Chapter Two #4
Henri tried to sit up but without Victor’s aid, he couldn’t. Glancing at the blade in his shaking, swollen hand, he grunted, “What do you...want?”
In the shadows where the Masters gathered, my gaze caught Stewart and Ben. They glanced away the second we made eye contact.
They swallowed hard and stood as stiff as concrete.
A flash of hatred filled me.
If they’d joined the fight, we might have won. But even as I thought such things, I knew the truth.
We wouldn’t.
We could never have won.
Victor had guns, we didn’t.
Victor had manpower, we had so few.
It was for the best they’d stayed quiet.
Victor hadn’t called them out—despite his disgust with them—so hopefully, they truly were free from his suspicion.
And as long as they were free...perhaps it’s not entirely over.
“You have a choice, my friend. One final, tiny choice. I will not offer it again. This is your last chance.”
“Spit it out...” Henri blanched as if he’d throw up. “Say it.”
“If you do this, I will forgive your every transgression—within reason. You will be allowed to heal before we discuss your future here. Prove to me that you’re mine and you won’t die today.
” He sighed heavily. “Regardless of what you think of me, while playing my little game with you, I found I genuinely enjoyed sharing my hobbies and enterprises. I liked our evenings together. And I find myself rather reluctant to give that up.” Lowering his voice, he finished, “You aren’t my enemy, Henri, but you are under her spell.
I truly am doing what is best for you, even if you cannot see it.
You are meant for this life. You are meant to be one of us.
If you stay awake long enough to facet her, gut her, and chop her into tiny pieces, then I promise you, the hold she has over you will be gone.
You’ll be free. You’ll be happy. And all of this can go away. ”
Shifting on the table, Henri looked at me.
My heart seized as our connection bridged the gap between us.
I will always love you. He half smiled.
I cried silently and nodded. We’ll find each other again.
Victor cocked his chin at Larry. “Bring her here.”
I cried out as Larry kicked my leg and pushed me roughly toward the altar. I scratched at his wrists where he held my hair. I tried to escape. But it was no use.
Peter stayed silent as Larry tossed me on Henri.
The moment our skin touched.
The second we were close.
Everything I felt for him overflowed.
I felt so honoured to have found him.
So lucky to have been his.
Even for a little while.
I hugged him.
I squeezed him.
“I love you,” I whispered in his ear. “No matter what. Always. Forever. I—”
“Get the fuck up.” Victor yanked me off him and grabbed my nape. My white dress fluttered around me, blood stained and torn. Pinching the delicate column of my neck above my collar, he squeezed so hard my ears crackled and a headache instantly throbbed.
“Let her go,” Henri growled, finding strength to sit up.
It cost him everything.
His eyes fogged with creeping death and pain.
But he stayed upright, swaying and swallowing hard. “Vic—”
Victor dragged me in front of his chest, keeping me pinned. Grabbing my breast and tracing his fingers where my heart pounded, he smirked. “Stab here, mon ami. In your own time.”
Henri shuddered.
Our eyes met.
The world fell away.
The connection between us blazed bright, and I knew.
I saw his decision before he did it.
Don’t. I tried to shake my head.
I love you. He sighed. Always.
And then he flipped the knife so the blade landed in his palm and threw it as hard as he could at Victor beside me.
The glint of the dagger as it spun in the air.
The clang of it hitting the cave wall as Victor ducked wickedly fast, taking me with him.
And the godawful crunch of Henri’s skull as a guard rammed the butt of his gun against his temple.
Henri flopped backward. Unconscious and barely breathing.
This time, the guards bound him.
Buckling the leather straps around his ankles, one of the guards looked at Henri’s arms, flopped wide and loose. “Eh, Sir?” He looked at Victor. “We can’t strap his arms down, he’s not wearing cuffs for the hooks—”
“Roland.” Victor looked at the despicable Master holding Peter. “Grab the spare box in the cupboard, will you?”
Tears streamed down my cheeks as Victor shoved me to my knees.
“Be my pleasure.” Roland snickered and waddled across the cave.
He wrenched open the cupboard doors, and my heart pounded as a hundred empty eye sockets stared back.
He reached into the bottom shelf, slipped a black box free, then shuffled back to Victor, his tourmaline mask sparkling and cape billowing.
Victor smiled. “Thank you.” Taking the box, he placed it beside Henri’s hip. Tapping Henri’s cheek, he waited for him to wake up.
He didn’t.
Victor huffed in disappointment, but his navy eyes narrowed as the Masters gathered closer.
Ferdinand asked, “You gonna give him the Kiss, Vic?”
Victor shook his head with a regal sniff. “I’m afraid any Diamond Kisses have been postponed for the evening. My deepest apologies.”
“What?” Larry coughed. “But—”
“Why not three Diamond Kisses?” Ian asked. “Her, Peter, and him.”
“Because I have a better idea.” Victor grinned as he opened the box. “And I need them alive. For a little longer.”
My heart fell out of my chest as the glint of gold bounced around the cave.
I froze on the cave floor, drowning in a puddle of icy seawater.
“No.” I scrambled to my feet, but a guard kicked my ankle, sending me down again. “Don’t do this. Don’t—”
“It’s already done.” Victor smirked. With tender fingers, he pulled out the golden collar and, without a word, snapped it into place around Henri’s bruised neck.
I gagged in horror.
I couldn’t breathe as he nodded at a guard who held up Henri’s slack hand. With a grin, Victor secured one cuff, then two, shackling Henri in gold just like every jewel on this island.
Wiping his hands with a smug smile, Victor said, “Take him to—”
“You bastard!” I lost myself.
Soaring upright, I launched myself at him.
I managed to send him tripping backward.
Until something struck me in the head.
And everything went dark.