigarette, which scattered into the dimly lit room, catching the thin light before dying on the floor. “You won’t be seeing him anymore. He failed, you see. Now it’s my turn.”
My teeth ground together, the muscles in my jaw bulging with effort as I fought to keep my composure. My arms were bound tightly to the ground in front of me. As the room came into focus, I saw a group of heavily armed men, their guns trained on me. They had gone through great trouble capturing me and ensuring I stayed alive, unlike Brir, who the captain had gunned down so he couldn’t come after me. The memory of Brir’s lifeless body on the ground pulled a whimper from my lips. Fear and anger swelled within me as I realized these people’s power over my fate.
I glared up at the man, my hands balled into fists. Amusement danced in his eyes as he looked down at me. I could feel his laughter reverberating around the room, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. “What do you want?” I spat, my voice laced with anger and fear.
“What I want,” he mused, stretching out his words as if savoring each syllable, “is quite simple.” He leaned in closer, the acrid cigarette smoke clinging to his words. “I want cooperation.” His tone was sinister—a predator toying with its prey. “For you to behave. You’re useless to me if you insist on being a nuisance.”
My throat tightened, and I swallowed a lump of fear. My heart thrashed against my chest, a desperate attempt to escape the danger that loomed in front of me. Despite my instinctual urge to retreat, I lifted my chin and looked into his cold, sinister eyes. They glinted with malice in the faint glow of the room’s dim light.
My jaw clenched. Anger pulsed through my body, what was left of my tail thumping against the cold concrete floor as I struggled against the chains that bound me. “And if I refuse?” I asked through gritted teeth.
He strode across the room and pulled a plush armchair towards me, its legs scraping against the wooden floor. He sat down, crossed his long legs, and leaned back, adjusting the cuffs of his crisp black shirt. He exuded effortless elegance.
My body convulsed as a surge of electricity coursed through the metal chains wrapped tightly around my wrists and ankles—the searing pain shot through every nerve, blinding me with its intensity. Teeth gritted, I fought against the urge to scream, not wanting to give my captor the satisfaction of hearing my cries of agony once more. I could hear the crackling of electricity that filled the air and surged through me. I could smell burning hair as my vision blurred from the intense pain.
As the electricity subsided, my body was left trembling with the aftershocks. I slumped against the cold concrete wall, each breath a ragged whisper of defiance. A thin trickle of blood seeped from the corners of my mouth.
He dropped his cigarette to the floor before stubbing it out with the toe of his fancy boots, the glowing ember dying with a soft hiss. He sat forward, leaning towards me. His eyes looked down at me to meet my gaze. “If you don’t,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper, “you will wish you had.” His breath smelled strongly of smoke and something metallic—blood perhaps?
I glared at the man. “Fuck you.”
His cold steel eyes returned my glare, the smirk never leaving his face. A cruel smile curled his lips, baring teeth as white as the stark walls of the room.
He crossed one leg over the other and leaned back, hands clasped behind his head as he regarded me through half-lidded eyes. There was an almost lazy air about him, a dangerous ease that made my stomach churn in fear.
“Your defiance is entertaining,” he droned, picking at an invisible speck on his tailor-made trousers. He seemed so comfortable at home in this realm of fear and control.
I remained silent, choosing not to satisfy him with a response. My mind was racing, and I sought an exit strategy.
The man before me snapped his fingers, and three men walked forward. One carried an intricately carved wooden side table. The other two set down a plate of food, a carafe of liquid, and a glass. They filled his glass and then backed away. All three were soldiers, but the look they gave the man showed me they were terrified of him. Everything looked like it was high class, made for someone of the utmost importance.
“Now,” he began, his tone feigning a warmth that his eyes did not share. “Let’s start again.” He flicked his wrist, and another man appeared in the shadows with a tray. He set it down on a small table next to them. I couldn’t see what was on the tray. “I’m Orion. What’s your name?”
I spat the blood that had filled my mouth onto the ground and looked back at him without saying a word.
“That’s a no, then,” he stated simply before leaning forward and looking at me with a big smile. His eyes narrowed at my silence, and his fingers flexed impatiently on the armrest of his chair. He sighed heavily, sounding like a warning throughout the room. “You’re being difficult,” he stated, annoyance creeping into his tone.
The electricity coursed through my body again, making me writhe in pain as every muscle tightened.
I could feel the raw power pulsating through me, an intensity that threatened to rip me apart from within. My vision blurred, my body convulsing as each wave of pain hit harder than before. I tasted the metallic tang of my blood against my tongue, mingled with the bitter sting of defeat. But still, I refused to give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream.
As the onslaught dimmed to a cruelly lingering hum, he leaned back into his chair, his face again draped in that sickeningly sweet smile. I glared defiantly at him, my eyes burning with a hatred far outweighed by any fear.
“I have found hybrids like you can take so much more than normal people can,” he told me. “Who was that monster that was trying to protect you?”
The question hit me harder than the shocks. My mind instantly flew back to Brir. My heart squeezed as the image of him struggling even with his last breath to get to me. To try and save me as he bled out on the ground.
When I didn’t answer, he pressed the button again, and my body locked up from the electricity going through it.
The pulse of electricity wracked my body, each wave surging through me with excruciating brutality. My vision swam, dark splotches blotting out the harsh glare of the overhead lights. I bit down hard on my tongue, the sharp, coppery taste of blood flooding my mouth anew as I forced back a scream. I would not give him the satisfaction.
As if from a great distance, I heard his voice cut through the haze of pain. “I asked you a question.” Each word was punctuated with another shock, forcing my body into an involuntary spasm. The pain was overwhelming, but I set my jaw and ground my teeth together.
“I will ask again,” Orion chuckled softly, echoing through the cold concrete room. The man puffed on another cigarette, relishing in the thick smoke that filled the room. His eyes were sharp and calculating, never leaving my face. “Who was your protector?”
“He was nobody,” I screamed, the lie tearing through me as I tried to grit my teeth from the pain, my hands curling into fists as I tried to fight it. Then, the electricity surging through me stopped.
“Nobody?” he inquired, leaning his elbow on his knee and resting his chin on his hand. “He didn’t seem like nobody to me. He seemed rather protective of you.”
“Maybe he was just a good Samaritan,” I spat, refusing to meet his eyes. My body was trembling from the torture, but my spirit remained unbroken.
“Good Samaritans don’t usually fight to the death for strangers,” Orion said, swirling his glass of amber liquid thoughtfully. “I know you were more than a stranger to him. I've seen the pictures.”
I was panting as I tried to fight to breathe through the pain that was making me tremble.
“You were gone for weeks, 1134. Were you with that creature that whole time?” Orion said, his voice thoughtful, but I felt he didn’t want me to answer. It was more like he was just talking to himself. Again, he sat forward, steepling his fingers under his chin as he observed me. “Would it upset you to know that your friend gave us quite a struggle? He didn’t go easily. Quite the fighter, that one.”
“Is that why your men killed him?” I gasped, trying to catch my breath. My body was still tingling, the echoes of the electricity humming beneath my skin.
Orion chuckled, a slow, smooth sound that made my blood cold. “My dear, I gave no such order.”
My heart pounded in my chest as I braced myself for another wave of torture but was met with silence.
Again, the man named Orion snapped his fingers. The lights flickered on with a clink, and suddenly, his face materialized out of the darkness. The lights stung my eyes as the room filled with them. I tried to cover my face, but my hands were shackled to the floor, my neck restrained after I bit someone. I had fought just as hard when they had caged me this time as before.
Something in his face suggested he relished the pain, his gaze lingering on every tremor that shook my body. He leaned forward again, bracing his forearms on his knees, his laughter echoing eerily around the room.
“You’re a feisty one, aren’t you?” he asked, the amused smirk still playing on his lips. He slowly got up from his chair and started walking around me. I could hear the soft rustle of his expensive suit and the click of his polished shoes against the cement floor echoing in my ears. His gaze remained fixed on me as he circled like a predator sizing up its prey. “I heard all about how you fought against the soldiers. You even killed a few before they cut off your tail.”
I gritted my teeth and glared at his back as he moved around me. The chains rattled with my movements, and the sound reminded me of my predicament.
“Is that why you’re here?” I asked, my voice hoarse with pain and exhaustion.
“No. Mother sent me here,” he told me as he sat again. His smile was soft on his face. “She wants you brought home, but I can’t do that until you learn to behave. To Obey. I won’t lose you like the captain did.”
I gritted my teeth as I took an angry breath. I had no idea who the hell he was talking about, but the mention of the captain made my hands ball up. The captain hadn’t lost me, but Brir had gotten me out and saved me from that fate. Helped me escape this hellhole, only for me to end up back here, shackled and at the mercy of a man who seemed to enjoy my suffering.
“How did you get out of the cage the last time?” he asked, looking at me with a puzzled expression. “I saw the cage they had you in. You wouldn’t have been able to get out of those chains by yourself. Did he save you? Is that why you won’t tell me about him?”
Orion chuckled again when I didn’t answer, this time without mirth. The sound was hollow and empty, like the laugh of a man who had seen too much of the world and found none of it amusing. “He did, didn’t he? He saved you.” His smile was wide, and his eyes were wide with excitement. “That is sweet.”
His words hung in the air, a toxic cloud in the sterile room. I wished more than anything I could let loose and wipe that smug grin off his face, but my body was still struggling to regain control after the latest shock. The fury in my eyes must have been evident, though, for Orion kept smiling.
“You’re quite protective of your savior, aren’t you?” he said quietly, almost as if to himself. “And he… he was quite protective of you.”
A strange, distant look came into his eyes, and he went silent, lost in his thoughts. Watching new emotions cropping up on his face like a new person was taking over his body was disconcerting.
“You know I told them you wouldn’t break.” He looked down at me with joy written all over his face. Like he was proud of me, meeting my gaze with dark eyes. He had this half smile that would have almost been loving. Like he cared about me, and even though his eyes held how cruel he could be, he looked at me kindly. “I told them pain wasn’t the way to go with you. It’s not, is it?” He said, shaking his head. “But my higher ups don’t listen to me. Nope. No matter how much I torture you, you’re not going to tell me anything, especially since they killed your lover. The man who saved you.”
“Then why do it?” I finally spoke, asking through clenched teeth.
“Because it’s fun.” His laughter echoed through the room as he studied me like an insect under a microscope. It was as if he enjoyed my voice’s desperation and the raw fear in my eyes.
When I didn’t answer, he stood up from the chair. He was tall, taller than I would have been standing but not as tall as Brir was. I had to close my eyes briefly as I remembered how Brir had pulled me into that kiss right before this mess, how he had looked down at me through his goggles with passion.
The man came over before folding his legs under himself and sat next to me as he looked over me. Then he was lifting a hand and gently wiping the blood from my mouth. He raised his hand to inspect the blood on his fingers before he wiped his hand clean on his pristine black pants, the green color of my blood shimmering on the fabric.
Then his hand was back on me, brushing my hair out of my face. I tried to yank my head away, but the chain on my neck binding me to the floor kept me still.
“Behave,” Orion scolded, grabbing the chain around my neck and yanking me back into his hands, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction at my feeble resistance. His hand ran through my hair almost lovingly as he petted me. His head tilted to the side as he looked at me. A soft smile crossed his face as he looked at me. “Damn, you’re quite stunning,” he said as his hand trailed down the side of my cheek.
His compliment made my skin crawl, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. I clenched my jaw and kept still, and it was as though Orion had expected no less. His smile remained unbroken, his gaze cool.
“There’s something mesmerizing about this color,” he murmured, his fingers running through my hair again, picking up a strand and holding it against the harsh white light of the room as he ran the strands of my hair between his fingers. His eyes had a degree of fascination that came off more as eerie than flattering. “I can see the green highlights. Your changes are stunning. More beautiful than the others.”
His fingers left my hair and traveled down to my shoulder, tracing a path that sent shivers down my spine. He ran his fingertips up and down my arm like he was trying to soothe me. His fingers were warm, almost too hot against my skin, before they trailed down my arm’s scales and back up.
His eyes took me in as if he was looking at something special, contemplating a grand enigma. His fingers continued their journey down my arm and across the back of my hand, his touch softer than I would have ever imagined from a man so monstrous.
His eyes were locked onto me, seemingly mesmerized by the color of my skin and the strange pattern of my scales. I could almost see him processing information, piecing together a puzzle in his mind as he examined me. He looked at me with fascination and a hint of attraction in his almost-perfect eyes.
“I would have asked you out if I had seen you at some bar in another life. You’re magnificent, even when you cry.” He pulled something out of his pocket—an old-style hanky with lace edges that he shook out with the hand that wasn’t trailing down my face. He dabbed it at my cheeks. Tears I hadn’t known were falling and running down my face.
“Your concern is touching,” I spat, my words dripping in sarcasm. My voice wavered, but I kept my gaze steady, my eyes locked with his.
Orion chuckled again at my outburst, a rich, warm sound that filled the room. “You and I are pawns in a much bigger game, my dear,” he said softly, his fingers still running through the tangled locks of my hair. “The sooner you realize that, the better.”
I tried not to flinch at the cold touch of his fingers against my scalp, but it was a losing battle. Every touch from him was like a violation, a reminder of what I had lost and what they had taken from me.
“But don’t you see,” he continued, his voice dropping to a hushed whisper as he leaned in close. His stale breath mingled with my fear, filling the room with an intense foreboding. “We could turn the game onto them.” His eyes sparkled with the prospect of rebellion, but I remained stoic.
I was done being toyed with, done being a tool for someone else’s cause. If a game was being played, it was one I wanted no part in.
“You know I wasn’t the one who hurt you. The captain killed that monster that you were with. We got pictures of you two together,” Orion told me. His voice was low as if his words were only for him and me.
I clenched my fists, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks. “He wasn’t a monster,” I hissed through gritted teeth, trying to control my anger.
Orion smiled sweetly down at me. His handsome face was almost trustworthy. Then, his hand reached into his jacket and returned with a tablet between his fingers. His fingers left me just a moment as he fiddled with the device. I watched him punch in numbers before he looked at the screen with eyes that sparkled with love.
“He loved you, didn’t he,” Orion asked me as he looked over whatever had come up on the tablet. “I can see it.”
He looked back down at me, those ice-like eyes softening as he set the tablet on the ground next to him. A stand kept the device upright so the screen was angled toward him. Orion moved his hand back to my face, brushing a stray lock of hair away from my eyes. His touch was almost gentle, contrasting heavily with the brutal reality of our situation.
Then he turned the tablet around to face me.
The image of Brir and me holding hands next to Dune was on the screen. Brir was looking at me, his head turned slightly, and there was a crooked smile on his face that I knew he got when he thought I was being funny. I was smiling, my hand in his. I heard the sob tear from me as my eyes ate up the image.
Then Orion’s finger swiped across the screen, and Brir had stopped walking, our arms taut. I could feel the breath in my lungs as I tried to breathe through the pain. I knew that moment. It was the moment right before the attack. The moment our world had shattered.
Brir’s face was now turned towards mine, his smile playful.
His eyes were vibrant, sparkling with a mix of adrenaline and expectancy. I looked into them now, not through the screen, but through the memories deep within me. His voice echoed in my ears, the words he last said to me before everything changed forever. I could almost feel his touch, warm and assuring, full of those promises we made to each other under the distant stars.
Another swipe, another lurching sob as the memories made my chest tight. It had just been a few days ago when Brir had done that, when he had pulled me into his arms under the hot sun just because he wanted to kiss me.
With another swipe of Orion’s finger, the image changed again. Brir was holding the side of my face as he devoured my mouth with his. I cried out, seeing it, tears streaming down my face. I could feel the way his tongue moved over mine, the way his lips felt as they ghosted across my neck. I would never touch those lips again.
The next swipe was crueler. It was a picture of the aftermath, the chaos that followed the attack. My body lay limp in Brir’s arms, his face etched with pain and desperation. It was a scene I wasn’t privy to. The memories after they had shot me with the dart were fuzzy. Brir looked so scared as he held me in his arms, his face was contorted in fear and tears streaming down his face. Dune lying in the dirt. It felt like my own life was being ripped from me. Brir had taken it with him.
“Stop it!” I screamed, trying once again to pull away from him. But Orion just smiled sadly, his hand brushing away my tears.
“I’m sorry.” And he did sound sorry. His thumb rubbed back and forth over my cheek, like he was hurting for me. A whimper escaped me, seeing what just a few days ago had been the best days of my life. I had never told him how much I had grown to love him in those few weeks. I had wanted to say the words on the tip of my tongue, but I feared he wouldn’t say them back. Now, I don’t even know if I cared. The only evidence that he existed was on that tablet before me.
Orion’s hand slid from my cheek to my chin, tilting my head to gaze into his eyes. I blinked back tears, recoiling from the touch, but he kept his grip firm.
“Stop it!” I screamed, my voice piercing the silence of the room. “Just stop!” The tethered chain rattled as I tried again to pull away.
“You two looked very close.” His finger swiped at the screen again. Brir was lying in the dirt, his face pressed into the ground, and his eyes closed. His silver blood pooled around him. I cried out and then tried to move my hands to the tablet but was unable to move my limbs. I needed that picture to go away.
“He deserved better,” he murmured, swiping the screen again. Brir’s arm was outstretched as he tried to crawl toward me. “Than to die like trash in the dirt.”
“He wasn’t trash!” I cried out, a wail of pure despair. “He was trying to save me!”
Oion’s hold on me did not lessen, his gaze never leaving mine even as the cruel images flickered past. “I’m sorry that he paid that price. If I had been the one who found you, I would have let you keep him,” Orion said, his voice filled with such softness that it stunned me. He looked at me with such pity it made anger boil through my veins. I clenched my hands tightly into fists, feeling my own claws bite into my palms, and I watched as a tear rolled down his pristine porcelain cheek. You needed him, didn’t you?”
I couldn’t find the breath to respond as my mind reeled. Needed him? Yes, I needed him. I needed him badly, as if he was air and I was suffocating.
“Yes, I needed him!” My voice broke as I shouted, a guttural cry that echoed through the room. “He was everything to me!”
Orion’s expression shifted. Sorrow was etched into his features, mingling with a strange understanding that sent a chill running down my spine. He released his hold on my chin and reached out again, brushing the tears off my cheeks with the back of his hand.
“I know you did,” he whispered, his voice choked with emotion. “I can see it in your eyes.”
I blinked against the tears, but they flowed unhindered down my cheeks. Could he see the depths of my grief?
“I bet he loved you very much.” He turned the tablet around to look at the image. "Did you love him?” he asked, looking over the tablet and studying my face. “I bet you did, and now you’re all alone.”
“Yes, I did!” I shouted, the words ripping through me with such force. “I loved him! More than you could ever understand!”
Orion fell silent for a moment, his gaze not leaving mine. The room felt deathly quiet, save for my ragged breaths echoing off the cold walls. Then, he sighed a sorrowful sound that filled the silence between us.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured once more. His voice was soft, filled with an unexpected sympathy that was at odds with his earlier taunts. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his touch almost gentle. “I truly am.”
“Shut up!” I spat, my voice raw. His words felt like sulphuric acid on my flesh. I hated him for his pity and his kindness.
He seemed unaffected by my anger, only leaning back slightly, taking in my tear-streaked face mournfully. With a gentle swipe of his thumb, he cleared the last remnants of Brir’s image from the tablet.
“I thought you loved him. I can see he loved you. I can see it in how he looked at you.” He turned the tablet off with a quick tap. He looked down at me, his icy eyes filled with deep sorrow. “I am truly sorry for your loss. You shouldn’t have had to go through that.”
My breath hitched as the question echoed in my mind. Did he love me? A pang of regret pierced my heart. I wanted to believe it. I truly did. But we never had the chance to voice our feelings, to give them substance beyond the unspoken understanding between us, and now we would never have the opportunity.
“Did he?” I whispered, my voice a hollow echo in the vast emptiness of my heart. I couldn’t bear the thought of never knowing, of not having a chance to hear those words from Brir himself.
Orion traced a finger lightly down my cheek, disrupting my thoughts. The touch was too tender for someone who seemed so callous minutes ago. I flinched away, but his hand followed, forcing me to meet his gaze again.
Orion paused, looking at me intently, deciding whether to reveal a secret he held close to his chest. “Yes, I believe he did. You could see it in his eyes,” he finally said. “All the signs were there, did you not know? Did you not see it?”
My heart ached at his words, an unbearable pain that was almost worse than the physical torment I was enduring.
There was silence for a long moment as we both sat there, me chained to the floor and him on his knees beside me. The tablet’s screen was black before he lifted it to look at it again.
“The captain told me all about it, you know.” His voice was still soft as if treading on fragile ground. “He bragged about how that monster that loved you didn’t even see it coming. How the monster you loved just handed you over to them because the captain had made sure that your lover believed you were going to die. You weren’t going to die.”
His words hit me like a punch to the gut, forcing the air out of my lungs in a pained gasp. “No… no, that’s not true,” I whimpered, shaking my head in disbelief, but his grim expression told me it was. “They shot me with something.” Orion looked sadly down at me. No, they wouldn’t have lied to him.
I heard him sigh and looked back at him. “Yes, they did shoot you with the dart, but it wouldn’t have killed you. They lied to your monster so he would give you up willingly. The captain didn’t think your monster lover would give you up any other way.”
The cold reality of his words settled in my stomach like a block of ice. The grief that choked me gave way to a powerful surge of anger. I thrashed against my chains, spitting venomously at him. “You… you’re all the same. Just a bunch of lying, manipulative bastards!”
Orion held his ground as I writhed in fury before him, looking almost regretful. “I wasn’t part of it.” He searched my gaze for a moment before looking away. Shame was etched on his face. “I didn’t know till it was too late, or I would have stopped it.”
The cold realization settled heavily in my stomach, making me sick. Brir had given me up because he thought I was going to die.
I sat there, my mind teetering on the edge of insanity, every cell in my body crying out in anguish.
“Do you think he… he regretted it?” I asked finally, my voice shaky and weak. The hope in my question was so pathetic, so desperate that it stung.
“Your lover?” Orion asked, and I nodded, tears flowing freely.
“No,” Orion said to me gently. He sighed. “He wouldn’t have regretted it. He died for you. Your lover had just wanted to keep you safe. If there was even a chance that the poison would have hurt you, he would have moved Heaven and Earth to save you. He loved you with all his heart,” he continued remorsefully. “He thought giving you to us would save you.” Orion paused as though the words were bitter in his mouth, his eyes flickering with an emotion I couldn’t quite place.
“But the captain would never have risked your life,” Orion told me, his fingers gently trailing back up and down my arm. “You’re way too important to us. The captain knew that. But he also knew that the monster who loved you wouldn’t have allowed you to die either. He tricked your lover so well.” He swiped back to the image of us kissing and set the tablet up on a stand that came out of the case so I could see it on the floor. “Look at him,” Orion whispered.
“Look at the way he looked at you. Do you think a love like that could ever be forgotten? He loved you, and he died believing that you would survive.”
The image on the screen was painful to look at. Our last moment of happiness, captured in pixels, was an echo of a past I desperately yearned for, a stark contrast to the present.
My throat tightened, and I forced down the sobs threatening to erupt. I tenderly reached out to touch Brir’s face on the screen with my cuffed hands. It was only a ghost of his image, just like the ghost of his presence.
“I don’t want to see that,” I choked out, my voice barely audible. Orion’s fingers stilled, then retreated from my arm. “Please, turn it off.”
Orion didn’t turn it off; he just continued to look down at me sadly. “The captain said it was the most satisfying moment of his life, watching the man you loved squirm in the dirt before he finally extinguished his life. He regretted not making it last longer.” Orion’s voice was thick with disgust, and I couldn’t help but notice the clenching of his jaw as he spoke.
A sharp gasp tore itself from my lips, and I tried to retreat further, only to find the chain around my ankle holding me in place. The smug satisfaction in the captain’s words echoed in my mind, evoking a fresh wave of grief and anger.
“I wish I could make it easier for you,” he murmured. “He threw down his weapon to save you. I don’t know about you, but that’s powerful—something exceptional. He seemed special, don’t you think, 1134?” he told me as he wiped the tears from my face again that I couldn’t stop.
My heart ached at the sight of Brir’s face on the tablet. He was smiling, but I knew he was locked away in that memory of his final moments.
My gaze never left the tablet. The thought of living without Brir was unimaginable.
Orion’s other hand brushed my hair back out of my eyes so I could see the picture of us more clearly. “For someone to give up their life for another.” Orion just looked amazed. “I don’t know anyone who would do that for me. That monster must have loved you so deeply. Then the asshole just shot him.” I had to close my eyes tightly. “Twice in the chest. I don’t know anyone who could live through that.”
The nameless ache started to rise in my chest, a painful lump in my throat choking the words I wanted to fling at him. But I stayed silent, tears trickling down my face and splashing on the cold floor below. Orion watched me for a moment longer before he sighed and placed his hand firmly on my shoulder.
His words echoed in the silence, reverberating off the cold concrete walls of the room. I shuddered; each syllable was a dagger twisting deeper into my already bleeding heart.
I bit my tongue to keep from crying out in my grief. The man paused talking, but he still wiped my tears away. When I opened my eyes again, he looked down at me. His face held so much remorse. Like he couldn’t believe the captain had done it. “I couldn’t believe it either. How easily the captain had talked about it. I’m so sorry, 1134,” Orion said as he wiped at my tears again, “You know it feels so wrong to keep calling him a monster. I bet he had a name. Will you tell me? So can I at least respect his memory?”
My heart pounded through the haze of my tears when I heard him. It was like a knife twisting in my gut whenever he called Brir a ‘monster.’ Orion was right; Brir deserved more than that, but giving Orion Brir’s name felt wrong.
“You’re a strong one, 1134. I admire that.” His voice was low and gentle, nothing like the cold, harsh tone he had used before. A disgusted sound left his lips. “I hate calling you that. I know you have a name. Will you tell me? I have a surprise for you if you tell me.” Orion looked so gentle as he brushed his fingers through my hair.
His words were like a gentle caress, but their sincerity pulled at me. It didn’t feel wrong to tell him my name. I found myself speaking before I could think about it. “Artemis.”
“What a beautiful name,” Orion said, flashing a small smile. His pearl-white teeth shone under the lights. “It’s fitting. You are very much like a god now. Your new body is so amazing.” Orion lifted his hand from my cheek, running it down the length of my arm, his touch feather-light against my skin as though he was afraid to press any harder. “I am very jealous of it. Your turn made you so beautiful.”
The corners of my mouth twitched upwards despite the sorrow that clenched my heart. A slight relief washed over me as if Orion saw me as something other than a mere number, validating my existence. His words relaxed me even as cold dread seeped into my heart. But I forced myself not to react. I swallowed heavily, my mouth dry.
I met his dark gaze and held it, challenging him with my silence.
He leaned back, taking in my defiance with an almost amused smile playing on his lips. Then he leaned down and gently touched my face, almost lovingly, running his fingers down my cheek.
“I bet you need a little proof that I’m a good person before you give me your monster lover’s name. I want what’s best for you,” Orion said, sounding almost fond of me as his warm hand trailed down my face, a look of admiration crossing his features and a strange warmth seeping into his voice as he whispered those words. I wanted so desperately to pull away from him, to escape from his touch that felt so wrong on my skin, but even if I could have moved from my spot on the floor, I knew better than to try. Instead, I forced myself to remain still under his gaze.
He studied me closely, his expression softening with each passing second.
“I owe you your reward for trusting me,” Orion said softly. “I’m so proud of you.”
Slowly, he pushed himself off the cold concrete floor and approached the metal door behind him. With a jingle of keys, he turned his back to me and reached for the lock. The door groaned open, exposing a long, dimly lit corridor. He took a hesitant step out into the unknown, leaving me behind.
I watched as he exited the room. Then he bent to pick up something that must have been placed beside the door.
When he straightened back up, I saw he held something long in one hand. When he turned to step back into the room, a bag was hanging off the wrist of his other arm. He sauntered towards me like he had all the time in the world before he sat back down on the cold concrete floor, placing the covered-up thing he carried in front of him and the bag on the other side of him away from me.
He said nothing as he unwrapped and exposed the long object. The weapon’s hilt was exposed first, and I recognized it immediately. I had seen it all the time over the last few weeks—Brir’s sword.
“It’s a beautiful sword. I bet your lover was extremely talented with it.” His fingers caressed the ornate hilt of Brir’s weapon with an almost painful gentleness. My heart ached at the sight, a fresh wave of tears threatening to pool in my eyes.
He carefully balanced the sword in his hands as he examined it. I watched as his fingers traced the beautiful engravings embedded into the hilt.
“He was,” I whispered audibly, the words escaping me in my moment of sorrow, a tangible confirmation of my loss.
He looked at me intensively, his gaze softening as he absorbed my words.
If Brir had been alive, he would not have left his sword behind. I knew that. I had seen how he handled it, but I had also watched the captain shoot Brir. I knew he was dead. I watched him try to help me even after he was shot before he collapsed onto the ground, taking his last breath in the dirt.
“You don’t know this, Artemis,” he started slowly. “But the last time I saw something this exquisite was long before you were born. The craftsmanship … it speaks volumes about your friend.”
“He took good care of his sword.” The memory of Brir sharpening the blade as we talked was fresh in my mind. His hands were always so steady and sure, even when the rest of him was not.
“Yes,” Orion said, his eyes never leaving mine. “I can tell.”
He slowly placed the sword before me but behind the tablet with our picture still on the screen. I felt a shiver run down my spine as I watched him.
A cry escaped me that I couldn’t hold back any longer. My grief erupted from me, my wails echoing throughout the cold, empty room. I couldn’t hold back any longer. I tried to turn my face away, but Orion held me still. He held me in my grief like an old friend.
The man watched me with a sympathetic expression, his kind eyes filled with concern. He said nothing, just waiting for me to collect myself.
A new intensity in his eyes made me shudder despite my efforts to appear unaffected. However, he simply smiled, an eerie calmness radiating from him. It was like something in him was calming me, comforting me.
I silently gazed down at the sword, my trembling fingers moving involuntarily towards its hilt. There was no way I could reach it as the chains clattered a little from my movement.
“I figured you might want this as well,” he muttered quietly, his eyes searching mine as he reached into the bag, pulling out a human head. A gasp ripped out of me. Blood dripped from the stump of the human’s neck. Orion set the head next to the tablet before he turned it around to face me.
Dead eyes stared back at me. Mouth gaping open in shock. The captain’s black hair was a mess from Orion’s fingers pulling the man’s head out of the bag. Orion looked down at me with a soft smile as if he were loving a lover. “I killed the captain for you. With your lover’s sword.”
My breath hitched in surprise and horror as I stared at the captain’s lifeless head. His now lifeless eyes stared into nothingness. My heart pounded in my chest, a mix of disdain and satisfaction battling within me.
“Wh …” I began, but the words caught in my throat, choking me. I stared at the severed head—the captain’s face frozen in its final moment of terror—and felt a cruel satisfaction gnawing at my gut. He had killed Brir, and now he was dead, too.
The blood was still leaking from the severed neck. It was grotesque, eyes wide open in terror and mouth agape in perpetual speech. The sight of it weakened me further, bile rising in my throat. I had to swallow hard to keep from retching.
As I struggled to find my composure, I felt a hand gently brush my cheek. I jerked back, my eyes wide with fear and disbelief.
The room became a swirling mass of horror and confusion, my senses overwhelmed by the sight of the captain’s severed head. I struggled to take in deep breaths, to ignore the bile rising at the back of my throat. Orion knelt beside me, a look of satisfaction that clashed with the gruesome scene before me.
“He deserved it.” His smile showed me the monster beneath the mask he was trying to wear to make me more comfortable.
His fingers moved deftly over the gnarled and bloody head as if he were wiping away a stray lock of hair from a lover’s forehead. His other hand covered mine, providing an unsettling comfort in this nightmare.
“I avenged the man who loved you. I rid you of the man who killed your lover.” His hand pushed my hair out of my eyes, slowly petting me. I wanted to pull away from the fingers that were now smeared with the dead man's blood, but my chains kept me still. “I made it hurt. Just for you.”
His voice was gentle yet firm, like a soft command that hung heavy between us. But his words… his words were a violent whip cutting through the pervading silence of my cell. “Lover…” I echoed, feeling the word slip uncomfortably off my tongue. My mind spun, and my heart raced as I grappled with the implications of his statement.
I found myself staring at the severed head in morbid fascination, drawn to the empty stare of a man who had become my tormentor. His eyes, devoid of the cruel spark they once held, stared back at me with a chilling emptiness. I had despised him for what he did to Brir, for how he had reduced our beautiful world into a nightmare.
But now that he was gone, nothing but a hollow satisfaction was eating at me. The monster was dead, but it felt empty without Brir here by my side to share this moment of bitter victory.
“Thank you, Orion,” I murmured, hardly audible. A twisted sense of gratitude made me feel ill, but I knew this was justice for Brir. His weapon claimed his murderer’s life.
The man’s lips curled upwards. “You’re welcome.” There was a palpable relief in his voice as if he’d been holding his breath, waiting for my reaction. “I thought it might bring you some closure.”
Suddenly, everything became too overwhelming. The room began spinning around me, my breathing heavy and labored. A solid desire to purge this sickening scene from my eyes and mind surged within me. But escape seemed impossible. My captor’s cold eyes bore into me, enjoying every second of my torment.
“A hollow closure,” I whispered, my eyes fixated on the gruesome sight before me. The man tilted his head in acquiescence, understanding etched in his gaze.
The man reached out again and started smoothing back my hair again in a soothing gesture.
The captain’s dead eyes continued to stare at me, his lifeless face filled with terror. The image was burned into my mind, an image I would never be able to erase.
Orion’s touch starkly contrasted to the horror in front of me, almost comforting. A part of me recoiled in disgust at myself for finding even the slightest bit of consolation in his touch.
A silence filled the room, seeming to amplify the weight of the scene before me. I stared at the captain’s lifeless head with a heavy heart, hating the feeling of satisfaction that it gave me.
“Don’t you think that earns me a little bit of honesty? I’m not asking for much.” He played with the hilt of Brir’s sword idly. “Who was your lover? What was his name?”
Everything went quiet except for the pounding inside my skull. His words echoed ominously as I tried desperately to control my trembling limbs. He already knew that Brir was dead, and now he had shown me proof that he had taken care of the captain, too.
I choked back a sob, forcing out a whisper, “Brir. His name was Brir.”
“Ahh, Brir.” He echoed the name softly, rolling it around his tongue as if tasting the essence of the man I loved. His voice was filled with a strange reverence.
“Brir.” He repeated it slowly, twisting the unfamiliar syllables around his tongue.
He shifted his gaze back to the tablet propped on the floor and gently touched the screen with an index finger, tracing the line where mine and Brir’s hands were connected in our captured moment. The gesture seemed almost affectionate, and it made me sick.
“He sacrificed a lot, didn’t he? For you,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes met mine, and in them, I saw a reflection of my pain. Seeing an emotion other than cold detachment in his gaze was strange.
I nodded, unable to trust my voice. He returned his attention to the tablet once more, falling into an eerie silence that only magnified the tension in the room.
The silence that followed was deafening.
His fingers resumed their motion, brushing through strands of my hair slowly. It was a strange contrast to the frigid air between us. Despite myself, I shivered slightly under his touch. The feeling made me feel sick as he touched me.
He continued in a soft voice that somehow cut through my terror. “What was he like?”
I felt a pang of longing, a deep, painful stab that threatened to tear me apart. The memories of Brir, his strength, his courage, his vulnerability, flashed before me like an old film reel, each image bringing about a wave of nostalgia and sorrow. I had loved him with every fiber of my being, and losing him had left an indelible mark on me.
“He was … kind.” I started to gaze at our picture. The man I would never get to kiss again, to hold me again. Emotions poured out of me, and my lips moved almost without my control, spilling details about Brir, including his strength, kindness, and fearsome fighting skills. I spoke about how he had found me barely alive, how he nursed me back to health. I spoke about how he had taught me to live and survive, making me think I was beautiful and loved my new form.
My eyes welled up as I remembered Brir’s gentle touch and soothing voice, how he would console me during our darkest hours, and how his face would light up with joy whenever he talked about our future together.
The man listened silently as the dam inside me broke, and I spilled all that had happened over the last weeks. He continued to clean the tears from my face, his grim expression slowly softening as I told him about the bond that had formed between Brir and myself and how much I had loved him and not told him.
I choked out between stifled sobs. “Always there for me when I needed him. And… I loved him.” Orion stood up from beside me, lifted the plate of food off the table, and set it next to my chained hands. He also set the glass of water next to the plate.
“I bet he loved you deeply, too,” Orion said. Finally, when I ran out of words, the silence stretched too long. He carefully wrapped Brir’s sword back up and picked up the captain’s head by his hair again from the ground, a sucking sound echoing around us as the head started to adhere to the concrete ground. Before stepping through the door, he turned to look down at me.
“You should sleep now, Artemis. Tomorrow is another day, and you’ll need to rest.”
He turned and walked away. Brir’s sword was tucked under his arm, and the captain’s head swung from his hand. His black leather high-heeled boots rattled across the floor as he walked away.
When he reached the doorway, he reached up with his free hand and clicked off the lights, plunging the room into darkness once again. As the door creaked closed behind Orion, I started to experience a panic attack.
The tablet with Brir and me kissing shone brightly in the room, chasing away the shadows that surrounded me.
I stretched my hand towards it, aching to hold the piece of tech that showcased our captured moment, but it was just out of my reach. He had made it so the tablet stayed on, so whenever I opened my eyes, it was right there in front of me—tormenting me with my own memories.
The cold white light thrown by the tablet cast a harsh glow on the dank room, making the shadows dance and flicker like macabre specters. In the darkness, the walls seemed to reach up and stretch into infinity, creating an illusion of endless space that only added to my sense of isolation.
I was alone, with nothing but memories of Brir, his kind smile, firm grip, and warm laughter.
The silence was heavier now, echoing loudly in the wake of what had just transpired. The scream that tore out of me hurt my throat as I curled up on the cold concrete floor.
My heart pounded with a strange mix of fear and relief. As much as I hated to admit it, there was something comforting about sharing stories of Brir with someone else. It made him feel less gone.
But I knew that this small comfort came at a price. The man now knew about Brir—his strengths, weaknesses, everything.
The tears wouldn’t come now. My eyes were dry as I lay there chained to the ground, a distant memory was my only comfort.