Satisfied, she turned her sights on Rhyden and Cyrus, seeming to be more preoccupied with Rhyden than the incubus.
Rhyden arched a brow. "Again with the old conversations, wife. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you’d have amnesia of this life—but no, just conveniently, your past lives."
"What are you talking about?"
"You, killing someone. You don’t have the guts."
"I may not have what it takes to kill someone"—as if proving his point, her voice wavered—"but I will do whatever it takes to protect my own."
Lucien’s nails dug into his palm as he tried to hide his satisfaction away.
She crossed her arms. "Besides, I do have an incubus more than willing to get his hands dirty for me."
Cyrus groaned loudly, and the sexual undertone made Nessen turn, flustered, as he fiddled with the monitors.
"I ammuchmore than willing, doll. I’d kill for you."
Rhyden rolled his eyes. "Your little guard dog doesn’t scare me with his water tricks."
"Trust me, Rhyden, I have much more up my sleeve." A sudden, dangerous look befell Cyrus’s usually impish face. He narrowed his eyes for one second, then looked to Vesperin. "I am your guard dog, just so you know. Do you want to get me a leash? I only ask it has pretty jewels; otherwise, I’m yours to lead around."
"Enough already." Rhyden waved his beringed hand to Lucien, the embers beginning to cool. "We arefarfrom done here, Quenlan. Just because she supposedly knows and trusts you doesn’t mean I do. One more secret, and you’re out."
"You can’t just kick him out—" Vesperin started.
Rhyden looked down at her and placed his hand on her shoulder, thumb slipping over her collarbone. Lucien waited for her to hiss and flinch from the lingering heat of his rings, but she didn’t. Interesting.
"I can do whatever I want when it comes to you," said Rhyden. "And if he was a fucking trustworthy Soulbond like he says he is, he would agree."
Lucien’s jaw ticked, yet he dipped his chin in a shallow nod. He wasn’t sure why Vesperin said she knew. She didn’t—nottruly. When they’d had sex, he had told her only a little; his thoughts had run away from him, and when he’d realized what he had begun to say, he had distracted her with pleasure. But still, she had pieced it all together.
Rin drewin a sharp breath as the tension settled between them all.
Lies, stacked endlessly atop one another. Piles of secrets, so tall they threatened to topple and crush them all.
Lucien—herLucien—had created harmony.
He had been a scientist—somehow she knew, recalling it only faintly, memories from their only life together. He had tried to tell her, and she hadn’t wanted to hear any of it, more concerned with the taste of his lips and the feel of his flesh than uncovering his secrets.
Nessen’s red gaze drifted to the medical fridge, fascination flickering behind his eyes as he reattached the electrodes to her temples.
She couldn’t help but remember when Kit had done the same…
Atlas observed it all.
And when the old doctor, Delayne Nessen, began to share the journal with the others, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Decades ago, Atlas had guided the vampiric doctor toward the study of Tarz and its illegal scientific pursuits, knowing it would be required for this precise moment.
A whisper of intrigue. A nudge of fate. A perfectly placed flyer for an underground auction, promising forbidden knowledge under the guise of scientific exploration.
Atlas ensured Nessen had sufficient funding to purchase the journal. And once in Nessen’s grasp, Atlas had watched as he read its contents enough to remember, but not enough to be tempted.
Because Vesperin’s Soulbond, Lucien Quenlan, had once been consumed by the pursuit of knowledge at any cost. Lucien was fortunate he had been spared the full memory of his life on Tarz—by deliberate hands, working beyond Atlas’s initial design.
Lucien watchedas Nessen’s red eyes focused on Vesperin.
"Do you mind if I try something? It will not hurt, I promise," said Nessen.
