Rhyden clapped him on the shoulder harshly. "That’s the adrenaline. Catch up, Soul Searcher."
"It will be okay, Auren. Won’t it? The Academy’s empty. It’s like everything has aligned perfectly for this. The Stars are on our side." Rin wanted them to be, but prayer and hope never worked for her.
"Perfection has a cost, and I am not prepared to pay it. Not yet," Auren added lowly.
The others took their gasoline cans and lighters and walked to Rin. Lucien pressed a soft kiss to her temple. Auren took her hand in his, whispering something against the back of it. And Cyrus grabbed her by the waist and kissed her lips over the mask.
Rhyden touched her shoulder harshly. "You’re with me. Think you can keep up." His words were low, careful of the retreating form of the others. Auren’s boots scuffed over the pavement. She had a feeling he wasn’t going to stay away from her long.
"Of course," Rin said, flicking the lighter. Fire sparked. "V.V.?"
Rhyden stared at the flames and the small black lighter held in her pale hand. "They used Stella suppressors in Dark Star Hold. Five hundred years without fire. I grew impatient, paid a guard to bring in a lighter. Anything was better than nothing. I had to be careful about the flame. Fire was coveted. I didn’t want it as a weapon, though; I wanted it as a reminder. Every time I flicked that flint wheel and saw the flame, I thought of my revenge—I thought ofyou. When the fuel inside was used up, and it ran dry, I still needed a reminder, so I carved your initials." Rhyden lowered his head to the side of her face, staring ahead, yet his jaw brushed her cheek as he spoke. "Vesperin Vox, the con artist."
He pulled away, and Rin felt unmoored.
"I thought you started to believe me," she said softly, sadly. Wishing she could remember in truth what had gone wrong in her life on Sangreal. She didn’t think herself capable of the treachery he spoke of.
"I don’t believe in a lie. I still want my revenge"—his eyes raked down her body, her skin-tight shirt and black pants,molding to her small breasts and the delicate swell of her hips—"but not in the way you’re thinking. I think I’d get a lot more fun out of you with my fangs buried in your neck than my blade in your heart. I still think about the taste of your blood. You know you robbed me of our wedding night—my first taste." The tip of his boots knocked into hers. "I plan to collect."
His words made her belly flip, heat dripping down her spine. But he didn’t fool her with his big talk of revenge. Not after he’d gone in Lucien’s place underground.
"You’d do that for him?" Rin didn’t extrapolate.
"I’d do that foryou, wife," Rhyden rasped.
Atlas ensuredit all worked perfectly.
He had allowed such terrible things to happen to Vesperin and those around her. It was not over yet.
Inside the mainbuilding of the Academy, it was dark and empty.
They stood at the maintenance door—the same one they’d used at the gala. The lack of power meant the electronic locks didn’t work. The door opened as she turned the handle.
Rhyden walked in front of her. She tried to silence her footsteps on the stairs, thinking of the others circling the building’s outskirts with gasoline before they’d all meet and light it up.
It was actually smart for Rhyden to go below. He didn’t need a lighter and gasoline to start a fire. Hewasthe fire.
The light of the tubes was brighter in the utter darkness. Her watch went dead right as the glow grew, making her eyes water, her attention wavering as her feet started to go, and she just wanted…
Rhyden grabbed her shoulder, snapping her out of it. "I don’t think so. Stick by me. You’re like a goddamned moth."
"Sorry." Rin’s voice was light. "I forgot how they made me feel."
"They won’t be making you feel anything in a few minutes." He stared at the line of tubes. Some were gone, as if they’d been moved, only dark circles on the floor marking that something had once stood there. "Sure hope this shit doesn’t explode. Think it’s fireproof?"
Rhyden’s hand on her arm was like a distant tether, slipping, slipping. She saw a shadow coil around a glowing tube, a hand pressing through dimensions. Her fingers twitched. "No, it’s not," she said, breathless. "It’s safe." She felt it in her Soul.
Rhyden’s body moved before hers, covering the blue glow. "Snap out of it, Vesperin."
She stared at the thinner rays haloing his form. She reached out to touch, skimming her fingertips over the air around him. "It’s pretty."
Rhyden gripped her cheek roughly. She still didn’t look at him. She heard him curse, then?—
His lips pressed to hers. His fangs pricked her lower lip, and she forgot all about the blue lights and their pull.
Rhyden kissed her like he was starved.
Something warm and metallic dripped down her chin. Her fingers curled into his leather jacket.
