He felt like a changed man. No longer did his apartment feel like his home. He felt haunted, just standing here, staring at the bare kitchen island and empty fruit basket. Moonlight swept in through the large windows, making everything feel heavier.
He was alone.
Vesperin was with the others. It had killed something inside him to let her go. To willingly hand her off to that damned vampire and incubus. Auren, Lucien had respect for at least. He hoped the Soul Searcher would keep her safe.
They had appearances to maintain.
It was a delicate line they all walked.A game, Cyrus had dubbed it, as they’d passed through Solar City limits only hours earlier.
Lucien set his bag down and leaned his elbows on the kitchen island. Everything was just as he had left it. So why did this place feel so changed?
It was he who was different, Lucien realized as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed the number of Solar City General’s Chief of Staff, letting her know that his… extenuating circumstances had changed, and he could now take patients again.
Rarely using his paid time off meant he had months’ worth—combined with his clean track record and proficiency in the field, his superiors hadn’t even blinked an eye at him taking almost three months of work off. It could not last forever, though.
It was time to play deadly games.
Sabine Blackfall stoodin the security room. The ends of her lab coat tickled her calves, perfectly manicured nails tapping along her forearm as she arched a brow at the head of the surveillance team. This should have been her husband’s domain, but Talor was dealing with the fallout from… their failed Phoenix.
Something had to be done about that.
"Yes?" Sabine forced out. She had too much to do and so little time to do it. Curing mortality was a time-consuming process; however, the end result meant she would have all the time in the world—Earth and beyond.
The security guard turned from the monitors. "Ma’am, motion sensors at Quenlan’s apartment have been triggered." He clicked a screen and brought the greyscale image into focus, revealing Lucien Quenlan as he sat with his head in his hands. "He’s back."
"Alone?" she asked, her voice a purr of delight.
"No other motion has been detected. The doctor is alone."
She hummed. "How is the surveillance at his office at the hospital? Has it been fixed yet?"
The man began to perspire. "No—not yet, Ma’am."
"You and your men have had ample time to right your wrongs. I do not know what made the surveillance in his office die, but you’ve had nearly three months to get in, fix it, and get out. Do not sit there and tell me you have not even tried!" Sabine’s voice wavered with passion.
The surveillance in Lucien Quenlan’s apartment and vehicles had been stable for years. Yet one night, without cause, the smallcameras placed in his office at Solar City General had failed, severing a vital feed.
She leaned on the back of the man’s chair, forcing the wheels to roll slightly, bringing him closer to her. Her heel pressed against the edge of the seat between his spread thighs. She saw his throat work as he swallowed heavily. That was what he deserved, for being a man and taking up so much space, and for thinking she would take up so little. The tapered toe of her heels brushed his crotch.
"Fix it. Or don’t. I require a new lab rat. I will turn you into a new Phoenix, seeing as you and your men have not been able to track down the first. Prove yourself to me. My patience is not eternal," she said with disdain, "though my Soul is."
Sabine left him there nodding so hard his head looked like it would detach from his neck.
She tugged at the collar of her coat and stepped out into the hall. This pristine, endless maze would soon be a dim memory. Earth was the perfect Ground Zero for their plans. If they failed here… she would try again in her next life. And the next, and the next—until she succeeded and finally would no longer be slave to the cycle of rebirth.
Her phone buzzed. She pulled it free from her pocket, her wicked grin spreading as she saw the number.
She held it to her ear, walking swiftly down the hall.
"Mrs. Blackfall?" came a soft voice.
"I take it you have good news for me?" Sabine countered, using her free hand to swipe her keycard and open another door. She was going to be late for a meeting about the ship’s progress. They needed it livable within a month—better safe than sorry.
The girl hesitated. "She’s back in… in the dorm. Just arrived. I stepped away to call you first, like you wanted."
"Good. That’s good. Let me know when she leaves, what she’s doing, and who she is with. I need to know all of it."Sabine wasn’t able to place cameras in the dorms, as they were constantly monitored for any outside tech. Everything that went on within the walls of the Academy was sensitive. Her ties with the Hunter’s Guild could only get her so far.
"Yes, I will, but…"
