Chapter 1
Two Years ago
Rue clung to the hem of his suit jacket, trying his hardest not to search for the one person he was hellbent on avoiding.
The ceremony had been held in the East gardens, with the reception taking place behind the main building of Hart Estate.
The weather was perfect for a celebration, sun shining brightly, white fluffy clouds floating listlessly through a pale blue sky.
The smell of spring flowers filled the air, sweeping in on a light breeze from every direction.
The party hummed with vibrant excitement, everyone who was everyone on the planet Usurn in attendance. It was said to be the event of the decade, a merger between two great houses, the Harts and the Vadims.
In the center of the outdoor seating area, Rhys Hart had his arm wrapped affectionately around his new bride’s waist, the two of them laughing at something the semi-circle of people regaling them had said.
Probably something elitist and unoriginal.
Nothing even remotely worth the boisterous guffaw Rhys was giving.
Or the bride, who joined in right away, shameless in her pursuit of power and grandstanding.
Eulalie Vadim.
Rue’s mother.
In many ways, Rhys and her were a match made in heaven.
Frankly, it should come as a bigger surprise that it’d taken the two of them this long to realize it.
They came from massive wealth, sat on the same board of trustees that helped run the capital city, and had joined hands in Hart Holding years prior to expand galactically.
They cared about social status and appearance more than anything, including the happiness and wellbeing of their offspring.
And they’d both been single for years, since the sudden deaths of their spouses.
A waiter came by, offering flutes of champagne on a silver platter, but Rue gave a curt shake of his head, dismissing him. He knew better than to drink. Had to keep his wits about him.
Had to remain strong.
This was the first time he’d returned home in a year, and only because he’d had to. Missing his mother’s wedding was inexcusable, and since he was still in college and reliant on her money, he’d been forced to comply with her request that he attend.
People he hadn’t seen in years, some friends, most merely acquaintances, had spent the first couple of hours lingering, making small talk, showing an interest. When it became apparent that Rue wasn’t keen on engaging, they’d wandered off in search of better company.
Black Harts, children of the world’s elite, and those Rue had grown up with, mostly kept their distance.
Rue knew why.
He pretended he didn’t.
The group of close friends outside of this collection of affluent individuals he’d left behind weren’t in attendance.
Despite his mother’s irritation, Rue had befriended kids who weren’t a usual part of their social circle, not elites, like she would have preferred.
The only upper-class members Rue had kept constant companionship with as he’d grown had been the Harts.
A sick twist in his gut had him spinning on his heels, abandoning the charade.
He sprinted to the back doors, entering the main house in a flurry of motion, almost knocking over a server balancing two trays of hors d'oeuvres. He mumbled an apology, but didn’t stop, tugging at the tie around his neck.
At the stairs, he got the damn thing off, tossing it over the banister, not bothering to check where it landed. His feet carried him in a panic, memories leading him through the massive building, the ghosts of the past sparing no mercy.
He just needed a space away from it all. A spot he could be alone, without fear of running into him.
Months of carrying this self-loathing, this guilt, had worn Rue down to practically nothing. He’d always been quiet, shy even, in comparison to his friends, but now…There were times at university where he could go weeks only speaking a handful of sentences to other people.
He knew what he’d done wrong. Knew better than to ask for forgiveness—especially from a person who had never learned the meaning of the word.
Not once in all the years they’d known each other, not even on those lonely nights when the frustration had overcome him and he’d touched himself to thoughts of the Black Hart, had Rue ever been disillusioned.
But that also meant he understood eventual capture was inevitable, especially now that their parents had wed and made them one big fucked up family.
The smart thing to do would be to go back out there, find Ryker and confront him. Let him get his licks in.
It would be the smart thing.
But Rue was a coward.
The library where they used to study as kids didn’t seem as inviting as it once had. Memories of them racing down this corridor, chasing one another to see who could make it first, rushed through his mind as Rue planted a palm against one of the double doors and pushed.
It was like stepping into a time capsule, rows upon rows of books on either side, with a straight path leading to the back where a window seat could be seen.
He moved toward it, planning on waiting at the long table that was currently hidden by the stacks, figuring he had maybe another precious minute or two to collect himself and think about what he was going to say when—
He turned the corner at the end of the rows and froze.
The library wasn’t empty.
Ryker’s hair had grown since the last time he’d seen him, the black strands wavy with a few falling over his forehead.
The suit he was in was immaculate, not a wrinkle or speck of dust, navy, with a white pinstriped shirt and a crimson bowtie that was perfectly centered.
He’d almost look as though he’d just stepped from a magazine spread even.
If not for the man kneeling between his spread thighs, currently sucking Ryker’s engorged cock deep enough into his mouth that he made gagging sounds.
Rue’s foot slid back, but his breath hitched, and he ended up doing the one thing he’d desperately been trying to avoid this entire day.
He caught the attention of the monster.
Ryker lifted his head, the tight, lust-filled expression that’d been on his face vanishing in a flash, replaced by a pure, undiluted hatred that actually had Rue’s entire body locking up.
Long fingers delved through the hairs at the base of the skull of whoever was giving Ryker head, that person completely oblivious that they were no longer alone. Instead of stopping him, however, Ryker used that grip to push the man harder onto himself, choking him on his dick.
The kneeling man began to struggle, clearly panicking. He slapped at Ryker’s thighs, tried to shove away, but he was no match for the Black Hart.
“Well?” Ryker’s voice cracked in the air like a whip, his vicious expression twisting when Rue flinched. “Going to stand there and watch me come?”
Rue shook his head before he’d even fully processed the question.
“Get the hell out!” With his free hand, Ryker snatched a heavy book from the table and threw it at him.
The book whacked against Rue’s arm, pain shooting up it to radiate through his neck, but it did the trick and snapped him out of it.
Rue spun on his heels and ran.
The sound of his new stepbrother’s malicious laughter seemingly following him all the way back to Tulniri.
One Year Ago
“Come on, man, calm down.” Bowie slapped a hand against Rue’s shoulder, jostling him.
“Yeah, dude’s right,” their friend Adams added. “It’s been two years already, and your parents are even married now. No one who matters blames you, Rue.”
“It’s all in your head.” Lenore bumped against him and winked when he looked over at her.
They were trying to be reassuring.
It wasn’t working.
Especially not when a mere glance around proved they were wrong.
The whispers had started almost as soon as he’d stepped from the hovercar. He hadn’t been seen on planet since the wedding, and while it’d done the trick and quieted most of the rumors, people loved their gossip too much to allow the story to die and be buried that easily.
Some of them were at least attempting to be discrete, but not everyone was as considerate. Those who were originally meant to be his peers when he’d lived here pointed his way and spoke of the Harts and that day where it’d all gone wrong.
The day Rue’s entire life had imploded.
The merger between their families helped quell the more obvious accusations.
The ones that claimed Rue was the cause for Ryder and Uriel’s current stasis.
His name had swept through the papers for weeks, reporters branding him a criminal.
Another “protected rich brat”. When Rhys had married his mother, the press had been forced to go quiet.
Everyone knew Rhys Hart wasn’t the type to suffer insult, and there was no way he’d welcome someone who had harmed his family into said family.
Time and time again, members of the staff for both Hart Holding and Vadim Enterprise had given interviews explaining that Rue had not been involved at all. That his choosing to enroll in a university off planet was simply coincidence.
Officially, this had been accepted as the truth.
Unofficially…
“I should just go home.” Rue tried to step out of the line they’d been waiting in for over an hour—not his first attempt to flee, either—but was hauled back by a tutting Bowie.
“Don’t be such a coward,” he said. “Enough is enough. How long are you planning on punishing yourself for something that wasn’t your fault? It’s the Harts fault for not doing more to clear your name when they know you had nothing to do with it.”
Adams and Lenore exchanged glances, but neither of them told Bowie to stop.
“Cor Night is just what you need,” Bowie continued as they moved closer to the entrance of the great hall at Sacrum Cor University. “You’ve got to see what you’ve been missing out on by choosing a school on another planet!”