Chapter 48 Roran
Roran
Every second in this room reminds me of the days my father used to shove me into one of these, just to please a business partner of his.
It never went too far—luckily, or unluckily—because no one else could run the other girls and the storage as well as I did—and only for a ‘roof and food’ as a payment. So when he was gone, one of the girls would quickly swap places with me and send me out once the man got drunk enough.
Today, he won’t get drunk. I don’t have that kind of time.
I’m going to drug him with the drops Tatiana uses sometimes to create illusions strong enough to get whatever I need. They’re supposed to make him forget most of it by morning.
At least that’s what Tatiana claims, though Novax is new to her too. I doubt she’s ever tried it on him.
My ass is blocking his view as I pour whiskey into a glass, pretending it’s unintentional. My legs brush his knees like there’s not enough space in front of me.
I almost curse when his cold hand grabs a handful of my ass, cupping it like he’s measuring the size.
Bile rises in my throat. Please, god. Don’t let Malec watch me like this. He’d hate me for this, maybe even think I’m playing him too.
It’s for Diana.
Get a grip.
“I don’t remember you having scars, my little fairy…”
His breath rasps against my bare skin—so close the excuse of a panty I’m wearing doesn’t even block it.
One drop. Two.
Screw it—three. Just in case.
I take a deep breath and toss the tiny bottle under the leather sofa, knocking over the metal ice bucket in the same motion—loud enough to draw his eyes away as the bottle disappears beneath the it. Then I turn around.
“Silly fairy me… walking is so hard sometimes. How about we fly instead?”
I settle into his lap, holding his glass, teasing it against my lips as my eyes lock onto his.
I never thought I could hate green eyes this much.
He wraps his fingers around mine on the glass, his face tilting toward mine.
The glass is the only thing separating our lips.
“You’re not Tatiana,” he growls.
But I know that tone—it’s not suspicion, not anger. It’s a pleasure.
“Of course I’m not Tatiana, silly human. I had to beg her for just a few minutes with you… so you could taste a little new magic.”
I drag my tongue slowly across the cold surface of the glass. My pulse starts racing, but my gaze doesn’t move from his.
Thank god for this disguise. At least it lets me pretend this isn’t me—for my sake. Not Roran, but someone else behind the wheel.
Still, my stomach flips when he groans. The illusion doesn’t feel so safe anymore.
He takes the glass from my hands but keeps me in his lap. He releases his grip on my back and dips his little finger—crowned by a silver cup ring—into the drink.
He pulls it out and glances between the glass and me.
I freeze.
Did he notice? He couldn’t have…
He leans forward, casually placing the glass on the black wooden table.
Then—before I can react—he rips off my mask like it’s nothing but paper.
Fuck.
My heart slams so hard it feels like it might crack through my ribs.
He can’t recognize me. Not like this.
I never wear makeup like I did today, maybe I’m still safe. I don’t dare move, holding still like a ticking bomb as his eyes narrow on my face.
“How the fuck did you escape the Red Dock?”
His hand closes around my throat as he rises. I scramble to claw his grip away, but he lifts me effortlessly until my heels can’t even reach the floor.
“W-what?” I choke. My face burns. My eyes bulge as I kick at his crotch, but he doesn’t flinch.
Two steps forward—then he slams me against the wall.
Pain explodes in the back of my skull. I see stars.
That’s when I hear it. Pounding fists on the steel-reinforced door.
Malec.
No. I didn’t get a location. Not yet—
“Answer me! Who knows you’re here? How did you escape the electric cage?”
His grip loosens, just to let me answer. I gasp for air, coughing it in as he still holds me pinned.
Electric cage? Red Dock?
The oxygen rushes back to my brain, and something clicks.
He thinks I’m—
I swallow hard.
“Who do you think raised me? I’m not that easy to lock up.”
I shoot him a cocky grin I absolutely do not feel, trying to play the game. I just need a location, damn it.
He curses, closing his eyes like I’m a migraine.
I tilt my head toward the hidden camera in the corner and mouth one word: Key. Hoping Malec would check the camera when he goes back to the safe room.
He suddenly opens his eyes and pins me with a glare.
“You’re really fucking stupid, coming to me. Must’ve been zapped one too many times, scrambled your brain.”
His calm returns too fast for me to process his words. “You’re coming back with me.”
He grabs my arm and shoves me toward the corner of the room.
Zapped? He mentioned an electric cage.
I choke back tears. My chest tightens. My balance sways.
They’re really torturing Diana there.
Electrifying her.
“Help me… please.”
A whisper—not from my throat, but in my head.
No.
No, not now.
“Take me home!”
The next one is a scream that hits me like a blade to the skull.
Why is it happening again so soon?
I’m going to die here…
No.
Fight it, Roran. Diana needs you.
“How do you know about—” I flinch as he kicks open the emergency escape door. He knows about the hidden emergency door.
What the hell’s happened to this place when I wasn’t here? It’s been less than two weeks.
Right then, the entrance door explodes open, hitting the wall so hard I hear it even over the screaming in my head.
A glow floods the room—so bright it sears my vision, but that’s not even the worst part. The screams swell, sharper, louder, until my eyes water and my ears feel like they’re on fire.
Novax jerks back, startled, his grip slipping from me, but I still can’t see a damn thing.
“You dared to touch what’s mine.”
That growl…
“And I. Do. Not. Share.”
Something shifts. His voice cuts through the screams—no, commands them.
They shrink beneath it.
Every step he takes mutes the chaos, until I can see clearly: Malec is standing over Novax.
Novax is on the floor, crawling back in terror.
Malec’s skin—what is happening to him?
Every scar on his body glows in pulsing blue light, like it’s somehow… alive.
Am I hallucinating?
Did Novax drug me instead?
I hear a gun click, and my head snaps toward Novax.
Fuck. Malec isn’t armed. He didn’t carry any weapon with him back here, at least not one I saw.
“Malec! Get out of here!”
I stumble forward instinctively on those damn heels—shielding him with my body, my arms fly wide.
“You need me! Take me and leave him alone!”
What the fuck am I doing?
I’m risking my life for my kidnapper. I inhale.
No. For my sister’s savior.
“Move, Diana,” Novax snarls.
Thank god. It’s Just as I thought, he needs me—Diana—alive. For what? I don’t even want to know, but it’s enough to give me the hope she’s not dead. Yet.
“No. Take me, but leave him out of it.”
I step back, about to lean over Malec’s chest to whisper to him to get the hell out of here—
But he’s already gone from behind me.
He steps past me—too fast, too smooth—like he’s gliding, not walking. One flick of his hand, sharp and effortless, and the gun tears from Novax’s grip as if yanked by an invisible force. It clatters to the floor with a metallic crash, but I barely register it.
Because what the hell did I just see?
Novax grabs his throat, gasping something I can’t understand before collapsing, unconscious.
“No!” I run to Malec.
“You killed my only chance to find Diana on time!”
I reach for his arm instinctively, but he steps back fast before I can even brush it, retreating to the other side of the room.
“He’s not dead,” he says through clenched teeth. “Yet.”
I finally exhale, relief flooding my chest.
“What did you do to him? What the fuck is happening in here? Please tell me I’m hallucinating. That it’s not my sickness.”
I step forward; the room is now dead silent, only lit by his haunting blue glow.
“Don’t come near me,” Malec growls.
His voice crashes through my thoughts like a shockwave, silencing even the now whispers.
Who is this man?
No—what is he?
My heart pounds like a war drum. But it’s not fear. Not with him.
Every step toward him loosens something inside me. The more I breathe him in, the calmer I feel.
His silver eyes gleam beneath the glowing moon scar on his forehead.
He’s the most beautiful devil I’ve ever seen.