Page 125 of Eternal Obsession

“Well isn’t this cozy?” Orpheus stepped out of the shadows.

I rose to my feet, still weak, determined to stay focused. Determined to protect her from him.

“Catherine,” he said, “we talked about this, remember?”

“Orpheus, they would have killed him,” she said. “What were you thinking?”

He folded his arms. “What’s your point exactly?”

Catherine caught a sob.

“You know I hate seeing you this way,” he said. “Jadeon, you’ve upset her enough. Oh, and by the way, if Catherine’s your ‘everything,’ what exactly were you doing with Ingrid?”

I winced, the sting of guilt blooming sharp beneath my skin. And then, worse still, came the shame of needing what Ingrid had given me, the bitter truth that I had craved it, hungered for it, even as it unraveled me.

Catherine reassured me with a gesture.

“She’s so forgiving,” Orpheus said. “Jadeon, how about we see how your brother is?”

Catherine followed him, and I limped after them. The wounds left by his men, his vampire followers, were merciless, lingering long enough to remind me that even I was not beyond harm.

Orpheus led us down the darkest of the three corridors. It would only be a matter of time before he got bored and would finally attempt to kill me.

This I knew with a surety that bled from my heart.

Orpheus turned and stared. He had picked up on my scrambled thoughts. The beauty of his face was marred by a sinister smile, one that betrayed his pleasure in my pain.

We ascended a stairway leading to the first floor. At the top of the stairs, his men waited.

“Take him,” Orpheus said and faced me. “I’m bored with playing you.”

As Orpheus’s men dragged me away, Catherine’s protests echoed behind me. Her cries rose into a panicked scream, and then there was nothing.

Chapter Fifty-Four

ORPHEUS

Alex hung from the shackles. He stared off into space, unaware that both Catherine and I had entered.

After leaving Jadeon, it took little time to calm her with the promise of far worse, should she show any more defiance.

Catherine ran to him, freeing his wrists from the harsh binds. Taking his full weight easily, she led him to the corner of the room, assisting him to lie down on the long wooden bench. She wiped away his tears. Taking the leopard skin blanket heaped on the floor, she pulled it over him.

“Was this really necessary?” She glared at me.

She sat beside Alex.

“Careful,” I warned her. “Don’t go and undo all my hard work.”

Alex was dazed, unaware of her presence.

I smiled at her. “My dear, it’s all part of the master plan. Be part of it or be a victim of it.”

“Your cruelty never fails to amaze me,” she said.

She couldn’t make me angry, no matter how much she tried, she was just too annoyingly pure. It was like being haunted by a living angel. Catherine was achingly flawless, infuriatingly serene, with beauty that seemed crafted to torment. She moved through my world with disarming grace, all tender smiles and unshakable trust, a sweetness so pure it felt almost cruel.

Love for her had lodged itself in me like a shard. I hated her for it. Hated myself for betraying Sunaria’s memory. Even as I treasured stolen hours with Catherine, each moment unfolding, morphing into an exquisite darkness.