Rhyden waitedwith Cyrus while Auren took Vesperin to safety. In the seconds the Soul Searcher was gone, Rhyden bent and lifted the incubus.
"Don’t want to take me out to dinner first?" Cyrus mumbled.
"Shut the fuck up."
When Auren returned, the three stepped through the portal,finallyin the safety of the penthouse. The lights were off, and the polished floor echoed beneath Auren’s boots as he stumbled away, falling against a wall.
"Where is she?" Rhyden demanded.
Auren didn’t answer. He fucking slid down the wall, nearly taking a framed painting with him.
Rhyden released Cyrus, and the incubus waved him off when he started to sway. "I’m fine. Where’d you think she is?" Cyrus opened doors as he stumbled away.
Rhyden blew out a sharp breath.
He was the only fucking one who had his wits about him. Was he really going to have to babysit them all?
He dragged Auren upright before following Cyrus.
Rhyden found them inhisroom. Not his, really—it was just the master suite he’d claimed.
The curtains were drawn, but his surveillance equipment still sat by the window. The bed was large, piled with white, fluffy sheets and pillows. His wife lay in the center, curled on her side, still wearing his leather jacket over her bloodied dress—Rhyden would say it was ruined, but the blood complemented her, made her look like a warrior queen. Lucien was beside her, and Cyrus lay face-first at the foot of the bed, as if he couldn’t go any further.
Rhyden dragged Auren toward the bed. The Soul Searcher clumsily shrugged off his cloak. Auren settled beside Vesperin, arm thrown over her waist.
Though his eyes closed, Auren mumbled, "We must discuss what happened."
"Just fucking sleep. Our problems will still be there in the morning," Rhyden said, but he heard how Auren’s heart leveled out. Asleep. They all were.
He focused on Vesperin’s heartbeat. It was a wet, heavy thump in her chest. Steady—for now. Her breathing pattern was light and short, pained. But she was alive.
Rhyden sat against the headboard, one arm thrown over the pillows, fingers tangled in Vesperin’s hair as she slept between Lucien and Auren.
He’d fucking babysit. But he was still going to get his revenge. He hungered for it, didn’t he? Wasn’t the twisting in his gut as he stared at her a sign of anger?
As if she heard his thoughts, Vesperin stirred. She seemed disoriented, but when she looked up and found Rhyden sitting there, she calmed. As if he were something safe. He wasn’t.
"Kit went with her," she whispered. "He wanted to protect me—us. He’s the reason we’re alive."
15
OATH
When Rin woke up, her head felt stuffed, throat sore, and limbs achy. She found herself covered by sheets, skin sticky with sweat. Her head pounded as she kicked the blankets off. Her foot hit something solid—a body.
She heard a grumble, then she lifted her heavy head to find Cyrus sprawled across the foot of the bed. Someone shifted at her side, and she turned to find Lucien pressed close against her back. His glasses were off, and his fingers were resting gently against her spine. On her other side, Auren lay. His dark lashes fanned out across his cheekbones as his arm tightened around her waist.
Beyond the pulled curtains, sunlight streamed through the cracks at the corners. She heard the distant sounds of the city.
They were in Rhyden’s room?
The door opened carefully, and Rhyden himself entered, carrying a tray laden with water glasses and a plate of buttered toast.
When he saw her half sitting up, he paused. His red eyes swept over her battered body.
"How do you feel?" he rumbled.
"Terrible. What…?" she began, reaching up to rub beneath her swollen eyes.
