by Celia Aaron
“Fucking pathetic.” Lucius slapped the back of the sofa.
Red didn’t move from the floor, only stared up at me with watery eyes. I liked him broken and begging. Even so, I needed whatever scraps of information he’d brought me. If it would help Stella and Teddy, I had to have it. I would sort the consequences later.
I leaned forward. “The deal is this. You win, you spare Teddy. I win, I spare Evie. But the upfront price for this bargain is that you tell me everything you know about the remaining trials.”
“I know what happened ten years ago. I can give you the details.”
“That’s it?” Lucius pushed off from the back of Red’s chair and walked around to glare at him. “Some shitty intel from ten years ago?”
I held up my hand. “Let him talk.” Any shred of information was helpful at this point.
“Okay, okay.” Red pushed himself from the floor.
“No. Stay there and tell me.” I pointed to the rug beneath him. This brief negotiation had done nothing to wipe away the insults and threats he’d made to Stella. He would pay for each of them in time.
Red slid back down to his knees and glared up at me. “That year, there was this hellacious obstacle course. Crawling through glass, swimming in a leech pit, climbing barbed wire.”
“Jesus Christ.” Lucius sat next to me.
“The winner was the only Acquisition who made it through.”
“I suspected something like what you’ve described.” I would deal with all of the horrors later, when Stella and I were alone. The thought of her suffering through any of it made acid boil in my stomach. “But why does this trial focus on family? I didn’t hear any family angle whatsoever.”
Red rubbed his eyes, grinding his palms into them as if trying to erase an image. “Because the last-borns were part of the trial. The two losing families had to send their youngest through the same obstacle course as punishment.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
STELLA
“HOW WILL WE KEEP it from Teddy?” I punched Dmitri’s palm and ducked as he swung.
“I’ve called him home from school. He’ll stay here with Lucius.” Sin walked around us in a wide circle as we sparred.
A courier had arrived earlier in the week carrying a missive with the familiar Oakman seal. The trial was set, and my time was up.
“He hasn’t been summoned with us tomorrow?” I dodged Dmitri’s hand and smacked him on the back of the head as I dashed past. “For the triathlon?” I added for Dmitri’s sake.
“No.” Sin stopped as my opponent and I circled each other.
“Isn’t that odd?” I lunged at Dmitri. He caught me around the waist. I threw my hip out and tried to pull him over and flip him, but he kept his balance and shoved me to the wet ground. “Fuck!”
“Patience, Krasivaya. Must wait for right opportunity.” Dmitri helped me to my feet. “Surprise, remember?”
“I know.” I shook it off and backed away to start again. The clouds overhead threatened another downpour. I wanted to keep practicing. I had to get better.
“It’s not odd per se. It means there’s still a chance we could spare him from it. We’ll leave him here with Lucius who’ll get word to me if and when Teddy is sent for. Then Lucius can explain to Teddy as best he can, so he’s not walking into it blind.”
“Won’t that be too much for him?” I tried to grapple Dmitri into an arm bar, but he pushed me away and I sank to my knees. The grass gave way to mud the more we practiced, and large drops of rain began to fall.
“Let’s go in. This was supposed to be a light day, anyway.” Sin offered his hand. “It’s getting dark.”
I took it and pulled myself to my feet, my muscles protesting. “No, just a little longer.”
“Stella.” Sin smoothed some stray hairs from my face as the rain intensified, the oak leaves whispering above us. “You’ve done all you can. You’re as prepared as you’re going to get. You need to rest for tomorrow.”
He was right. I knew it, but I couldn’t stop. I darted past him and launched myself onto Dmitri’s back. Taking him down was the one thing I’d never been able to do. And maybe if I could get him on the ground, I could make it through whatever the next Acquisition trial threw at me.
He whirled, and I dug my heels into his sides and constricted my arms around his neck. Reaching back, he gripped my upper arm and yanked. I held on, cutting off his airway even as he pulled at me. A primal grunt ripped through me as I fought to stay on his back.
“Stella! That’s enough.” Sin’s sharp voice cut through the rain, but I held onto Dmitri, refusing to let him go, refusing to fail this time.
I closed my eyes. All I saw was Brianne’s frightened face and Gavin’s kind smile. I’d let them down, failed them when they needed me most. Squeezing tighter, I put all my strength into my arms. Not again. I wouldn’t let Teddy down. I would do whatever I had to do to keep him safe. Something clicked under my forearm, my enemy’s throat on the verge of giving way as I maintained my hold.
He pawed at my arms, his movements slowing. Strong hands gripped my waist and pulled until I was forced to let go, my arms finally giving up. Sin and I fell back into the muddy grass. My heart hammered in my chest, fear and anger washing through me as Dmitri bent over and wheezed breath into his lungs.
Sin wrapped his arms around me, holding me steady as a deluge fell around us. “You could have killed him. Generally, I’d be all for it. Though I think you would have regretted it in this instance.”
Shame rose, drowning out the faces and the pain. Dmitri wasn’t my enemy. What was I doing? “I-I’m sorry, Dmitri.” I tried to get up, but Sin held me fast.
“Is okay, Krasivaya. I fine.” He stood tall and took an unsteady step before regaining his balance.
“Sin, please let me help him.” At my request, he got to his feet and helped me up.
Dmitri took a few more steps, surer this time, and shook his head as if to clear it. “Is okay.”
“Come on. Let’s get out of the rain.” Sin held my elbow with one hand, and I grabbed Dmitri’s with the other.
“I’m sorry.” I blinked against the rain, or maybe it was tears. I didn’t know. Was I even capable of that act anymore? Crying?
“No, no. It was good move.” He patted my hand as we walked to the front porch. “I be fine. I strongest man in Russia.”
Sin snorted, and Dmitri glared at him over my head as we entered the house. After removing our shoes, Dmitri headed down the hall to his quarters while Sin and I climbed the stairs.
“Will he be okay?” I wiped the wetness from my cheeks.
“Sure. He’s strongest man in Russia.” Sin mimicked him perfectly, and I felt even worse.
“I didn’t mean to hurt him, to do that. I was just trying to…” What was I trying to do? Win? Knock him down so I could stop feeling like something was broken inside of me?
“You can’t keep blaming yourself for the Christmas trial.” Sin pushed through the door to my room and pulled his soaked shirt over his head.
“I-I don’t.” I stripped, tossing my clothes into the hamper in the bathroom before turning on the warm water in the shower.
He padded in behind me. The vines seemed more alive on his damp skin, the ink even more indelible.
“Come on.” He pulled me under the water and into his arms.
Warmth enveloped me and I could breathe again, could think again.
“I know you feel guilty. I know.” He smoothed his hands up and down my back as I lay my head against his shoulder. “But you did what you had to. Everything else that happened isn’t on you. It’s on us. The Acquisition.”
“I can’t stop thinking about it. About how they looked at me. Brianne and Gavin, the way they screamed.” My lip trembled, and I hated my weakness, hated that I had the luxury of falling apart when Brianne and Gavin were the ones who’d suffered.
He wrapped his arms around me. “I know. Time is the only way to soften memories like that. Things you’ve seen that you can never un-
see. They’ll still be there, but they won’t be able to hurt you anymore.”
I pulled away and took his hand, pulling it to my lips. I kissed the criss-cross of scars on the back of his wrist before putting his palm to my cheek. “You’re strong. Maybe I can be, too.”
He leaned in and kissed me with a gentleness I didn’t know he possessed. He rested his forehead against mine. “You are everything. If I could run with you, I would.” He closed his eyes, as if thinking through the possibility again. When he opened them, they were stark. “We can’t. They’ll find us, hurt us, and kill Teddy for spite.”
I pulled away and held his gaze. “I’m going to end it. All of it. We are. Together.”
The water splashed down my back, warming me even as goose bumps rose along my skin from the nearness of him, the heat that lit his gaze at my words.
“It won’t be easy. You’ll have to kill.” He pulled me to him roughly, his hands going to my ass. “You would have their blood on your hands?”
I bit his chest and ran my nails down his back. “Yes.”
He groaned, as if my assent pleased him more than he could stand. “This is a dark path. One I’m well acquainted with.” He pushed me against the tiles and met my eyes. “Are you sure it’s what you want?”
“I want to burn it all down.” I pulled him down to me and kissed him with every bit of fierceness I had.
Lifting me, he pinned me against the wall and shoved inside me as I cried out from the pain and pleasure.
“We’ll have to destroy every last one of them.” He thrust hard, my back slapping against the frigid tiles. “I will never give you up. Nothing can keep me from you.”
He plunged deeply again, and I clawed at his shoulders. His eyes were two dark gems, sparkling with intensity. “Because you’re mine. You’ve always been mine, long before any of this.” He bit my neck. “And I will always have what’s mine.”
CHAPTER NINE
STELLA
SIN SQUEEZED MY HAND as we pulled through the gate onto the Fort LaRoux property. Cars formed a line ahead of us as Luke rolled down his window to converse with the guard. All I could think about was the rapid beat of my heart. I kept taking deep breaths, but couldn’t seem to stop everything from moving too fast.
“Calm, Stella. Calm.” Sin ran the back of his hand down my cheek. “We can do this.” The strain in his voice told me he felt the same rush of adrenaline and fear. He was just better at hiding it.
Teddy and Lucius remained at home, no last minute summons disturbing them. All the same, a sense of foreboding took hold in me. Rebecca’s sing-song about spring being the time for family played in my mind, sending a shiver through me.
Sin kissed the back of my hand, his face drawn and starkly handsome. “The trial won’t last more than a day. It can’t. Cal hasn’t set up any local accommodations.”
“One day. I can do this. One day for Teddy.” I took another deep breath and tried to school my features. Even if I was coming apart on the inside, I wouldn’t let the circling vultures sense my weakness.
The narrow road to the fort curved through stands of pulpwood on either side, the monotonous pines growing straight and tall for row after row. The rain hadn’t let up; a light mist still floated on the air, coating everything with clammy wetness and hiding the early afternoon sun.
We cruised through the pines until the fort rose from the ground ahead of us. I’d studied it for hours, analyzing photos of the layout, trying to determine what Cal had cooked up for the trial. It was circular, built at a time when muskets and gunpowder were the only thing to stop invaders.
The rounded walls were made of large, square stones, but over time they’d become covered with green moss, the surface alive. The field around the structure was all high grass except for some older oaks, gray moss hanging wet and thick from the low branches.
An expansive red tent, bigger than most houses, was set up against the side of the fort. Luke pulled up, and a valet opened my door. Sin squeezed my fingers until they almost hurt before letting me go. I stepped out, my boots solid on the pavement.
I wore dark canvas pants and a long-sleeve sports v-neck, breathable and warm. Despite the pragmatism of my outfit, Renee had done my makeup and curled my hair into flowing ringlets for Cal’s benefits. I had elastics in my pocket for when the competition began.
Sin strolled around the car, his mask firmly on as he gave me a derisive glare. “Let’s go.”
He took my upper arm and pulled me along with him into the tent. Chandeliers hung overhead, and a band played in one corner. Long tables overflowing with food ran down each side, and a bar was set up at the very back beside the fort entrance. The ragged wooden doors were wide open, people steadily making their way into the fort once they’d had their fill in the tent. Overhead lights glowed on the spiral stairs that disappeared upwards beyond my view.
The receiving line was long, Cal shaking hands with everyone who set foot inside. Dread and anger danced inside me as some of the decked out party-goers gawked at me and whispered amongst themselves. Sin shook a few hands and chitchatted as we moved steadily forward.
“I heard Lucius gave it to her good at Christmas.” A wizened old man patted Sin on the elbow. “I bet you were sad you missed it.”
Sin smiled. “Don’t worry, Governor Treadway. I still manage to have plenty of fun with her. She’s got a little fight left. Just enough to make it interesting.”
Governer Treadway? I didn’t recognize him by sight, but I knew him through my history lessons in school. He was one of the staunchest anti-integration governors in the South during the Civil Rights era and was still reviled for that legacy.
The old man eyed me up and down. “Interesting, huh? I can sure see that. I remember back in my day, they strung the bitches up and let us—”
“Barton.” Sin clapped the next well-wisher on the back as the former governor gave me one last look before speaking to a man in line behind us.
“You’re looking good this year,” Barton said. “I may have a side bet on you. But don’t tell Cal. He’ll want a cut of the action.” He winked at me.
I had the urge to knee him. Instead, I stared placidly ahead as we finally reached Cal.
“Welcome.” Cal greeted Sin with a handshake. He pulled me into a hug. “And, my goodness, Stella. Glad to see you looking so fetching.” Putting me at arm’s length, he ran his gaze down my body before grabbing a tendril of my hair and smelling it. “For me?”
I fought my gag reflex but flinched when he rested his hand on my shoulder.
“She still seems to be in fighting form. Well done, Sin.” Cal smiled, looking like a toothy shark.
“As whores go, she’s not so bad.” Sin took a glass from a passing attendant’s tray and downed it.
Cal nodded. “Are you a whore, Stella?”
Sin tensed at my elbow and covered it with a laugh. “Answer him.”
“No.” My voice was barely a whisper, the sound stolen by the rage that constricted my lungs.
“No? Come now. What would it take for me to get one night with you?” Cal tipped my chin up, and I met his eyes. I hoped he could feel every ounce of revulsion that pulsed through me at his touch.
I didn’t respond. He wasn’t asking me anyway.
“That’s something we could negotiate.” Sin’s fingers dug into my arm despite his words.
“You’d share?” Cal’s eyes were still on mine, testing me.
“Hell, if it meant I was the next Sovereign, I wouldn’t just share, I’d give her to you.” His words rang false to my ears, but I couldn’t tell if Cal heard the lie as easily as I did.
“Would you like that? Wouldn’t it be nice to be mine? Fancy clothes, big house, warm bed.” He grabbed my palm and placed it on his crotch. “This in your mouth, pussy, and ass every night.” Cal raised his eyebrows, looking for a response I wouldn’t give him. I focused on getting through the trial, not on the foul words falling from his wine-stained lips.
Sin’s fin
gertips pressed deep enough into my arm to hit bone. “Cal—”
“Shh, I’m talking to Stella.” He moved my palm up and down his hardening shaft as my stomach churned. “Tell me how tight your pussy is. If I stuck two fingers in there right now, would it hurt? Could I add one more and make it three without you crying? I bet your ass could use a proper fucking. I wouldn’t be gentle. A filly like you needs a strong hand. I’d have to break you in. My come mixing with your blood, your tears, your screams—all of it sounds like heaven to me—”
“Daddy, the line.” Sophia walked up, a flute of champagne in her hand and a forced smile on her elegant face.
Cal cleared his throat, snapping out of his fantasy of horrors. “Right you are, darling. Can’t keep our fabulous guests waiting.” He let go of my hand.
Sin eased up on my elbow. “Looking forward to the game as always, Sovereign.”
We walked past Cal as he continued greeting newcomers. Sophia joined us and took Sin’s arm. She gave me a look so full of venom that the hackles on my neck rose.
“Sin, how are you?” She pulled him away, her short emerald dress and high black boots showing off her hourglass figure and long legs.
Sin glanced at me and continued along at her side. “Fine. Ready for the show. How was New York?”
I wanted to wash my hands, to erase every touch, every word from Cal. Still, I knew it would take more than soap to rid me of his vicious intentions.
Sophia led Sin into the crowd. Left alone for the moment, I kept my head down and walked out of the main aisle toward a bare area against the fort wall. Turning my back against the moss-covered stones gave me some sense of security. It was a ridiculous thought, as if having a centuries-old wall at my back could stop these people. I peered out at the crowd—the rich elite all in one place. I wished for a grenade.
A few moments passed, and I was glad for each second I was left unmolested. I feared my luck was at an end when a man stopped near me. I looked up at him, dreading a confrontation, but he took no notice of me. His eyes were trained on Sin and Sophia several feet away.