“My name is Aeveen, but you already knew that, Suki the Djinn.” My head tilts as we study her. “You are afraid, Suki. I can feel your fear.”
“Wait, how do you know who she is?” I ask. I have no idea what the hell is going on. Am I losing my mind finally? Did they win?
“Hush Adelaide, I know many things. I will explain in time.”
“I am not afraid of you, Great One. Who do you answer to? Where do your allegiances fall?”
My mouth is moving but I’m not thinking – Aeveen is doing that for us. “I follow no-one, my allegiance is to myself, and definitely not to those who have tortured us.”
“We have done nothing that wasn’t necessary to allow you to be free,” Suki says forcefully.
I think I’ve finally lost my mind. I feel a pull and things go blurry for a few seconds. I blink my eyes to clear my vision and open them to find I’m me again. I look around the room frantically, but I’m alone. What the fuck was that?
***
Footsteps travel down the dirt corridor. I’m still stuck in this goddamn chair, and I’m horrifically disgusting. They’ve kept me in this chair for weeks, only letting me leave to go relieve myself in a bucket in the corner.
“Addie?” I know that voice but in the darkness, it’s hard to trace its location. I sit up and search the shadows.
“Logan?” I ask, almost not daring to hope. I’ve hallucinated plenty of times. It feels like forever since I last saw him. For a long time, I thought he was dead; that I'd never see those cute little dimples of his again.
“Yeah, it’s me, Addie. Are you okay?” I can’t help but laugh as the memory of Kaden singing to me pops into my head. So inappropriate.
“Addie?”
“Oh yeah, I’m walking on fucking rainbows and shitting unicorns. Does it look like I’m okay?” He winces under the lash of my tongue. “Sorry,” I say quietly. “I didn’t mean to bite your head off. How are you even here?”
“It’s okay, Ads… honestly, from you, I expected worse.” His small smile brings back so many memories from forever ago. “I’ve been trying so hard to get down here to you since you got here. He wouldn’t let me, and since I’m so new, there’s nothing I could do,” he pleads. I want to feel bad for him but I can’t. “I am so sorry, Addie. What they’ve done to you – I tried to stop it, I really did. But I’m nothing here.”
“It’s okay, you’re here now. Can you help me?” I ask. I can’t remember ever having felt so desperate.
A look of guilt spreads across his face, and my hope fades. “If I could, I would, Addie. You know that.”
“So why are you even here?” I bite, the venom thick in my voice.
“I... I wanted to check in on you: to make sure you were okay – and yes, I know that’s stupid, but I wanted to see my friend.”
“My friend would help me get out of here, Logan."
"I'm sorry, Addie. I would if I could."
"Just go,” I say. The anger burns through me.
His shoulders droop.
“I really am sorry, Addie,” he says quietly before walking away and taking the sliver of what little hope I had with him.
***
“Where are we?” I ask, looking around at the beauty surrounding me. I don’t know that I’ve ever been anywhere so calming, so serene. I look out over the view in front of me. When we broke through the trees, I was met by the sight of grass and rocks; a small pool being fed by a waterfall.
“Xander, this place is beautiful!” I say twirling around before running and jumping into his arms causing him to drop the basket he’s been carrying. I pepper his face with chaste kisses. He twirls me in circles before lowering me back to the ground, then gathers my face in his hands and kisses me. The kisses are different this time – deeper but still gentle.
“It’s nothing compared to you, but I thought you might like it. I came across it whilst I was on my last scout. I saw it and thought of you,” he says, resting his forehead on mine. His lips are so close they tease me. Each moment, I crave them more. The butterflies in my stomach take flight and I close my eyes to hide the emotion I know he’ll see there.
“Don’t hide from me, Addie. You never have to hide – not from me,” he says, gripping my chin. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than in this moment.
“You make me feel again,” he says. “It’s been a long time since I could say that. Even if nobody else knows, I always want you to know that I love you. I will love you until my lungs give out; until there is nothing more than dust on this earth, and long after that still. I will never feel love again like I love you.”
Tears prick at the corners of my eyes. I don’t know what I did to deserve him, but I’m thankful for him coming into my life each and every day. He pulls me into his chest and hugs me so tightly that I can’t tell where I end and he begins. I close my eyes and sink into him, bunching my hands in his sweater and holding on tight. I want to remember this moment forever.
“I love you too, Xander; more than I ever thought possible.” He kisses me gently before walking me backwards towards the small rock pool. He shakes from my grasp and I watch, full of giggles, as he pulls out a blanket from the basket he brought with him. Proud of his endeavours, he sits down and pats the ground beside him. As I go to join him, he pulls me into his arms and we fall backwards, my head landing on his chest. I’ve never felt so content with silence before, but he just makes it so easy. Being with him makes everything else fade away.
The day passes by as we talk about his past; he tells me about his childhood, about the chaos he and Kaden used to cause. I could tell he was keeping something from me, but I didn’t want to pry and ruin our day. I look up at the now dark sky, the stars seem so bright tonight.
“Doesn’t it make you feel so small? They’re so far away, and they last so long. It makes me remember I’m part of something bigger,” he says wistfully.
“I’ve never really thought about it. I think they’re pretty, but I don’t know much about astrology,” I admit.
“That surprises me, some of the most beautiful stories are told in the stars,” he says, pointing up to the brightest star in the sky. “That there is Vega. My father told me Vega was a celestial princess who fell in love with a mortal, Kengyu. That’s his star over there. Her Father, the King, found out about their great love and it angered him greatly that she could love someone so far beneath her. In his rage, he forbade her to ever see him again. They were parted forever, even in death because of the King’s wishes. The two lovers were placed in the sky, where they were separated by the Celestial River, known to us as Milky Way. Yet the sky Gods are kind. Each year, on the seventh night of the seventh moon, a bridge of magpie’s forms across the Celestial River, and the two lovers are reunited. My Father always told me that true love can never be stopped: it will last beyond the ages. I saw that kind of love in his eyes when he looked at my mother. When she smiled, he looked like he could walk the moon.”
“Xander, that is so beautiful! I wish we could stay here forever.”
I stir from my dream, but for a second I deny reality, and I stay there with him. I feel so at peace, I don’t want to open my eyes and ruin it. I want to stay there forever, but as reality crashes down on me piece by piece, drawing me back into what my life has become, I fight to keep the tears at bay.
I can hear Micah’s snigger as he prances towards my cell. His crazy, sadistic nature makes every hair on my body stand up, but I can’t escape. This awful chair is my newest hell.
“Hello, Princess. Ready for another day with me? I bet you can’t wait,” he says with the biggest of smiles. “I so look forward to our time together! I cherish it. It’s my favourite time of day!” He walks towards me, and it’s as if he’s so excited he’s almost shaking.
“Fuck you, Micah! You and your savage, psychotic ways. As soon as I get free from here, I’ll finish what we started yesterday,” I say to him quietly.
“Now, now princess, what’s with all this hostility
? I just want to be friends. Help you be the best you can be,” he says with a perverse giggle. “Plus, we have more guests today, so you need to be on your best behaviour!” He walks behind me, heading back to the table that is home to his torture equipment. I hear the sound of metal on metal, accompanied by that annoying as hell giggle of his. He jumps in front of me with a flourish as if this all a big show.
“Time for you to sleep Princess! Can’t have you being bad in front of our guests again.”
LIVVY
“Syre, you asked for me?” I say, stepping into his office. I officially hate this room, this place, and sometimes, this man, but I can do nothing but submit and survive. He’s sat there behind that massive mahogany desk, his chin resting on his steepled fingers as if he’s the most important man in the world. His arrogance kills me. Why are the pretty ones always asshats?
“Ah, Olivia, yes, come in. I wanted to thank you for doing so well on your little recon mission and bringing Adelaide to me so quickly and efficiently. The way you planned so precisely and carried out the task was spectacular. I am very pleased with your progress here.”
“Thank you, Syre,” I say, bowing my head.
“I need you to help me with her, Olivia. I need you to befriend her again. Get close to her. I need her to trust you. Without that, our whole plan will fail. We need her to believe us when we tell her she’s a demon, Olivia. She cannot know that we’re lying to her,” he says to me.
Well. Bend me over and take me on a Tuesday. How the hell am I meant to do that?
“I will try my best, Syre, although considering everything, I may not be the best person for the job. I’ve already betrayed her once. Plus, Addie has always been so self-righteous. I’m not sure how easy it will be to convince her.”
“That’s what’s so perfect about it. You can feed on her emotions, about how you’re stuck here too. How we made you do it. I know you’re a manipulative little bitch, that’s how you’ve managed to climb my ranks so quickly. Do not disappoint me, Olivia. Between you and Micah, I expect her to believe everything we tell her. She will be broken. Do you understand me?”
“Of course, Syre. I’ll think of something. Do I have permission to take her out of her cell?”
“Anything you need to do. You’re dismissed,” he says before shooing me out of his office.
Egotistical asshole. I leave the room, closing the door behind me. How the hell am I meant to do this? There is no way in Hell she’s going to trust me again. Not that I blame her, I’d be the same if our roles were reversed.
I can’t believe how much of a whiney little bitch she’s become. I’m the one that was tortured, the one turned into this monster, not her. Boo-fucking-hoo for her. She got the guy, and from what I’ve heard, she replaced me, too. Even Kaden ended up batting for her against Cole. I’ve never seen anyone go against Cole before. That day was horrific. Kaden, Michael, and Celeste stormed in here, wings out, full defensive.
They walked through the foyer and straight to the back of the house where Cole was training with me and a few other new recruits. At the time, they were friends, we thought we had nothing to fear from them, how wrong we were. The other recruits and I were dismissed into the house by Cole before the fighting began. When it happened, nobody had any idea what was going on. Then we found out the truth. We had been betrayed by Kaden, he had turned against us. He became the enemy in that moment. After that was when Cole came to me with my mission. Another way for me to seal my fate here. A way to earn his favour. I jumped at the chance, a chance to work closer with him, to be closer to him.
Betraying Addie wasn’t an issue. She’s no one to me anymore. I have a new family now.
ADDIE
“Adelaide, wake up.” I stir and realise I’m in a new room. Well, new cell, a room would be too generous of a description for where I am. Much to my relief, I realize I’m not in that chair anymore! I’m lying down on what is possibly the lumpiest, hardest excuse for a bed I’ve ever been on but compared to the chair it’s absolute heaven! The walls and floor in here are still filthy, and another leaking pipe. Joys. Does nothing work properly down here? The fluorescent light above me is bright, and flickers.
Slowly, I sit up. I’ve barely eaten since I’ve been here and finally being able to move makes me realize how weak I feel.
“Adelaide!” I hear the impatient voice again and understand it wasn’t a figment of my imagination. I’ve hallucinated a lot since I’ve been here, my grasp on reality slips further each day. I look towards where the voice came from and see more bars making up the fourth wall of the room. Sat outside is Cole.
“Good, you’re up.”
“Not like you gave me much choice, is it?” I snarl. I really don’t like being caged.
“Now then, Adelaide – that’s no way to speak to your father. I came down here to speak to my daughter, but if you’re going to act like nothing more than a feral animal, I won’t bother,” he says, sighing in disappointment.
Asshole. He doesn’t get to be disappointed. He abandoned me, then changed his mind and put me through hell before locking me in this grimy hellhole of a prison. He can do one. I roll my eyes at him before sitting up.
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, daddy dearest. Should I give you my fullest attention? You’ll understand if after everything, I’m not exactly inclined to give a shit!”
“Adelaide, if you’d listen to me, you would realize I don’t want to keep you here like this, but we need to build some semblance of trust before I let you out of there. I need to know that you’re open to listening to me. Hearing my side as it were.”
“You expect me to trust you? After everything? You basically killed two of my best friends, turned the other one against me, then locked me in this hell hole. All of this after abandoning me in the first place. Super effort there.”
“I can tell you’re not in any shape to have an adult conversation,” he says sighing heavily.
I really couldn’t give less of a shit how disappointed he is.
“You’ll come around to my way of thinking,” he says. “One way or another, Adelaide; you’ll see.”
“Prepare yourself for disappointment,” I say, taunting him. I see the anger rise in him and, I swear I see flames flicker behind his eyes.
“Do not push me, Adelaide. You will not like what you find if you do.”
“As if there’s anything worse you could do to me,” I say with defiance.
His eyes narrow and he leans closer to the bars. I can see the darkness inside him. It’s thinly veiled as he tries to mask his true self from me, but it’s slipping, and I can see right in. If it were anyone else, I’d think there was beauty in the darkness, but not here. Here there is just shadows.
“I have done things you cannot even comprehend, you stupid child. I haven’t even broken the surface of what I’m willing to do to get what I want,” he threatens in a chilling voice.
“Threats are nothing. Actions speak louder than words, and you’ve got nothing. Try and intimidate one of your weaklings’ old man. You obviously need me for something, so your words are empty.”
He roars. The walls shake and pieces of the ceiling shower down around me. His wings break free, so black they almost look like shadows, and smoke starts to rise from his skin. He’s more wild than when Kaden showed me his true self. Cole’s wings are bigger than any I’ve seen. Michael & Kaden’s wings were beautiful, but Cole’s, somehow they have the opposite effect. They just add to his darkness.
“Do not push me, little girl,” he growls. Livvy and Logan rush towards us down the hall led by Suki.
“Syre, you must calm down,” Suki says quietly, keeping her distance. He spins to face them, and they each look to the ground. Pathetic. I look at Cole, his chest rising and falling with each ragged breath he takes. He slowly composes himself and returns to his previous form.
“What’s up, Pops? Can’t keep your cool? Tut tut! Say, do I get a pair of those fine and dandy wings or did I draw the short straw in the
genetic lottery?”
He says nothing but he scowls at me before storming away with Suki in tow.
“Way to go, Addie. Nothing like pissing off the boss on his first day back, and I thought you were smarter than that,” Livvy says to me. I can’t tell if she’s pissed off at me, or terrified of having to deal with Cole.
“Livvy, shut it. If you expect me to be all freaking peachy keen after everything, you can do one. The least he deserves is to feel some of the anger I feel,” I snarl at her.
“Guys, please don’t fight,” Logan pleads. I roll my eyes at him and lay back down on this poor excuse of a bed. He says something to Livvy, which I don’t quite catch before he leaves us alone.
“Get your ass up, you stupid bitch,” Livvy says angrily. “Before you made such good friends with the boss, he asked me to get you cleaned up,” she says to me with a bitchy smirk painted across her face. For the first time in my life, I want to beat it off of her. It looks so wrong. I give her the finger and stand up as she unlocks the door. She might look like Liv, but the bitch who is standing by the door is not my Livvy. My Livvy died that night at the Academy.
Whoever this is… well, she’s a tool.
I walk past her and out of the door. The thought of running crosses my mind until I see the ridiculous amount of muscle waiting down the hall. There’s two of them, and they look like total meat heads.
“What’s up, Liv? Didn’t think you could handle me on your own? You need Thing One and Thing Two to back you up?” I laugh, and her face twists with anger. She grabs my arm hard, making me stumble a little before I catch myself.
“I’d have no problem ripping out your throat! They’re here for you; to make sure you don’t hurt yourself. There’s a lot more here for you to worry about than me,” she snarls.
Crash (The Immortal Chronicles Book 2) Page 2