Chapter Eleven
TOREN
I jolt awake to the feeling of being watched. I blink my eyes open and try to shift on the bed, only to whimper when pain blazes through my side. My ribs feel like they are on fire and my face has a pulse. Memories of what happened in my dorm room assaults me.
Shit, I’m not in my dorm.
I grit my teeth and push the pain away as I slowly move into a sitting position. I instantly still at the sight of someone standing in the corner. The room is dark except for the soft glow of the bedside light I turned on before I fell asleep, waiting for Cas to arrive.
“You're going to have a bruise and a black eye.” The sound of his voice washes over me. The raspy lilt and deep baritone has me fighting not to fidget. It sounds so familiar but I can’t place where I’ve heard it before.
I may not be able to see him but the tone of his voice tells me he is used to being in charge.
I keep the pain from showing on my face as I lean back against the headboard.
He takes a step forward and the shadows part for him as if he’s their master.
His black hair is slicked back as if he’s run his hand through it.
His gray eyes assess me like a predator.
The way he looks at me sends a chill down my spine. He looks at me as if he has the right.
He’s gorgeous.
I push that thought from my mind, I shouldn’t be looking at him like that. How the hell could I be looking at some guy when my best friend has been dead for over a year?
“Where’s Cas?” I ask instead.
He shoves his hands into the pockets of his sweats.
“Follow me, princess.” He doesn’t wait for a reply as he stalks out of the room with a swagger I’ve never seen before.
On most guys it would look stupid, but seeing him do it, it almost makes you think he was the one who invented the damn walk.
I bite down on the inside of my cheek and slowly climb to my feet, a hiss escaping me as I try to straighten.
My body trembles and I worry my legs will give out, but I fight through it.
I need to see Cas and find out what the hell happened.
Stay away from Caspian.
My father’s warning rings out in my head but I ignore it.
He didn’t tell me about KennaDee. He should have told me at the hospital when I awoke and asked for her.
Him and Masen never once told me the truth and the sting of their betrayal cuts deep.
I take slow steps trying not to whimper each time.
I slowly find my way to the living room and pause at the threshold.
The room is huge—high vaulted ceilings and large windows that showcase the view of the city.
I’ve always found Somerset to be insanely beautiful but I’ve never had a chance to see the view of this place from this side of town.
I slowly trudge forward and marvel at the sight of the white sofas.
My brows slant when I spot a white fur rug in the center.
“In here, princess.” I swivel around to find the beautiful stranger leaning against an island in the middle of the large kitchen. Before I can take in more of the room, my gaze lands on the guy sitting on the stool. Tears instantly fill my eyes at the sight of him.
“Cas,” I utter his name like a plea. His green eyes soften at the sight of me. He slowly rises and comes toward me. When he’s within touching distance, he stops and stares down at me.
“Hey, Terror.” At the sound of my old nickname from him a sob erupts from me.
Cas closes the space between us and wraps his arms around me gently.
My pain is forgotten as I cling to him like a lifeline.
I haven’t felt whole in so long and after all this time, being in Cas’s arms has me feeling not so empty inside.
“I got you.” Hearing those words from him has me crying harder.
I longed to hear my brother say that to me, I needed Masen so bad while I was at Walter House.
I need him now and still he isn’t here. The comfort Cas is offering me is something I have longed for since the moment I woke up in the hospital.
“I’ve missed you so much,” I choke out. I feel him sag at my words. His hold on me tightens as he buries his face in the top of my head, inhaling my scent.
“I missed you too, Terror. I’m sorry I wasn’t there after…
everything.” I slowly pull back and wipe away my tears with the backs of my hands before meeting Cas’s gaze.
His eyes used to hold such a hopeful look, almost like he was untouchable to any type of pain or hurt but now, all I see is emptiness.
The look is so alarming to me that I suck in a sharp inhale of breath.
It seems like I’m not the only one who changed.
“I…” I swallow and clear my throat, forcing my emotions to remain in check. “I just found out about KennaDee today.” My voice catches on her name and tears threaten to spill once again. Cas’s face remains blank and devoid of all emotion.
“What do you mean, you just found out?” Cas’s voice is laden with scorn and I stiffen with worry, he’s never used such a tone like that with me before.
“I… Can we sit?” Cas exhales loudly and nods.
He motions for me to take a seat on one of the sofas.
Just as I get myself seated and manage to keep the hiss of pain from escaping, the sexy stranger decides to claim the spot next to me!
He’s so big he takes up nearly the whole two seater by himself.
I press against the arm of the sofa to give us more space but unlike me, he doesn’t seem bothered about being this close to a stranger.
My ribs protest and start aching so badly that tears prick the backs of my eyes.
“Bed rest.” I snap my head toward the handsome stranger and instantly whimper. His eyes narrow but I ignore the look as I ask.
“Excuse me?”
He rolls his eyes as if me daring to question him is wasting his time. “It’s the only way to heal cracked ribs.”
“And you would know this?”
A cocky smirk graces his too beautiful face. “Yeah, your brother gave me a cheap shot with his stick during a game.”
My eyes widen to the point they burn. “You know Masen?” I breathe out, my heart suddenly kicks into overdrive.
I watch as darkness slowly shadows his face, his eyes darken and I gasp. “Your brother is not a subject we are going to discuss, Tink.”
“Tink?” I question.
His smirk is dangerous and filled with a sinister promise.
“You’re like a broken little fairy. Tinkerbell could only live because people believed in her.
The moment they stopped, she died because fairies are nothing but a myth of beauty and virtue.
You remind me of that myth and one day, I bet you will fall just like Tink did.
” I swallow audibly, he said it so casually but I can hear the underlying threat.
Whoever this guy is, I can tell he is dangerous and cold.
He may be the most gorgeous man I have ever met but even death comes wrapped in a pretty package.
“Ignore him and continue on with what you were going to tell me,” Cas says, drawing my focus away from the God of darkness beside me.
My pain becomes a thing of the past as my anxiety spikes, I don’t know why I feel so out of sorts with Cas.
He wasn’t just Masen’s friend, he was mine as well.
Yet, I feel like there is an ocean separating us.
He looks like my Cas and sounds like him but his eyes…
They aren’t the same. There is no warmth in them.
Once I may have found comfort in them but now, I see nothing but a void of despair.
Instead of answering his question I ask. “Who is he?”
Cas darts his gaze between me and his friend, then reclines further, stretching his arms across the back of the sofa. “Terror, meet Xaden Devlin, your brother’s arch enemy.” I snap my head toward the dark lord who sits next to me with a sinister grin on his.
“Nice to meet you officially, Toren. I promise all the rumors you have heard about me are true and yes, my bite is much bigger than my bark, Tink.” My mouth is agape as I stare at him, I’ve heard about him and his family.
His father is rumored to be the head of the mafia in Stormsend.
Xaden reaches out and grips the back of my neck.
I stiffen instantly from his touch. His grip is firm but not painful, he’s asserting his dominance.
“I promise not to bite unless you beg me to.”