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The blanket was pulled off of me so fast, I squeaked, blinking wildly in surprise.
Aiden hovered on his knees above me, the darkness radiating from his gaze so pronounced and thick that it burned my airways.
“We never wanted you to fuck him.” He spat the word as if it left a sour, pungent taste in his mouth.
A grin unfurled on my lips, dry and sarcastic. “No? I thought that was all I was good for—fucking men for information.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth, princess.” He bared his teeth. “You won’t like what happens.”
“Tell me, Aiden. What will you do?” Harsh laughter escaped me. “What will any of us do? We’re going to die down here.”
At my words, his growl faded, a crease materializing between his eyes. Those dark, dark eyes…
“What did you learn?” He leaned even closer until I swore I could see specks of gold swirling in the twin abysses. But when I blinked, they dissipated, the darkness swallowing the brief glimpse of color once more.
“What didn’t I learn?” I mumbled, trying to tug the blankets back around me.
Aiden growled, the noise low and primitive, and captured my wrists, holding them above my head. His strong body hovered just above mine, his chest brushing against my pebbled nipples. His eyes flickered to my lips briefly, stark hunger etched across his features, before he met my gaze.
“What did you learn, princess?” For the first time since I’d met him, the endearment “princess” didn’t sound like an insult, but something sweeter. Softer. More intimate. It brushed across my skin like the softest feather imaginable, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake.
Whatever Aiden saw in my expression had his own darkening.
“Is it bad?” he demanded.
“I didn’t want to believe it at first,” I whispered, trembling. “But fuck, Aiden, I can’t deny the truth in his words.”
“What. Did. You. Learn?” He placed his mouth directly beside my ear, growling each word until I felt myself squirming with need. Need for him—for a man I hated and desired at the same fucking time. Ignoring the toxic cocktail of emotion, I sought the best words to explain to him what Heath had told me.
And then I decided…
Rip off the metaphorical bandage. He’d bleed—how could he not?—but hopefully, the pain wouldn’t be as prolonged.
So I told him everything. Purgatory. The Nine Circles of Hell. The reapers. The monster.
Everything.
Aiden listened without interrupting, without a single change of emotion, except for the tightening around his eyes. His grip around my wrists gradually loosened until I knew I could pull free if I desired to.
I didn’t.
When I finished speaking, he stared at me for a long, long time, not speaking a single word. I watched in rapt fascination as a myriad of emotions flashed across his face, one after the other in rapid-fire succession. I wasn’t even sure he realized that his mask had broken, that he was baring himself to me.
Disbelief. Confusion. Horror. Begrudging acceptance. And then…
Sorrow. So much fucking sorrow, I feared I would drown in it.
“Aiden…” He rolled off of me, collapsing onto his back. He brought one of his arms over his head, covering his eyes. He was so still, I actually feared something had happened to him, until I saw the rise and fall of his chest, barely perceptible.
He didn’t speak, and I didn’t dare either.
Finally, he whispered, “My sister’s dead.”
I wanted to offer him false promises, things like “Don’t think that.” Or “It’s not true.”
But I couldn’t. Not when I knew in my heart that Josie and her girlfriend had left this world once and for all. Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. This wasn’t my time to grieve—it was his.
Thousands of condolences jumped to the forefront of my mind, but I knew how pointless and shallow they could be. Grieving people didn’t want to hear you say sorry. I didn’t know the girl, so my pain was a mere sliver compared to his. I told him as much.
