14. Aeris
Aeris
I watched him drive away, my muscles locked tight until his car disappeared from view. I never planned to get caught, which meant I needed a backup plan in case Caden decided I was more trouble than I was worth.
Risking Caden’s and even Sebastian’s wrath wasn’t intentional, but now it was a calculated risk. Because I couldn’t stop. Not now. Not when I was this close.
No one was going to stand in my way.
Not even Caden Ackworth.
Because every decision I was forced to make, every death at my hands, was just one more step closer to freedom.
With one last glance down the street, I headed for my front door, hyperaware of the darkness pressing against the glass. I always left on a light, a habit I couldn’t break despite knowing Mira was likely never coming back. It wasn’t like she’d need the light to find her way home.
It’d been so long, she wouldn’t even know where home was.
The door was locked, and opening it I paused in the threshold. There seemed to be power, my house security beeping until I input my code, but there was still no light, the darkness swallowing everything as I took a step inside.
“You’re out late.”
My heart stuttered, and I almost let out a scream until I recognised the voice. “I didn’t realise I wasn’t allowed,” I said, swallowing the acidic taste on my tongue. “Waiting for me in the dark, that’s new.”
Renley appeared like my personal grim reaper, the light from outside slashing across his face in harsh lines. “She wants to see you.”
I tried not to think too much on the immediate relief that swept through me. As if going to see her was somehow better than being forced to spend any alone time with him.
“And you couldn’t have just called ahead?” I asked, just to give myself some semblance of control over my life.
His expression tightened, his fists balling as if he envisioned hurting me. But we both knew he was forbidden from leaving a mark where someone could see. Not when I was an object to share and use.
“Get in the fucking car, Aeris.”
I knew not to argue, not when he gripped my wrist harder than needed, or when he pushed me into the back of his car and locked the door.
I should’ve been nervous, being handled so roughly and forced to another destination against my better judgment, but I’d lost the ability to be nervous when it came to Selene Blackwater a long time ago. She fed on that weakness like some wicked witch, taking glee in my fear.
So I refused to give it to her.
It wasn’t long before twisted wrought-iron gates came into view, standing tall and sharp amongst the overgrown thorns she let creep wild and unchecked.
Two gargoyles stood each side, guards with grotesque grins baring teeth.
They stood in contrast against the surroundings, the cantilever house built on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea.
A stunning five floored building made of wood and glass, painted a soulless black.
Once Renley let me out the car, I made my way over to the porch. I didn’t bother to knock before walking straight through to the den at the back where I knew she waited.
Selene sat in her dark leather Chesterfield, her gaze fixed on the fire that danced in the pit in the centre of the decking that was suspended over the sea.
Below was a thin strip of beach, lost daily against the tide.
The glass bifold doors were closed, protecting us against the salty wind whipping at the flames while the sun set in the distance.
“Sit,” she demanded as soon as I appeared, her eyes not leaving the flames as she lifted a hand adorned with heavy rings in my direction. Vivienne, her daughter, stood to her side with a sneer, looking down on me.
“Mother, it’s not my fault he—”
“Enough,” Selene said, cutting her off.
Vivienne looked like she’d swallowed sour grapes, but other than a childish screech, she quietened.
I chose to sit the furthest away, the seat uncomfortable as Renley took his position standing behind me, so close my skin crawled. After a moment, Selene looked up, her thick lips cracking into a smile as she took in my gown.
“So, how did it go?”
“It went fine,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “I did as you asked.”
“Hmm.” She leaned back in her chair to study me. “That’s not what my Vivienne has said.”
I knew she was in her early fifties, though you wouldn’t guess it at first glance.
The fine lines at the corners of her eyes and mouth had been softened by money.
Her body was curvy, with medically enhanced breasts that defied gravity, and her bottled blonde hair was threaded with a faint lilac sheen that mirrored the shimmer across her eyelids.
With the right lighting, she could’ve passed for early forties.
“What has Vivienne said?” I asked gently. “You told me to make sure she met Caden. I made it happen.”
“But it didn’t work,” Vivienne cut in, sweeping her long dark hair over one shoulder with an impatient flick. “I could barely hold his attention for five minutes.” She was the opposite of her mum, tall and slim compared to short and plump. Night to her mother’s day.
“I can’t make him like you.”
“He walked over to you!” she hissed with brattish frustration.
Vivienne had a reputation amongst the city’s party circuit, drifting through elite social circles with the ease of nepotism. A party girl who’d been forced to calm down. But tonight, with her blown pupils and jittery energy, it was fair to assume that she hadn’t adhered to her mother’s warning.
“That’s enough,” Selene snapped, and I tried not to flinch. “If you failed to seduce Caden Ackworth, that’s hardly her fault. Not to mention you’re high.”
Vivienne stared, stunned. “But Mother—”
Selene didn’t even look at her. No, her gaze remained locked on me, cold and unyielding. “You knew why Vivienne was there, Aeris. You should have removed yourself the moment he showed interest. Because of your carelessness, we’ll have to start all over again.”
“Selene, he doesn’t even like—”
“Did I say you could speak?” Her eyes narrowed, sharp as glass. “Vivienne will marry Caden Ackworth. Not only for his name, but for his reputation in both the aristocracy and Underworld. There is no other acceptable outcome.”
I knew better than to comment.
“This is ridiculous,” Vivienne hissed, her voice dripping with venom. “He shouldn’t even be looking at her. Mother, you promised he was mine.”
“I know, darling,” Selene replied, extending her hand in a calming gesture. “And he will be. Patience.”
“This would have worked better if I were marrying Sebastian,” Vivienne muttered. “He has more influence and—”
“That was before he took a wife,” Selene interrupted coolly.
“We could just—”
“Enough.” Selene’s voice cracked like a whip. “We’ve discussed this. Killing the Beast’s wife isn’t worth the risk. That’s why we agreed on Caden.”
Vivienne pouted before smirking at me. “Well, at least Caden looks like a prince. Doesn’t he, Aeris?”
I didn’t reply, even as that strange feeling curled in my stomach. I simply held her stare, refusing to give her even a small victory that she could get to me.
“Go rest up, darling,” Selene said, waving her daughter away. “We’ll make sure you run into him again soon.”
With a sneer in my direction, Vivienne swept out the room.
“There’s something else I’d like to discuss,” Selene said, and I swallowed, making sure I kept myself sitting tall. “Want to tell me why you’re meeting with a detective?”
“Keeping tabs on me?” I asked, forcing my tone to be light and neutral.
“You know the rules,” she said, her expression calm, yet her long nails tapping at the armrest betrayed her annoyance. “This works because you’re smart and do what you’re told. If you become sloppy, you jeopardise everything.”
“I was getting information, just like I’m supposed to,” I explained. “The detective’s crooked.”
“Aren’t they all, child,” Selene chuckled, and it was my single most hated sound.
This was the woman that had shaped me into exactly what she’d needed, nothing but a body trained to gain information. Videos caught in unguarded moments. Emails never meant to be seen. Recordings of careless confessions whispered behind closed doors.
It didn’t matter what it was, only that it went into her private vault full of incriminating materials, information I’d given her on celebrities, politicians, and rivals. Secrets she used to extort and threaten in exchange for favours, loyalty, and submission.
“Are you sleeping with him?” she continued, her gaze sharpening, pinning me in place.
I took a moment before replying. “No.”
“Then how can you guarantee his loyalty?”
Selene reached for a remote to her right, and the distinctive sound of muffled rejections and flesh on flesh filled the air. I didn’t turn, refusing to look at the screen.
“I don’t need to remind you of your role,” she said, each word precise, deliberate. “You chose this. Chose to chase after those answers. To search for a sister who doesn’t want to be found.”
I clenched my hands tightly in my lap, ignoring the sounds of my own cries, sobs, and hollow fighting.
“Was it worth it?” Selene watched me with quiet amusement.
The volume clicked higher.
My fingers ached from how tightly I held them, my whole body locked rigid, as if I could somehow stop myself from falling apart. But I couldn’t give her the satisfaction. I wouldn’t.
Instead, I embraced the numbness spreading through me.
“Aren’t you going to watch?” she laughed lightly. “This is my favourite part.”
Even with the increased volume I was barely audible, sobs reduced to thin, broken breaths, nearly swallowed by the layered chorus of male voices. Their laughter. Their grunts. The low murmur of derogatory names I’d spent years building a resistance to.
Selene wanted a reaction, wanted to see me fracture under the memory as I was dragged back to the moment my virginity and autonomy were taken from me.
But I’d got my revenge for what they’d done to me, starting when I was just fifteen.
I had hunted them down methodically, until there was no one left. All except one.