Chapter 24
Vivian’s Point of View
Rule twenty-four: If you’re going to become a villain, you may as well be drenched in the blood of your enemies while you’re at it.
“This is an important day for us, Vivian. I have wonderful news. We’ve finally decided who will be your Keeper,” Leon exclaims.
We’re sitting at tea, and his hand is draped obscenely across my lap. His fingers keep climbing higher, and his touch makes my skin crawl. I try to ignore him, instead glaring at the man sitting across from us.
Rydon watches Leon’s hand with a sick, hungry fascination. The thought that he’s getting off on watching sends a fresh surge of acid through my veins.
It should burn, but I feel nothing. I’m nothing but a hollowed-out husk.
Leon’s hand inches further up, now only a couple of inches away from my center, and still, the leash keeps me frozen in place.
Something inside of me is going feral. It’s clawing at my throat, desperate for a way out. But I can’t move. Every passing moment feels like a movie I’m watching, rather than my own life.
It’s been this way since I left Nymara’s lab last night.
Part of me wanted to run, but Leon’s order that I not leave Council grounds still rang through the leash.
I could have hidden, gone back to the corpse cave, and become the sixth skeleton.
But then Need might attack the realms, millions will die, and Sin will get captured when he comes for me.
Staying doesn’t look much better. Sin will be imprisoned, and then, whether I obey or fight, Leon will breed me, and Need will abuse my future children.
How do you make a choice like that? The indecision is paralyzing.
Leon snaps his fingers in my face, breaking me out of my spiral. “Vivian, focus. This is important news.”
His blue gem buttons are ridiculously large today.
Compensation, the favorite coping technique of mediocre men.
Gritting my teeth, I go back to picturing all the ways I could torture Rydon. It’s surprisingly relaxing.
Maybe this is the secret to inner peace?
“As I was saying,” Leon continues in a snide tone.
I picture him strapped to the torture table beside Rydon. It’s like a two-for-one deal. Highly efficient.
“Need is concerned that you’re having difficulties building relationships with her inner circle. Why, you barely speak to any of them at the dinners,” he continues, sounding disappointed.
I don’t catch myself in time. My jaw drops, and I give him an incredulous look. “You don’t let me speak at the–” I start, unable to stop myself from pointing out that he’s the reason I don’t socialize.
“Do not interrupt me,” Leon snaps, and his grip on my thigh tightens painfully.
The mental leash tugs, and I snap my mouth shut.
“As a way to encourage your bonding with members of the inner circle, we’ve decided to appoint you a Keeper, sooner rather than later. Someone we trust.” He speaks slowly, like he thinks I can’t comprehend basic words.
My stomach feels like it’s trying to turn itself inside out as Rydon gives me an eager, twisted smirk.
Please no. Please let it be Nymara. If there is anyone out there, please don’t let it be…
“Rydon has graciously accepted the responsibility of becoming your first Keeper.” Leon beams at his friend, his chest puffing up with pride.
I don’t breathe. I truly thought things couldn’t get worse. And yet, here we are.
They want to force me into a bond with the man who raped Arianna.
A red haze settles over my vision.
You’d think I would have hit my breaking point ages ago. But no, apparently, I still had some sanity left in me. The choices that have kept me locked in a state of paralyzed indecision fade away to some distant, unreachable part of my brain.
Rydon and Leon continue talking amicably, neither realizing that I’ve completely checked out. All I can hear is blood rushing through my ears.
No more. Absolutely no more.
Leon might commit atrocities against me, and while I know that’s wrong, it pales in comparison to the pure, undiluted hatred I feel for the man who hurt my friend.
Satisfied with my lack of pushback, Leon stands. Distantly, I hear him say something about going to see Need, so Rydon and I can get better acquainted.
The moment Rydon and I are alone, it’s as if the bubble that was blocking out all sound pops, and my focus dials in on the man sitting across from me.
My target – because today, I’m the goddamned predator.
It’s impossible to separate Cassandra’s voice from my own. Her memories and my will are one and the same, united in boundless fury.
Rydon gives me an easy, confident smile as he stands and comes to sit beside me.
He invades my personal space with ease, and his leg presses against mine.
The back of my neck prickles as he drapes his arm over the back of the couch, his fingers barely brushing against my hair.
The cruel anticipation in his gaze gives away the vicious monster that lurks beneath the surface.
My own monster all but purrs, knowing she’s going to love the taste of his blood.
“Your little act isn’t fooling me,” he notes, giving me a conspiratorial look.
He laughs before adding, “Don’t worry, your little secret is safe with me.
I know you don’t want Leon. In fact,” he pauses to adjust himself, “I prefer it that way. I’ve become a bit of a…
connoisseur of taming women who don’t know their place. ”
His fingers twine in my hair. I look down, trying to pretend I’m afraid. I keep my hands loose, almost smirking when I catch sight of my finger stub. It’s too small to hold a ring.
From the corner of my eye, I see the bulge in Rydon’s pants growing. Still, I wait. He’s the captain of the guard. This man is highly trained, so I need to choose the right moment.
He leans in closer, his voice becoming breathless with excitement as he takes in my fear. “It’s even more fun in the beginning… when they resist. After all, the easiest way to break a woman is with your dick. Leon has been going on and on about how excited he is to do just that.”
My blood feels like it’s boiling, and ever so slowly, I lift my gaze to meet his. Horror is etched across my features. It isn’t a mask.
“I wonder if he’ll let me watch?” His eyes rake over me before he runs his nose over my neck, inhaling my scent. “Then again, once we’re bonded, you’ll probably thank me when I take my turn with you.” He tuts like he’s disappointed. “That won’t be any fun at all.”
Almost there.
His hand slips between my thighs, and his whisper is warm against my ear. “I think we should practice just once, before you start begging for it. I want to feel you break for me. After all, you took away my toy, and I’ve been very lonely. You–”
His comment is cut off by an anguished, keening sound. Rydon tries to jerk away from me and fails.
My dinner knife is buried between his legs. Before he can scream, I grab a donut from the table in front of us and shove it into his mouth, gagging him.
I’m. Not. Finished.
Grabbing the handle, I start stabbing him in the crotch, over and over again. The sharp blade of the scythe would be too merciful. I like how the serrated edge of the dinner knife tears into his skin.
Between struggling to push me away and trying to pull out the donut, it takes a few moments until he finally finds his voice. A high-pitched scream tears from his throat.
I only have a few seconds until I’ll be pulled away.
I make them count.
Peering through the jagged holes in his pants, I take in the ruined bits of his flaccid penis. It’s still attached to him, and that just won’t do.
His dick is slick with blood, but I manage to yank it out through a hole in the fabric. Rydon wrenches on my hair, trying to stop me, but I don’t feel the pain.
There’s a wet, tearing sound, followed by a spray of blood that arcs across my pale pink dress. I fight against his hold, trying to shove the severed appendage into his mouth.
The door slams open with a bang, and Leon bursts into the room. He freezes, taking in the blood coating Rydon and me. His gaze bounces from the knife in one of my hands to the dismembered penis in the other.
I wish I could have this moment commemorated as a commissioned painting.
“Vivian! Drop the blade!” Leon orders.
My hand goes slack, and the blade falls sideways onto Rydon’s lap, rather than impaling him a final time.
Shame.
“You stupid, stupid girl.” Leon strides forward, yanking me back by my hair. He doesn’t let go, instead dragging me behind him and heading for the door.
I don’t struggle. I just wave Rydon’s penis at him and give him a blood-coated smile. “Look at that. It turns out your dick can break men, too.”
Rydon is still screaming obscenities when Leon drags me down a servant’s hallway. I assume he’s trying to avoid being seen, but we still pass at least half a dozen servants. Each of them blanches when they see us, their expressions twisting in sacrilegious disgust.
Still, Leon doesn’t release my hair and drags me all the way outside. We’re headed for the edge of the Council’s estate, and when we pass a particularly thick wall of hedges, I toss Rydon’s penis inside. I hope it rots before anyone tries to re-attach it.
Leon keeps up a steady, seething dialogue the entire way, his words growing progressively louder.
By the time we’ve made it to what I assume is the border of the wards, he’s roaring.
“I’ve had it with trying to reason with someone incapable of understanding logic!
I have gone above and beyond for you! THIS is the final straw! ”
He throws me to the ground, and my grin doesn’t falter. Behind him, a crowd is gathering.
Never underestimate how quickly news can spread that something scandalous is happening.
Servants and nobles spill out of the castle, whispering and pointing our way. A promise of violence shudders through the mob, and I remember that Creators are worshipped as gods. Leon is committing a blasphemy right before their eyes.
I put on a frightened, brave expression as I pull myself back to standing. Blood and gore coat me, further desecrating their embodiment of light and perfection.
Leon practically vibrates with rage as he takes a threatening step towards me. Blue light flares from his tattoos as he pulls on his Destroyer power.
Well, that confirms it. We are, in fact, outside the wards.
“Bind yourself to me. Immediately,” he orders, his hands curling to fists at his sides.
The leash tugs, but just as I expected, nothing happens. I raise a brow and open my mouth to tell Leon off, but his yell cuts me off, “SILENCE!”
That command makes it through the leash, and I glare at him.
I’m done trying to appease this man. I want him to know how much I loathe him.
Leon’s rage twists into disbelief as he realizes I’m not following his order. “Complete the mate bond with me. Now!”
His words are loud enough that the crowd can hear.
The leash burns like molten steel as it twists inside my skull. The pain causes tears to stream down my face, but I still manage a smile, even as I shake my head.
His fist slams into my cheek, knocking me to the ground again. Stars dance in my vision.
Somewhere behind the ringing in my ears, I can hear them – the appalled gasps and outraged screams. Instead of looking at Leon, I stumble to my feet and turn to our audience.
Let them see. Let them know how their prophesied one is being controlled.
Still consumed with rage, Leon grabs another handful of my hair but freezes when he notices my attention is elsewhere. He lets out another furious roar when he sees the crowd, and a moment later, a familiar squeezing sensation hits.
He’s apparated us away.
Cold wind bites at my blood-soaked skin. We’re standing on the same uninhabited island where Leon and I escaped to, the night the Forsaken swarmed my apartment.
“Bind yourself to me. Now, Vivian! Or so help me, I will sink this entire coastline.” He uses his grip on my hair to shove me to my knees.
I glare at him through my tears, and he hits me again, hard. Dazed, I hang limp in his hold as the red haze finally clears from my vision. That’s all the time I need to finally make a decision.
I do the unthinkable.
I open the mate bond connection.
Sin said he would always be able to find me, and I’m ready to let him.
Leon heaves a breath. “Tell me the truth. How are you defying me?”
A humorless, bitter laugh bubbles up in my throat, even as I taste iron. “I can’t be bonded to you.”
Leon throws me to the ground, the hard stone scraping my skin. I bite back the pain and watch as a mask of cruel disgust replaces his anger. “You’re willing to kill thousands, then? Are you that selfish?”
The slightest hint of a warm hum trails under my skin. I don’t stop laughing.
“Speak!” Leon barks, his mask already faltering.
My laughter turns incredulous. I’ve definitely lost it.
The leash snaps, forcing the words out of me. “You don’t get it. I literally can’t bind myself to you.”
The faint hum tingling through me grows stronger.
Sin feels the bond. He feels my fear and pain, and he’s coming for me.
“Stop laughing!” Leon orders, furious.
The sound cuts off, and my expression sobers. Sin and Leon are going to fight to the death. I’ve been terrified of this moment for what feels like an eternity. I’m risking entire realms because I choose Sin. I choose to save him.
I can only hope this island is isolated enough to avoid hurting others.
“Why? Why can’t you bind yourself to me?” Leon demands.
I wobble a bit on my feet, probably concussed again. Still, I tilt my head, grinning with satisfaction. “Because I don’t belong to you.”
He slaps me.
The mate bond flares with a surge of fury. Sin did not like the pain I just felt.
I spit blood at Leon’s face.
“Liar! You were promised to me. MINE! The leash should be making you. What is stopping you? Tell me! No more games,” Leon orders, his eyes now completely overtaken by his blue energy.
I wipe the blood coating my chin. “Because – I’m already bonded to Sin.”
The hum under my skin feels alive, the current becoming impossibly strong.
Sin will be here any second.
Leon roars, and the entire world is swallowed by a blinding flash of blue. Then, it feels as though someone is trying to burn me from the inside out. Blue light smothers me, searing away every fiber of my being.
Leon is using his Destroyer energy on me, but he isn’t killing me.
The pain grows excruciating, and I fall to my knees, shrieking in agony. Blindly, I reach for the mate bond, trying to find Sin. But rather than being met with comforting warmth, I can barely feel the connection.
My body starts to convulse, powerless to stop him, even as I realize what is happening.
He’s targeting the mate bond.
Leon is trying to burn Sin from my soul.
The soul-shattering pain only lasts a few more moments, and then the world goes dark.