Chapter Seventeen
Jet
“Nira!” Vishen screamed as we reached the lake, finding the woman floating, still as a corpse, but her eyes open and blinking, in the center of the still water.
He ran in as my gaze moved to the bank, searching for Serin. Her pants and shoes were in a pile, but she wasn’t there. She wasn’t in the water.
But the bank was soaked and freshly eroded. Almost like a wave had…
The story she’d told me came back. About the man who’d tried to take advantage of her.
Was that what happened? Serin was bathing and some creep came along?
Had Nira tried to fight them off and ended up in the water? Had the lake tried to save Serin… and failed?
Too many questions.
Not a single answer.
My gaze just landed on a rock with a bright spot of blood when I heard water cascading down.
Turning, I saw Vishen carrying Nira out of the water.
“It was like the water was holding onto her,” Vishen said, panting for breath.
“It wouldn’t let me go,” Nira agreed.
We could question her, get answers.
But I didn’t have time.
Serin was gone.
Taken by fuck-knew who for a fate I didn’t even want to imagine.
“Stay with her. Get answers. I’m following the footsteps.”
I pointed toward where I was going.
Then I was gone.
I was vaguely aware of Vishen calling out to me but I was already tearing through the woods. My heart was galloping in my chest as my guts twisted.
How long ago had all this happened?
How far could he have gotten with Serin?
What could they have done to her already?
But then I heard it.
A scream from a man.
I pushed myself faster, my thighs screaming in objection.
But I was getting closer. I was getting to her.
Just before I broke into the clearing, I heard him.
“I can’t wait to hear you scream, bitch.”
I flew forward, taking it all in.
Serin facedown in the dirt. Her undergarment yanked down to expose her. A redheaded man pinning her legs as he held a tree limb like he was about to…
The thought couldn’t even fully form before I felt it overtake me.
The rage.
The darkness.
It blotted out the corners of my vision.
It slowed my heartbeat to a thick tick.
“I can’t wait to hear you scream, bitch,” I snarled, hearing it as from far away as I grabbed the man’s throat and lifted him into the air.
Then I did it.
I dropped him.
And I did the thing I’d sworn I would never do again.
But I did it.
And he deserved it.
I even took joy in closing my hand around that part of him and snuffing it out forever.
When I heard Vishen, though, I seemed to snap back to myself, to focus on Serin and her bone-deep burns, the scratches and bruises all over her body.
I’d already made the decision to bring her back to her lake, to let it heal her, when Nira came running up with her warning.
We couldn’t go back to the lake.
I couldn’t heal Serin.
I just had to carry her trembling body through the woods, knowing the agony she was in and unable to do anything about it.
It wasn’t until we could see the castle in the distance that we dared slow, stopping long enough to yank pants up Serin’s legs and slip her feet into shoes.
“Shit,” Nira, who’d run ahead, said, rushing back. “There are people everywhere. Guards. Soldiers. There’s no way we can sneak her in looking like that. No way you’re getting in without someone seeing.”
“You have to take her,” Vishen said. “Jet and I will go in the front, act like we were just taking a walk. You slip in through the back with Serin. Get her upstairs.”
“No,” I barked. “She can’t walk.”
“I can,” Serin said, voice weak, even as Nira yanked the flask off of Vishen’s belt.
“Drink,” she demanded.
“No, use it on her wrists.”
“We have a bathtub full upstairs. I need her strong enough to run with me.”
“Jet, focus,” Vishen demanded. “Come with me. Trust Nira. And you can take care of Serin within the next ten minutes. We’re wasting time.”
There was no arguing with logic, as much as a part of me wanted to.
I touched Serin’s arm, then I took off with Vishen.
“Ready?” I heard Nira say in a no-nonsense voice.
“Yeah.”
Fuck, she sounded small. Weak. Pained.
But Vishen was right. The faster we could get inside the palace undetected, the sooner I could take care of Serin.
We had to slow to a walk close to the gates so we didn’t draw undue attention. We’d only made it partly across the courtyard before the redcaps spotted us and ran behind us, chanting that eerie tune of theirs.
I barely noticed them.
I had one thought.
Serin.
Once we reached the steps, the redcaps fell away and we were alone again, both of us breaking into a run to my floor.
We broke into my room just after Nira, who had her arms around an already-weak Serin.
“I’ve got her,” I said, scooping her up.
“What the fuck happened to your hands?” Nira asked.
“And your head,” Vishen shot back.
“Go take care of each other,” I said. “I’ve got Serin.”
I didn’t wait for a response, just carried a trembling, whimpering Serin through to the water closet, closing the door behind me.
“It’s okay. You’re going to feel better in one second. Can I take off your shirt?” I asked as I sat her on the edge of the tub.
She gave me a small nod, like it took all her strength to do it.
I didn’t waste time trying to pry the soaking material up. I reached for my knife, slicing off the straps, then cutting it right up the center.
I tried not to notice.
On the throne, I swear I did.
But it was impossible not to see the soft swells of her breasts, the tight twists of her nipples.
My body stirred, but I glanced back at her wrists to remind myself how hurt she was.
I pulled off the shirt, then helped her to her feet, yanking down her underwear, then guiding her into the tub.
She lowered down, whimpering as the water lapped up around her. I didn’t know if she was responding to the cool water or pain as it moved over her wounds.
“It’s okay. You’re going to feel better,” I said, hoping I was right. “Just settle in.”
“Come in with me?” she asked, voice tiny.
That was the last thing I needed.
But I couldn’t deny her such a simple request, could I?
I stripped off my shirt, slid down my pants, but kept on my underwear as I stepped into the giant bathtub with her. Reaching, I pulled her between my legs to settle against my chest.
She settled instantly, her eyes sliding shut. Likely to try to hide the fact that she was crying. But from over her shoulder, there was no missing them as they slid down her cheeks.
I wrapped my arms around her—one across her upper chest, the other around her waist, holding her tight.
I wasn’t a soft man.
I didn’t have words of comfort.
I didn’t know how to handle tears, never having been allowed to shed any myself.
But I could be there. I could hold her. I could let her know she wasn’t alone.
It wasn’t long before her silent sobs rocked her body, making the water lap up over the sides of the tub. “He… he was going to…”
“Shh.”
“I burned him with the iron… there,” she choked out between sobs.
“That’s my girl.”
“But then he… he was going to…”
“I know, baby. I know.”
There were no more words then, just tears and soft cries that seemed to create little cracks in my heart.
Eventually, though, the sobs eased and the tears ceased.
“Can you lift your hand for me?” I asked, wanting to know how much healing the water could do for her.
When her hand lifted, water cascaded down from a small red wound around her wrist.
“If it stays in longer, will it keep healing?”
“I think so.”
“Okay. So we will stay a while longer.”
I reached out, grabbing a cleaning sponge, wetting it, then carefully blotting at the cuts and scratches on her face. Sure enough, little by little, they faded until they were almost invisible.
“Wow. That’s a handy power.”
“It’s not really my power. It’s the lake’s.”
“But you’re of the lake, so it’s yours too.”
“I guess.”
I knew I should have dropped the sponge then. Let the moment linger how it was meant to—soft, sweet.
But I traced it down her arm, cleaning another barely-there scratch. Then slid over the top of her chest.
Was it my fault that her breath caught and her breasts rose out of the water, just begging to be touched?
I slid the sponge over one, then the other, feeling the way she trembled at the touch.
“Jet?” she whispered, her voice going all soft and breathy like it did when she was turned on.
After the traumatic day she had, who would blame me for giving her a little comfort?
I abandoned the sponge, letting my hand graze over her breast instead, loving the way she sucked in her breath then arched up into the touch.
“I can stop if you want.”
“No, don’t stop.”
That was what I was dying to hear.
I closed my hands over her, squeezing, then releasing to circle her nipples until they were pinched and straining.
“Jet, can you…”
“Can I what? Tell me what you want.”
She couldn’t find the words, though, so she reached up to grab my wrist, pulling my hand down over her belly and between her thighs.
It was all soft sighs and gentle rocks of her hips as I teased her clit for a long couple of minutes before slipping my fingers inside her, fucking her with them until she was panting and moaning, then coming around my fingers.
“Anytime you want me to fuck you with my fingers,” I said, lips near her temple, “just ask.”
“Or your tongue?” she asked.
“Or my tongue.”
Or my cock, I added silently. But we weren’t there yet. I should probably never cross that line. But it seemed we were getting closer and closer to it every day.
There was a knock at the hallway door then, making me sigh as I climbed out from behind Serin.
“It’s time to regroup,” I told her. “We have to talk about everything that happened. Are you okay with that?” I asked, reaching to help her out of the tub. “You don’t have to go into details about what he was about to do. Everyone will fill in the blanks.”
“Okay.”
I dried her off after myself then went to grab us clothes.
Once we were both dressed and Serin was sitting on the bed, holding a glass of water, I opened the door to let in Vishen and Nira.
They’d both changed into dry clothes, and Vishen’s hands were wrapped in clean rags. Judging by the scent coming off of him, there was some sort of salve on the burns on his hands.
“How are your hands?” I asked.
“They’ll heal.”
“Don’t let him bullshit you,” Nira said. “They’re bad enough that they’re probably going to peel for days before they heal.”
“Shit.”
“It was me or you,” Vishen said. “I’d rather it be me. I can hide it more easily.”
“How’s your head?” Serin asked, looking at Nira.
“It hurts like a bitch. But you listen to me,” she said, her voice going deadly serious. “If we are being attacked and you can use your powers to save one of us, you save yourself, not me. Do you understand me?”
That was why she’d been floating in the water, paralyzed, helpless.
Serin had demanded it. She’d sacrificed herself for her guard.
Normally, I wouldn’t understand that. But I knew that if push came to shove, I would probably try to protect Vishen too.
He was the closest thing I had to a friend, to family.
“He was going to kill you,” Serin said, her chin angling up. “You were in immediate danger. I wasn’t.”
“I think the burns on your wrist said otherwise,” Nira shot back.
“In danger of pain, yes. But not death. You were about to die.”
“Was there another attacker?” I asked, knowing they could go around in circles about it endlessly.
“The troll,” Serin said.
“The troll?” I repeated. “The troll who originally kidnapped you?”
“Yes. Both of them were the same men who kidnapped me before. They work for Grimwood.”
“Fuck,” Vishen hissed.
“What happened to him?” I asked.
“The water took him,” Serin supplied.
“So he’s dead?” Vishen clarified.
“Yes.”
“What about the redhead?” Nira asked. “What was wrong with him?”
“What did you do to him?” Serin asked.
I sucked in a deep breath and looked at Vishen, who knew what I was asking, and nodded.
“This does not leave this room,” I said, waiting until Vishen checked outside to be sure. “I do have a power, one I never want my father—or anyone else for that matter—to know about. I can… pull things out of people.”
“That glowing ball,” Serin said.
“Yes.”
“What was it?”
“Every drop of joy inside him. I can simply pull it out, hold onto it, torture them with the absence.”
“I mean… is it really that torturous?” Nira asked. “I was wildly lacking in joy my whole life. I’m doing alright.”
“It’s different,” Vishen said. “It’s like you’ve been scooped out. All your joy, hope, love, everything good… it’s gone. All that’s left is shadow and a depression so deep you could drown in it.”
“How do you know that?” Nira asked. “Oh, God. You let him do it to you?”
“I needed to understand,” Vishen said, shrugging it off.
“But you put it back in Vishen?” Serin asked.
“Yeah. I can put it back.”
“But you didn’t do that to the redhead,” she said. “You… you squashed it.”
“Because that motherfucker didn’t deserve to ever have it back.”
“Okay,” Vishen said. “The question is… what happens to him now?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never done that.”
“If he has no joy, no hope, might he not seek the true death?” Nira asked.
“And before then, how motivated would he be to go back to Grimwood and tell him what happened? And at whose hand?” Vishen asked.
“If he has no joy anymore, wouldn’t that remove the desire for coin?” Nira asked. “Which would be the only thing Grimwood has to offer him.”
“Maybe. But Grimwood isn’t above hunting him down and torturing answers out of him. He might not feel joy, but he can still hurt,” Vishen said.
“Fuck,” I said, dropping down on the foot of the bed, scrubbing my hands down my face. “I should have just killed him.”
“Is it really so bad if people find out you have powers?” Serin asked. “Isn’t that a good thing? People are less likely to try to hurt you.”
“It’s something I might be willing to have known publicly when the throne is mine. But my father will turn me into a weapon if he knew now.”
“He can’t make you do anything, though, can he?”
“Sure he can. By using the people I care about against me. Vishen. Nira. You. Trust me, my father would have you strung up and tortured if it meant he could use my power against his enemies.”
“We could try to look for the redhead,” Vishen suggested. “Take him out before he makes it back to Grimwood.”
“If that is where he’s headed, he’s likely already there. I think we are going to need to assume that this is information that is going to come out sooner or later.”
“Which means we need to make our moves sooner than we hoped,” Vishen said.
I sighed.
“Yeah.”
“The tournament is in five days. It’s the most likely time you will face Grimwood again,” Vishen said. “We need a plan ironed out that we can implement directly after if he decides to out your powers.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Alright. All four of us. Daybreak. Bring your best—or most unhinged—ideas.”
It was time to take this throne from my father.
Before one of his enemies did it.