Once again, that word offended me.
What I felt for Rook exceeded any label. She waseverything. And if he touched her, I honestly didn’t think I’d be able to control myself. Broken bones or not.
“Well, now I’m awake and you can talk to me.” I bared my teeth. “Let her go.”
“We’ll let both of you go once we’ve established some ground rules. And by go, I mean to the quarters we’ve designed especially for your stay. We’ll even let you bunk together rather than break you apart...as long as you behave. Right...” He clasped his hands and came toward me. “Rook and I have had a nice little conversation but now it’s your turn.” He smiled and...a punch of familiarity hit me square in the face.
“You.”
He stilled. “Me?”
“I know you.”
His eyes narrowed even as another smile crawled over his lips. “I did wonder if you would. Long time no see. I wanted to visit you in Cinderkeep over the years, but Marcus advised against it due to your...unstable mental condition.” He chuckled and a different type of recognition struck me.
I knew him because he was second-in-command to Marcus. He was a member of the Brimstone board and had been there the dayI’d been dragged into surgery for the vitalsync core. But...I swore I’d seen him recently. The shape of his mouth, his bone structure, even his eyes...where had I seen—?
“You’re looking at me as if you’re pondering violence. So...let’s get the typical questions of how, where, and why out of the way, shall we?” He sighed as if he was doing me a massive favour. “You’re currently in my home in Cobham. My estate is private, walled, and gated. I have no neighbours and every inch of the grounds is watched by CCTV. Consider this your new temporary home until we relocate you back to Cinderkeep after our initial extraction is complete. Originally, we were going to get the technical, scientific stuff out of the way at Brimstone but you had to go and mess that up—”
“Fuck you.”
“Ah-ah, I wasn’t finished.” He scowled. “That’s the ‘where’. As for the ‘how’—you were both brought here with utmost secrecy from China and, as you can clearly see, have not been hurt in any way—apart from what you self-inflicted. You were the one to destroy your own headquarters. You were the one who used far too much power. Have we taken retribution? No. Do we look angry? No. We’re very happy to finally have you back, Lucien, and as long as you obey and do what we say, we won’t do a thing to harm you—minus the quick sting of a needle, of course. However...” His voice turned black. “If you showanysign of disobeying. If you attempt to use your unique pyro ability, I’ll be more than happy to install a new frequency emitter in both of you that’ll deliver a constant dissonant dose, ensuring you’re both as weak as newborn kittens.”
“You said you wouldn’t do that,” Rook cut in.
“If you can lie, so can I.” He flicked her a smile.
“You’re going to do that anyway,” I snapped. “The moment you’re finished doing whatever it is you’re about to do, you’ll insert another vitalsync core and enslave us.”
“So cynical.” He frowned.
“I won’t let that happen.” I forced a savage smile. “I’ll kill you all.”
“I will admit I enjoy talking, but when it comes to ridiculous threats, I’m unamused.”
“Oh, it’s not a threat.” I leaned forward, fighting agony and the straps. “I promise you...Iwillkill you.”
He clucked his tongue as if I’d merely refused a cup of tea. “Going back to the word ‘enslave.’ That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it? Is itreally enslavement when you’ve spent most of your life in a palatial palace?”
“It is when you’re draining me like a fucking vampire.”
“We all have to make sacrifices.” He shrugged. “You were blessed with power that we would like for our own. It’s only fair you share those powers and give the rest of us the chance to evolve with you.”
“By drinking my blood, you mean.”
“Correct.” He nodded with no shame. “Your blood is the key to becoming better than the rest of the idiots on this planet. We want to become immortal. Like you.”
“Like me?” I laughed coldly. “Hate to burst that bubble but...I’m dying. Are you blind?”
“If you were dying, you would already be dead. You have numerous broken bones yet you’re spitting and hissing with fire. Look...” Strolling around the room, his gaze strayed from me to Rook and back again. “Obviously your temper is getting the better of you like it always did in the past, so instead of talking let’s just get started, shall we?”
“Like I said. Fuck you. You’re not taking anything.”
“That’s nice.” Brushing down his lapels, he stopped by the door, sandwiched between other men I vaguely recognised. “Is that everything? Got all your curses and questions off your chest? If so, I’ll step aside and let my colleagues get to work.”
If I could access the fire, he’d be a pillar of ash.
I sank inside myself, hunting, begging—
