Rue
It took her a moment to understand that she wasn't dead.
That the sky was blue, and if she squinted hard enough, she could see white birds slipping through the clouds, suspended in the wind. Another blink and they were gone. Her hands swept over the ground, expecting the wet, warm pulse of moss. But instead, cold wood planks met her palm.
A tremor skittered up her spine.
Chills.
"Rue?"
She jerked, eyes darting towards the sound. His face emerged now, backlit by the harsh unforgiving sun. At first, it was merely a blur, features drowning in molten gold. Too bright, too goddamn sharp. Haloed and drenched by the rays of the sun, a glowing silhouette with no face. No eyes. Her breath caught in her throat. What the fuck?
"Rue?"
The light thinned and his face snapped back into view. Just as familiar, just as beautiful. Dark curls, regal nose, doe eyes, sweet lips—a familiar mole at the curve. Yet her chest tightened, pulse quickened, and not in a good way. There was a strange look in his eyes.
A coldness iced her veins, and her head throbbed.
Her vision smeared.
"Halcyon?" she rasped. The name scraped in her lungs and his lips twitched, stretching into a slow lazy smile. Her fingers trembled against the grains of the wood, finding a splinter. Oddly, her heart raced with unease. Panic flared. "Who—"
"Hey, hey." Halcyon cupped her cheek, his hands were boiling hot against her skin. The heat of them spreading fast. Too hot, too vibrant. "I've got you." His thumb brushed against her cheekbones. Circling. It was easier to focus on the circles than to try to look at his face. The sunlight engulfed him, features still lit vividly by the gold. It was so fucking blinding, her eyes ached. "I've got you now, darling."
She stiffened, felt a dart of rage run up her throat at his term of endearment.
Fuck it.
"How did you find…" Her voice cracked, something sharp twisted in her chest.
The memories flooded her mind. The feeling of being swallowed alive, alone in the moss with her ankles burning as if teeth tore at bone. The feeling of being consumed. A twinge of fear ghosted up her spine. She exhaled.
"H-How did you find me?"
His smile brightened, answer spilling from his tongue too quickly. "We're always watching."
Her brow twitched, annoyance twisting within her. But before she could question him, her ankle pulsed, a shard of pain shooting up her leg. She pushed herself upright, limbs like jelly, vertigo rising, gravity all fucked up. And then she registered where she was.
The top of the lighthouse.
Open skies, the endless horizon, wind in her hair. Rhythmic waves still crashing against the structure. The beam of the lighthouse continued its rotation, a sweeping arc of light turning in an endless circle. Her temples throbbed; she pressed a hand to her head. She had a splitting headache, and it was blurring her vision and fucking her up.
"H-how are you here?" She couldn't help the stutter, it quivered from her as if she were freezing in the sun.
"The Council allowed it," he said, as if that explained anything. "Rue," he exhaled, a flicker of fear twisting through his eyes. "You scared the fuck out of me."
His gaze dropped to her ankle. And her eyes followed it, meandering down to where smooth skin now replaced the hideous wound. No longer pulsing purple veins, completely healed as if nothing had ever happened. She pressed her fingers to it, wiggled her toes.
Fascinating.
"You healed me?"
"You could have died," he said. "That wound was infected."
"I know." She was counting on it. "That's why you're here, right?"
He remained quiet.
Halcyon was clearly ignoring the elephant in the room, and there were a million questions she wanted to ask. A thousand things she wanted him to tell her—Her breath stuttered. Her head felt swollen, all wrong, she pressed a thumb to her temple. She could smell his scent and that was the only thing that calmed her. The tiniest froth of vanilla and freshly baked bread wafted in the air. The smallest twinge of a rope in her chest, as if tugging her towards him—
"My head's fucking killing me," she croaked. "Did you see that thing down there—"
His gaze snapped to hers, a flash of something sharp slicing through his face. "What did you see?"
"Huh?" Rue blinked. "It was some kind of sentient moss. I tried to escape but the thing swallowed me down." She frowned now, recounting the events. She could have sworn that she'd never escaped its hold.
Halcyon nodded, although his caresses did not cease. Circles continued. "We underestimated how it would affect your mind. You see, your human side wasn't supposed to interact with it. I'm afraid what you're feeling now is the side effects of mental loss." Rue gawked at him.
"You mean my fucking brain is fried?"
"You'll be fine," Halcyon soothed. "Your head hurts, right? It'll go away with food and rest."
"But what was it?"
"A trap," Halcyon explained. Then his voice dropped, low and final. "Don't go down there."
"But that doesn't make any fucking sense." Her voice rose, shaking. "You made that place. You made that space for me."
There was a pause, an empty moment where Halcyon seemed to stare, unblinking, in trance. The flash of slacking features was so fast, she could have sworn it was just her mind playing more tricks. Then he smiled.
What the fuck?
"I did."
Her brain pulsed, she ignored it, breath quickening. "You told me to go down there."
"Yes."
Her skin crawled. "Then what—"
"It was for the aliens," he explained. "If they were there it would have caught them."
"But it—"
"It made a mistake," Halcyon said, rolled the words on his tongue. "It fed on your DNA instead. Once I knew, I came down here as soon as I could."
"But how did you convince the Council?" Rue prodded. He was fucking lying and she knew it. "Last time I checked, you were all ignoring me." Her rage flared then, hot and sudden. Wild. "You left me here. I deserve an explanation."
Halcyon's smile faltered into a thin pressed line. A roar of impatience swept through her
"You left me on this fucking island with no food or water. How did you all expect me to survive—"
His jaw clenched and then unclenched, a flicker of guilt and rage dancing in his eyes before it was swallowed down by a cold smoothness. But at the very least, it was a sign of her Halcyon and that had her pulse slowing. "I came as soon as they let me."
She accepted that, deciding not to press for more. She studied his face, trying to note the way it changed. "So what's happening now? Where are the rest of the guys? And how are they? What am I supposed to do now? What are we waiting for—"
"Rue," his voice was calm now, deliberately slowed. "You're safe, don't worry about anything. I'm here." Her breath hitched, dragging her gaze over him searching for something that made sense. Instead, her eyes caught on his mouth, his jaw. The last time she saw him, he was still going on and on about the—
"Where's your muzzle?"
Halcyon blinked. Then a grin unfurled across his face, too slowly, too controlled. Her mind buzzed. She was unnerved, a sinking feeling began in her stomach, a strange echoing sense of doom.
What the fuck?
"Are there muzzles here?"
"No—"
His fingers were still circling, now pressed to the back of her throat. "You want me muzzled on this island?"
"I just—" his promise echoed in her head. I'll never take it off. "Fine."
She regarded him then, eyes dancing over his arms, the tattoos on his knuckles, the red of his lips. He looked well enough. She hated the strange shiver that crept down her arms. The sun was beaming, the air so hot, and yet she was so cold. The static in her ears seemed to pulse building into a crescendo.
"How are the others? Are they okay? What's wrong with Valentino—"
"We can talk after you eat," Halcyon said, threading his fingers with hers. His hands were warm, grounding. It appeared to take the pain of her head away. It silenced the roar in her ears. She could hear her own breathing, wheezing out from her lips. Her body sagged. "You haven't eaten in days, haven't you?"
"But—"
"You're not well, you're not yourself," he repeated calmly. "Your brain will need time to recover."
"I—"
"Your paranoia is a side effect," he assured. "I know how you feel but your answers can wait after you eat," he said. "Eat and I'll tell you everything, I promise."
She let him lead her into the lighthouse.
*
There was a new trapdoor at the centre of the room.
Except it looked old, absolutely ancient with a rusty metal ring and swollen wooden panels. It was one that she had never noticed before which he yanked open as if he'd done so a thousand times. A wet crack echoed as the latch gave way, revealing nothing but the endless dark. Inside, the stairs spiralled downwards, twisting narrow and steep. It looked like the throat of a beast. She wanted to ask when he'd built it, when had those aliens remodelled the entire lighthouse. How long had she been asleep? But he beckoned for her to follow.
"This is new," she said, forced a laugh but that came out brittle.
"It was always here."
"What?"
"There's a toxin in the air." He circled a lazy finger. "It decides what you can see, and what you cannot. Right now, I want you to see the trapdoor."
Something cold slithered through her, but he pulled her down then, fingers laced with her own. Each step creaked under their weight, the wood groaning with a wet sound that did not seem to match with its texture. It was as though the steps were flesh, bending and stretching under her. She tried not to look too closely, but the walls seemed to sway, curving and glistening with moisture, contracting faintly as if throbbing like the beat of a heart.
God.
Goosebumps erupted all over.
It was as if she were walking down the oesophagus of a sleeping beast.
She swallowed hard, suddenly wishing for fury to consume the strangeness of her pulsing head. Anger would have her steady, strong. But the deeper they went, the harder she shivered. And the more the rage slipped away, replaced by a trembling, growing dread. Rue supposed Halcyon was right, she was still all fucked up from the moss, a dull pain thundering behind her eyes.
The static began again.
That strangely invasive humming that dug into her thoughts, fuzzy in her skull.
"Why the fuck do you have to make it so goddamn creepy?" she complained with a snap. Her words bounced against the walls. Halcyon only chuckled, fingers tightening over hers and she clung to him desperately.
"Darling, are you scared?"
"It's dark as fuck in here."
"Have no fear, we've arrived."
He pushed open the door at the bottom of the stairwell, a spill of light flooding the place. Warm and inviting.
It was a room.
A thick plush double bed draped in dark velvet. The gentle flicker of a fireplace that immediately warmed her, crackling in its corner. A small bathroom carved into the corner, exposing a sink, a toilet and a tub. But it was the table that caught her attention, heavy and sagging with so much food it overwhelmed her. Platters of meat, mountains of fruit, heaps of greens, and pitchers of chilled juice sweating from the heat. The table sagged under the weight of so much food that it seemed almost grotesque.
She was suddenly ravenous, her stomach growling violently. She heaved from the force of it.
"Sit," he pushed her into a chair before she could resist. A plate was placed before her, the meat shone with a bloody sheen but still steaming. How was it still so hot? "Eat."
"What is it—"
"Beef."
He took a seat by her side, taking his own plate. She watched him stab a fork into his meal, slicing it neatly. He popped a piece to his lips. and then he chewed slowly. Swallowed. His eyes shifted to hers. She was noticing now that there was a blank eeriness to his gaze. It was as if his eyes were fixed upon a point further and beyond her. But they crinkled when he smiled. A flash of a shadow, and the look was gone.
A trick of the light?
"Do you need me to cut it for you?"
"No."
She shook her head. She looked back at her own plate, hesitating. Something about it made her skin feel tight. But the hunger surged again, reminding her of how painfully long she had gone without food. It was as if her stomach might collapse, organs clenching and twisting. A painful ache exploding up her throat as if she might die if she didn't devour everything before her.
She sliced the meat, watched the blood ooze. The structured tender fat jiggled like webbing spread all over.
Then she placed it in her mouth.
It was rich, savoury. Perfect. Each bite melted on her tongue like butter. It coated her mouth, beef, fat, salt—And then it was gone and she needed another bite, she had to. She devoured it all with a new urgency, tearing into her meal, swallowing larger bites. Her palms were sweaty. Her jaw working hard, aching with each chew. Her lungs were burning for air, her eyes watering. And yet her body roared for more, she needed more.
Her plate was empty—
A goblet was slid to her, sloshing with something cold. Rue stopped, breath heaving. Her stomach still felt hollow, her hunger was still there.
"How am I still hungry?" she gasped, eyes darting to Halcyon. He watched her with a strange expression, something dark shielding his face, shadows carving the curve of his jaw. A twitch of his limbs, neck jolting and he looked up at her with a tilt of his head.
A puppet.
Her strange mind supplied.
A puppet beginning its motion.
"Normal," he said. "The food was created to ensure you won't feel sick after days of starvation."
"Aha," she said dryly. "So, it's magic food."
"Drink," he commanded. "It will warm your belly."
She took a sip, and he was right, warmth blossoming down her throat, a line of gold flowing to her belly as sweetness flooded her tongue. It tasted like mango and peach, an intoxicating blend of juices that had her swallowing harder. Faster. It was dizzying, intoxicating. She placed her cup down and it refilled instantly. Her mind still swayed.
Good, so good—
"Dante is busy with the extermination of the hives—"
"What?" She stared at him. Everything was cotton and echoes. She blinked. She noticed now that there was fruit in her hands, half-consumed. When the fuck had it gotten there? She put it down.
"He's busy with Court duties," Halcyon continued calmly. "There is a lot on his plate."
"Dante is—"
"As pack Alpha and emperor, he puts the people first," he explained, smile pressed into a thin grim line. "As do the others. They're unfortunately…Well, occupied."
"So, you're saying…" She pressed a hand to her head. There were no windows in this room. No windows. "I've not been a priority?"
"No, of course not. You're just simply not liked by the Council," Halcyon answered with a shrug. That action was familiar, and it silenced her doubts. "I tried to help when I could, but it took me so long because they refused to let me help you." His expression softened. "I swear to you, I came as soon as I had a reason to."
"Then what was all that screaming—"
"Screaming?" Halcyon tilted his head to the side. "Who?"
"Never mind." Rue knocked her head, felt the need to keep the dreams a secret. "How's Valentino?"
"He's okay," Halcyon answered. "There are hives on his galaxies, he's busy killing them."
Alarm bells blared. Rue inhaled. Something about the situation seemed odd, but she was exhausted. Her body was tired. Her mouth too dry. She took another gulp of juice. It was cool on her tongue.
"I tried so hard to look for you," Halcyon murmured, a gentler smile on his face. His fingers tapped the table, a consistent rhythm. He leaned over to brush her hair behind her ears. "When you touched the emitter, I knew I could finally get to you."
"Huh?" she mumbled. "You put that there on purpose?"
Halcyon's smile sharpened. "Not exactly what I wanted to do. But it worked out in the end, didn't it?"
"You motherfucker," she grouched.
"I'll take care of you."
"Can we talk about why I'm here—"
"You're bait," he answered. "We all know that. But they're too stupid to realise the truth," Halcyon hummed. "That the ink has already infected all of your soul and I can find my way to you by tracing their bonds." She blinked.
"What?"
He grinned, raised his glass. "Drink another cup. You'll feel better."
She swallowed, suddenly mouth dry, suddenly parched. Her fingers reached for her cup as if in trance, downing the liquid. And then her eyes widened as the world flickered, her cup swirled inky and black. She slammed it down; the liquid oozed from the rim, dribbling down the sides. Ink. Her eyes darted to Halcyon and he smiled.
"Finally. I wanted to see how long before you'd realise."
"What the fuck?" The warmth in her limbs was now ice.
"You're so tired, aren't you?" he cooed. "Exhausted from everything, tired of those awful, disappointing men who want you dead."
"What did you do to me?" she slurred, panic now surged through her, flooding her veins. "Who are you—"
"I'm your beloved soulmate," he purred, but his voice was not his own. The inflections were all wrong. "Isn't it nice?" The voice taunted through Halcyon's lips. "To have the body of your chosen drone, harbour the other half of your soul? I might do this more. You like him better, I know you do, you have to. And I'm so good at stealing souls. It could work out."
She scrambled back; the chair slammed against the ground. Panic erupted from her. Edmund. Edmund was back. "No," she felt strangled. "NO."
"Relax," he crooned. "You won't remember this. It's all just an awful, horrible dream. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"Get away from me!" she snarled, but her body refused to move. The drink, the food, she realised quickly it was all drugged to high heavens. And the place—Where the fuck was she? How the fuck did he get to her—
"Why don't you be honest with me?" he purred. "Are you really happy playing house with these men who've trapped you in their games?"
She snarled. "Stop using his fucking face. Talk to me as YOU."
"Oh," Edmund sang. "It's not an illusion, my dear."
He picked up a knife then, the one he'd used to cut his steak, pressing it against his wrist. He dragged it across his skin. The blood bubbled. Her Omega screamed, an animalistic, gut-wrenching howl ripping from her lips. The sharpness of it had her cringing, the wails pulsating through her veins.
"This is your drone," Edmund sang. "I caught his soul when he was trying to find you. The poor thing is trying so hard to break free. You see, he can feel and see everything. He knows what I'm doing to you."
Her horror spiked, and for some reason she believed him. It was Halcyon, she could feel it in her chest, feel the tug of their bond. Halcyon's body, controlled by Edmund. She could almost feel how terrified he was, buried deep within Edmund's control.
No.
"Let him go," she begged.
"Silence." His fingers traced a line in the air, and her lips snapped shut. "This man ruined your life. He said he'd protect you, but did he really?" Edmund said, knife darting to his throat, to Halcyon's throat. The look in his eyes frightened her, and her Omega was screaming, screaming so hard. Blood dripped. "They don't care for Omegas. Don't you want him dead?"
She fell to her knees, tears sharp in her eyes. Please. Her mind begged, but her lips were sealed, her body like stone. Her limbs refused to move.
"No?"
He dug his knife harder into Halcyon's throat, tearing into flesh, ripping through fat and muscle, and her body shook, struggling through the restrains of her mind. He began to laugh, throwing his head back. Blood oozed from the wound, pouring down his clothes. Halcyon's clothes.
"They made you so weak. It's pathetic," he sneered. "You used to be stronger than me. What happened dearest?" He pouted then, shaking his head. "I was trying to be nice. But you decided to run. Why is that so?" He made a face, brows pressed together, lips curled downwards. "I'm your soulmate, my dear. Can't you see that?" He laughed as if it were a joke.
She glared at him then, tried her best to do something. But she could barely move, and her eyes were closing.
"You're quite stubborn," he murmured, amused. "I'll let you have him for a while. I need more of your drones, you see? I need them to come here. But they've all managed to create a situation where none of us can access you easily." He snorted. "It's hilarious." He smacked his lips. "What should I do…What should I do…" He tapped his lip thoughtfully. "You're so weak now, I don't even have to play nice." His lips stretched into a sneer.
Let me go, she begged in her head.
"Ah," he whispered, aiming the knife to his throat. "How about this—Release."
Adrenaline slammed through her like lightning. She lunged forward, found herself darting to him, leaping over the table as he stabbed the knife hard and fast towards Halcyon's throat. Her hands reached to swipe the knife away. The blade nicked her fingers.
"Fall."
She collapsed violently, falling straight into the feast. Meat and gravy squelched under her chest, knees bursting fruit, soaking her clothes.
"Hilarious," Edmund crooned. "You'd protect him instead of running? The door is right there darling." His lips stretched into a crazed grin. "Touching, but pathetic."
Her vision blurred, tears burning at the back of her eyes.
"That makes this perfect for me. So fucking perfect." He whispered, kneeling to lift her head, fingers on her chin. "My perfect queen bee."
Were there more? Her fading mind questioned.
"You're right there's more," he said. "Hundreds and thousands more Heras across the decades. Carefully bred, carefully selected. But only one is the soulmate of seven emperors." He beamed, shook his head cruelly. "Sadly, it's the one who's half human. And the weakest of them all." He pursed his lips, shrugging. "I can see why your seven drones are so disappointed with you. You're pretty useless now."
You're fucking insane. You're fucking crazy. You should go to hell you sick fuck—
He beamed. "I could do this a few more times." Then snapped his fingers. "Forget."
And Rue's world faded to black.
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