Chapter 41 Riven
Riven
Seeing Sloane like this does something to me, rewiring the circuits of my brain.
I’ve hurt plenty of people throughout my life.
I’ve lied, stolen, fucking killed people.
Nothing compares to seeing Sloane crumble right in front of my eyes.
Seeing her fall apart is unraveling something within me that I didn’t even know was there.
I recall the way Sloane looked at me as if she didn’t even recognize the person in front of her anymore, like I was nothing more than a pathetic stranger.
The thought of it fucking stings. I did this to her, and it fucking kills me to know it.
My perfect, unbreakable little nightmare, broken because of me.
I want to hold her in my arms until she knows that she’s fucking everything to me, until she knows that I love her too.
I want to infiltrate every fiber of her being until she knows that I’m in love with her.
If she comes back to me and chooses me, I’ll bear the weight of everything that comes after.
I will fall from the cliff’s edge if only she’s in my arms when I do.
Her eyes are fluttering closed, and I scream, needing her to hold on for a second longer. She’s trying so hard, my beautiful nightmare, but it’s all too much. I say the words, unsure if she’ll even hear them.
“I love you, Sloane.” Her eyes fall closed seconds later, her head hanging limply.
My eyes find her chest, and relief hits when I see that she’s breathing.
I want to go to her, to hold her, and tell her that everything will be okay.
I want to tell her that I’m not the man that Sabel is trying to portray me as.
Except that I am.
I am him. I am the man who’s been lying to Sloane about my true identity this whole time.
I am that man who’s a cold-blooded murderer.
Will Sloane find it within herself to forgive me when she knows the entire truth?
Will she even get the chance to? I hear Sabel’s voice over the thoughts running through my mind.
“Oh, relax. She’s fine. I induced a state of relaxation and unawareness so we could speak freely without her being so theatrical.
” Sabel waves her hand in the air like Sloane is a burden she can’t be bothered with.
I imagine skinning the flesh from Sabel’s bones and then forcing it down her throat until she asphyxiates. The image brings a smile to my face.
“Okay, Riven. This is how it’s going to go. You will say “somnius” on my command. Understand?” She arches a brow, eyeing me with that superiority complex that says she dares me to object. Somnius? I quickly search my brain for what she’s asking. And I don’t like what I come up with.
The Eden Frequency.
She wants me to activate the Eden Frequency on Sloane.
Somnius must be the command key. I contemplate my options, noting that I don’t have the upper hand right now.
Two guns are pointed in my direction, and my girl is strapped to a chair, having her brain rearranged.
I search my mind for a way to stall until I can formulate an escape plan.
“And if I don’t?” I ask, genuinely wanting to know the lengths that Sabel will go, partially itching to taunt the bitch. I hear a door open behind me, followed by heavy steps that I recognize in an instant. His familiar voice echoes from behind me, confirming his identity.
“If you don’t, the girl will be killed,” my father says, walking past me and over to Sabel and Sloane.
He stands on Sloane’s opposite side, pulling a knife from his pocket and holding it up to her carotid.
Well, that makes things a lot fucking harder.
I bring my gaze to Sloane, expecting to see panic.
Instead, all I see is loose strands of red hair falling over her face.
I sigh, rolling my neck. I look up and lock eyes with my father’s nearly black ones.
It’s the only trait that I half acquired from him.
A trait that Raithe unfortunately fully acquired.
My opposing gray eye is from my mother. Every time I look in the mirror and see the dark color, I see him.
Now, looking into my father’s eyes, I see nothing more than a coward.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Dorian?!” I ask, seething.
“Ah, first-name basis. Is that how you’re going to treat your old man after all this time?
” He pauses and then continues, the question apparently rhetorical.
“Well, if you must know, I saw an opportunity, and I took it. Something you wouldn’t know anything about.
What, with you running amok around the streets of Hollowcrest, murdering the people right off of it.
Tell me, son. How does it feel knowing that you are as much of a petty criminal as the men you drive your knives into?
Do they teach you about that in psychology school?
Psychology … what a waste of time. You always were such a disgrace to the Reilly name. ”
I see blood red in his familiar, condescending tone.
The rushing in my ears and acceleration of my pulse do little to calm my rising need to rip his throat out.
Don’t react, don’t react, I tell myself.
He wants you to react. I need to maintain a semblance of control if I’m going to get out of here alive with Sloane.
Sabel steps forward, asserting her dominance.
“Dorian and I”—Sabel pauses, looking over at him with adoration that disgusts me—“we both want the same things. We came together to achieve our goals long ago. As the COO of Sonus, he’s working closely with the Eden Frequency for us.
” COO? I figured as much, but fuck, does it still piss me off.
And I’m sure Dorian has been playing Sabel like a fiddle, manipulating her to do his bidding while allowing her to maintain her illusion of control.
It’s all so Dorian of him. I give her my best impression of someone who has no idea what she’s talking about.
“Don’t play dumb, Riven. I know that you are aware of the frequency.
And now, you’re going to activate it for us.
It’s linked to your voice, as the vocalist for Reverb.
And while we don’t need you in the flesh to activate it, it’s a lot more fun this way.
Don’t you think?” My voice? Well, that’s definitely not something I saw coming.
What a wicked fucking twist of events. I try my very best to remain calm, but I’m sure that if looks could kill, Sabel would be a pile of fucking ashes right now.
“Awww, don’t look at me like that, Riven. If you don’t activate it, I’ll make you.” She nods to Dorian, and he presses the blade of the knife deeper into Sloane’s skin. Sloane doesn’t react. I see the faintest trickle of blood, and it’s enough for me.
“OKAY! Okay, I’ll do it,” I spit out. “Drop the fucking knife, and I’ll do it.”
“Wonderful,” Sabel purrs, clapping her hands together. Dorian removes the knife from Sloane’s throat, but remains too close for my comfort. Sabel finally turns her attention to Dorian to dismiss him.
“That will be all, Dorian. Thank you.” She nods her head toward the door to the two-way viewing room, and my father leaves. He gives me a smug look, scoffing before disappearing behind me. I hear his footsteps retreating, and then the door opening and closing. Good riddance.
My eyes shoot to Sloane as she stirs, coming to.
Her eyes search the room in panic until they find mine.
For a split second, they become filled with relief.
But her brain catches up to the moments before Sabel hypnotized her, and she’s panicking once again.
I reach for Sloane, but the guard to the right kicks my hand away and presses the gun into my temple.
“Don’t fucking move, boy.” The guard says. Boy? This one must have taken a page out of Dorian Reilly’s playbook. I force myself to submit, for now.
“Welcome back, Sloane,” Sabel says, walking around until she’s standing in front of Sloane with her back toward me. Sabel is blocking my view of what’s mine. Sloane is so close. All I’d have to do is reach out and—
“I said, don’t fucking move!” The guard presses the pistol into my cheek now. This guy is going to be high up on my murder list when this is all said and done. I might force-feed him to Sabel.
“Now, where were we?” Sabel asks. I peer around Sabel, locking eyes with Sloane for a moment before Sloane rips her eyes from mine to bring her attention to the blonde witch standing in front of her. I want Sloane’s eyes back on mine. I need to see her.
“Ah, yes. I was speaking about that pesky human emotion. You know the one, don’t you, Sloane?
” Sabel asks. She’s provoking Sloane, and I don’t like it.
She doesn’t allow Sloane to answer. “Tell me, Sloane. Could you truly love a man who lies to you about his identity?” Sabel sidesteps just enough to allow me access to Sloane’s beautiful emerald-green eyes.
Sloane looks back and forth between Sabel and me before her eyes land on mine.
That’s it, darling. Eyes on me.
I see a flicker of an emotion behind Sloane’s eyes. It looks awfully like that pesky little emotion Sabel is speaking of. What did Sloane see when she was under hypnosis? I need so badly for what I see to be true. Sloane doesn’t answer the question.
“You can,” Sabel answers for her. “It’s written all over your face, dear. You don’t have to say a word. But tell me this, Sloane.” Sabel walks up to Sloane, stopping right in front of the chair and kneeling until she’s face-to-face with her. “Could you truly love a man who murdered your father?”
I knew that Sabel would drop this on Sloane eventually, but it still manages to shock the fuck out of me. My eyes snap to the back of Sabel’s head, and then up to Sloane. Sloane’s wide eyes are already on mine. Sloane looks pissed. There’s a fire unlike any other burning behind her gaze.