Arise (Cruel and Beautiful World Book 3)

by L. Stoddard Hancock

  It was still midday. Xander had a good fifteen hours before he needed to come charging through the doors, which she knew he would. While part of her longed for that moment, another part of her just wished he would let her go. If he came back to Utopia, there was a good chance it would cost him his life.

  When Saevus finished speaking, Deryn was shoved into his hover-car.

  They didn’t take off right away. The president was waiting for something. Or someone. One of his Guardians who hadn’t arrived yet.

  Several were still missing but only one of any real importance. His bride-to-be.

  It was a good twenty minutes before Finley arrived. She casually walked through the gates as they opened for her, feigning innocence as Saevus grabbed her arm and shoved her into his car.

  “Where have you been?” he demanded as the car began to move.

  “I was chasing that weird purple-haired girl and ended up far down the beach. When I got your message, I hurried back as fast as I could.”

  “Who?”

  Finley shrugged. “I didn’t catch her name.”

  Saevus looked across the car at Deryn, noticing the red streaks in her hair. She smiled and said nothing.

  Elvira, who had made a point to sit between Deryn and Soren, grabbed one of her red strands and tugged. “Didn’t our ancestors used to dye their hair these ridiculous colors?”

  Deryn pulled away from her. “Don’t touch me, wench!”

  Soren and Finley both giggled. Even Saevus appeared amused.

  “You have more spunk than I remember,” he said.

  “What exactly do you remember? I saw you very little when I was your slave,” said Deryn.

  “Not my slave.” He smiled at Soren.

  “If you give me to him again, I’ll chop off his cock and stuff it down his throat for him to choke on. Then I just might slit it again. For fun.”

  “That actually sounds lovely,” said Elvira, grinning at her husband while he shifted in his trousers.

  Their car was, of course, the first to arrive at Saevus’s tower, but the others weren’t far behind. It appeared that the president had several others programmed to fly higher than standard hover-cars, just like his.

  As Deryn was brought into the parlor, she made a point to take note of her surroundings. Barath was standing behind her and the other Guardians were scattered around the room. Saevus started barking out orders. He wanted to have every last one of his guards awake and in place, in case Xander decided to bring more than just himself. Another worry of Deryn’s.

  Once orders were given and the discussion became about what to do with her, she decided it was time to stop being obedient, albeit a little spunky.

  Deryn lifted her bound wrists, grabbed Barath and flipped him over shoulder. She pressed her knee into his chest and choked him on the floor, not stopping until Gordon Mackey’s Element was in her face. She glanced up at him and winked.

  Deryn removed her hands from Barath’s throat, but then she grabbed Gordon’s wrist. She twisted it and knocked him to his knees, forcing him to drop his Element. And then she spotted the knife in his boot. She snatched it quickly, slicing him on the back of his ankles.

  “Drop it.”

  Deryn stared up at the man aiming the Element at her forehead. Luka looked dead serious and she knew she had to obey. She dropped Gordon’s knife and stood up straight.

  “Did you really think you were going to escape that way?” asked Luka.

  Deryn smiled. “I wasn’t trying to escape. I just thought I’d let it be known that I’m not going to make this easy for you.”

  With that declaration, Deryn kicked the knife on the floor back into her hands. In one swift movement, she sliced her binds and used her free hand to toss the knife at the Guardian unfortunate enough to be standing beside Luka. It struck him in the heart and he collapsed, gasping for breath before losing consciousness. No one bothered to help him.

  “Would someone please get her under control?” ordered Saevus, barely fazed as another one of his Guardians dropped dead.

  Elvira stepped forward and used real shackles to bind Deryn instead of the temporary ones from an Element. Then she smacked her hard across the face. Other than a twitch of her neck, Deryn held back all movement.

  “Ouch,” she said mockingly.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Quigley fidgeting nervously near the entrance to the parlor. He didn’t like the game she was playing, but Luka looked surprisingly amused.

  Elvira aimed her Element. “You fucking little -”

  “That’s enough, Elvira.” Saevus stepped forward. “I would like to keep her in one piece until Xander arrives.”

  “Why? It’s not like we’ll be releasing her when he does,” said Elvira.

  “Do not question my orders. You are my soldier, same as the others in this room. Never forget that.”

  Elvira tensed. “Yes, sir. I would never -”

  “Tell me, slave. How many of your comrades do you think Xander will have with him when he arrives?”

  Deryn rolled her eyes. “You know my name. We share blood.”

  Saevus waited.

  She looked him right in the eye and said, “None. The Resistance knows Xander’s worth is greater than mine. I’d be surprised if he shows up at all.”

  “And why’s that?” asked Elvira, moving so she was beside her father.

  “If you believe they’ll just let him walk out of there, you have another thing coming. They need him. Sure, several Resistance members want me there, but I’m not a priority.”

  “But Xander will want to come for you,” said Elvira.

  Deryn looked at her and smiled. “Of course. I’m all he ever thinks about.” Her smile widened.

  “So you’re saying he’s under mind-control?” Elvira cocked an eyebrow.

  Deryn laughed. “You tell me.”

  Elvira looked at her father, who waited for her to answer. “He obviously isn’t, my president. You know I’ve never trusted him.”

  Deryn laughed harder. “Well, I can’t speak for you, but the Xander Ruby I knew at Eagle was completely selfish. Which was why I was so shocked when he found me after my escape and offered to take me in. But then he told me a story, about how Adelaide Saevus lured him into the Resistance’s clutches and installed a mind-control chip in his neck years ago. He’d fed them information ever since and would often get other Guardians prosecuted for it.”

  Elvira looked at Deryn blankly, which only made her smile grow.

  “He’s tried to get you killed a number of times, you know. But, for some reason, you always manage to survive. Why is that, Elvira?”

  Elvira’s brow furrowed. “Do not speak to me so casually, you filthy -”

  “And just what power do you hold over him, Deryn?” asked Saevus, his gaze as cold and still as ever.

  Deryn’s smile dropped as she turned to look at him, meeting his foggy-green eyes with her bright ones. “All power. Del gave him to me to do as I pleased and, even after we returned to the Resistance, I have not relinquished any of that power. Xander is mine, and he will kill every last one of you to make sure I’m protected.”

  “Xander is yours,” he repeated.

  “That’s right. Body and soul. Xander belongs to me.”

  Saevus’s eyebrows rose high into his hairline.

  “Body?” repeated Elvira. “Are you claiming you took advantage of a man not in his right mind?” She couldn’t hide the amusement in her voice.

  “No,” said Deryn. “I took what was rightfully mine.”

  Elvira cocked an eyebrow. “Come again?”

  “For five years the people in this room did whatever they wanted to me and, now, I’ve done the same! Xander is my puppet in the same way all of you tried to make me yours! He does what I want and he fucking enjoys it!”

  “Stop lying!” shouted Elvira, grabbing Deryn’s face and searching for the scared girl behind her eyes.

  Deryn spit at her. “I said don’t touch me, yo
u vile bitch!”

  Elvira recoiled from her, wiping her face like she had just been contaminated with a virus. “How dare you!”

  She pulled her hand back and was about to strike, but stopped when someone started chuckling. She looked around for the culprit.

  “Is something funny?”

  The crowd pulled apart and revealed Finley.

  “I’m sorry,” said Finley, trying to hold back her chuckles. “Carry on.”

  Elvira was about to slap Deryn again when Finley burst out laughing.

  “What is it?” she snapped.

  “It’s nothing,” said Finley. “Just ... I mean, she’s basically just said that she’s been raping Xander for the last six months. Xan-der. Our resident man-whore. The idea of anyone taking advantage of him, toxic or not, is ... well, it’s pretty funny.”

  “I didn’t take advantage of anyone!” shouted Deryn. “All I did was take what was rightfully mine! I turned my Guardian into a slave! Just a filthy whore like you all tried to make me, and he gladly fulfilled his obligations!”

  Finley laughed harder. This time, Luka and Gordon joined in. Even Lona chuckled slightly, but she pulled it back when her father gave her a stern look.

  “What’s the matter, Finley? Afraid to admit that he just might prefer the company of a toxic Outsider to a whore like you?” said Deryn.

  Finley stopped laughing. She marched forward, held up her hand and swung it with everything she had, hitting Deryn so hard that she fell to the floor.

  “You know nothing, you toxic bitch!”

  “I know how bored he sounded when I overheard him fucking you!” shouted Deryn, getting back to her feet. “So I had him dispose of you! And he was more than happy to do it! He didn’t even try to fight me on it, like some of the other tasks I gave him, you filthy, twisted -”

  “Enough!” shouted Saevus.

  Deryn spun her head in his direction and narrowed her eyes.

  “I won’t say that I believe you,” he said in his deep and raspy voice. “But, I suppose, we’ll see when Xander arrives.” He looked at Finley. “Take her to the dungeon.”

  “Gladly.” Finley grabbed Deryn’s arm.

  “But, my president,” said Barath. “Shouldn’t the slave be punished properly for her misdeeds?” He looked at Deryn and licked his lips.

  “I thought I made it clear that no one is to touch her until Xander arrives. He will find her in one piece.” Saevus smiled. “Then we’ll tear her apart.”

  Barath and Wenton exchanged a grin that made Soren’s blood boil. If Elvira hadn’t grabbed his wrist, he wouldn’t have hesitated to wring their necks.

  “That is, unless Atticus would like another chance with her,” said Saevus, turning his head and looking at the man standing near the back. “After all, it seems only fitting. You took her and she took your son.”

  While waiting for Atticus’s response, Saevus stole a glance at Finley, searching for some sort of reaction. There was none.

  Atticus looked at Deryn for a moment, seeming to contemplate the president’s suggestion. But, in the end, he shook his head and said, “I have no interest in sharing her with my son. If anyone should decide her fate, it’s Xander. Once it’s been proven that he is, in fact, being controlled, she should be given to him.”

  “We shall see.”

  Saevus nodded Finley forward. She dragged Deryn to the dungeons, kicking and screaming.

  Bronson was lying on his stomach in the cell he shared with Fiona. They had a brief moment of happiness when they saw each other, but it didn’t last long. They were in the middle of a heated argument when the pain from Bronson’s lashes and bleeding head had caused him to keel over. Fiona had used their bucket of drinking water and a rag torn from her dress to clean his wounds.

  When he began to shiver, she’d taken off her coat and placed it over him. Then she’d fallen asleep beside him, a sliver of cloth tugged over her small form. Her hand stroked his hair while she slept, a habit leftover from when they were together.

  Of course, Bronson wasn’t asleep. How could he be when Neo was inconsolable and sobbing in the cell he shared with Chace. Kemp and Ulric were in the cell closest to the door, the two of them looking absolutely defeated as they waited for the executions that had been promised to them days ago.

  The door opened.

  Bronson sat up and watched as someone was dragged kicking and screaming down the aisle.

  “Deryn!” Kemp hurried to the bars of his cell as Deryn was dragged past.

  Bronson was too shocked to move as Finley tossed Deryn into the cell beside his.

  Finley followed her in. “Well played,” she whispered, words so faint even Bronson missed them.

  Deryn smiled.

  Finley was just about to undo Deryn’s binds when she heard approaching footsteps. She turned and Elvira stepped off the stairs, marching straight for Deryn’s cell.

  Pulling out her Element, Elvira aimed it at Deryn and struck her with a streak of blue light. Finley fell backwards, the whip grazing her arm.

  “What are you doing?” yelled Finley. “Your father said not to touch her!”

  “No one spits on me and gets away with out!” hissed Elvira. She grabbed Deryn by the hair and lifted her so their eyes were level. “Enjoy your time down here, you filthy liar! Soon your willing lover will be dead, and you’ll be wishing you’d died with him while my husband has his way with you night after night. You will never know freedom or happiness again.”

  Elvira threw her to the floor and struck her again. She walked out of the cell while Deryn pushed herself to her knees.

  Finley knelt and undid Deryn’s binds. That was when she saw it. The lion ring on Deryn’s left hand. She gazed at it blankly until her eyes teared. She tore it from Deryn’s finger and put it in her pocket.

  “Better not let Elvira see that.”

  Finley stepped out of the cell and locked the door behind her.

  “I’ll send someone to tend to your wounds.”

  Finley left then, doing her best to ignore Neo’s sobs and the insane man screaming for her from the cell at the far end of the dungeon.

  “Cupcake!”

  Deryn’s heart flew as she heard Bronson’s voice. The two of them ran for each other, reaching their arms through the bars and giving the best hug they could manage.

  “Thank god you’re alright!” Bronson cried as he held her. “Where’s Xander?”

  “With the Resistance,” she said. “They didn’t get him.”

  “Stop hugging the whore, Bronson,” said Fiona, sitting up and wrapping her coat tighter around her body. “I’d say it’s contagious, but you’re a whore too so it hardly matters.”

  “Will you shut up!” shouted Neo, hitting the bars of his cell. “There are more important matters at hand than you getting dumped by your gay boyfriend! My wife is dead!”

  Deryn’s breath caught in her throat. “Odette’s dead?”

  Bronson nodded, though he didn’t stop squeezing her against the bars. “Luka did it.”

  Deryn closed her eyes. Shit.

  “And I’m going to fucking kill him for it!” declared Neo as he sank to the floor.

  “You can’t!” said Bronson. “He had to make a choice and he followed your wife’s wishes!”

  “He whipped you!” spat Neo.

  “He had to -”

  “Stop making excuses for him! I don’t care if he helped you before! Luka’s flipped his switch! He’s our enemy now and it’s time you accept it!”

  Bronson said nothing. He pulled slightly away from Deryn but kept his hands on her arms as he looked at her.

  “Cupcake -”

  “You can stop with the codename. We’re together again.”

  “But I like Cupcake,” he said. “How ...” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “How did they capture you?”

  Deryn sighed and glanced away.

  “Why even bother to ask, you know the answer,” said Fiona. “He wants to know if my brother
went through with his betrayal.”

  Deryn sighed. “She’s just as pleasant as I remember.”

  Bronson continued to look at her hopefully.

  A tear slid down Deryn’s cheek. “Yes, Bronson. Quigley set me up. He called me saying he got out and I went to find him. Saevus and his Guardians were waiting for me. He did tell me to run at the last minute, but it was already too late. They burned our base. I had nowhere to go.”

  Bronson’s fingers dug into Deryn’s arms. Tears spilled from his eyes as he finally accepted the horrible truth. They had all been betrayed by the person he loved most in the world. His oldest friend. The only family he had ever really known.

  “I’m sorry,” he said through his sobs.

  Deryn rubbed his shoulders, afraid to touch his back with the visible wounds there. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known -”

  “But I should have known!” cried Bronson. “He came home upset the other night and I just let it be. I thought he’d come to me if he needed me, but he ... he ...”

  Bronson collapsed to his knees, bringing Deryn with him. She continued to hug him through the bars, trying to sooth him as best she could while he clung to her desperately.

  “I’m sorry, Cupcake! I love you! I never wanted you to get hurt!”

  “I know,” said Deryn. “I love you, too.”

  “You don’t deserve this! You’ve been through so much already, you deserve to be free!”

  Deryn smiled softly. “So do you.”

  But, at the current moment, Deryn knew that the chance of any of them ever being free again was next to impossible.

  CHAPTER 47

  Xander sat in the mouth of one of the caves, staring out at the pouring rain. He took it as a good omen that the first day of rain since his escape from Utopia just happened to occur while the forest burned.

  Nita built a fire while Talon sat beside her, listening to Sam and April prepare for Sam’s upcoming conversation with his captain.

  “Why exactly does she hate you?” asked Dakota, who was sitting across from Xander at the mouth of the cave, watching the flames in the distance.

  “For many reasons,” said Sam. “But I would say the main ones are that she hates the way I do things, she’s not the one who chose to promote me and she’s my mother.”