Before I can even take a step closer, muffled cursing captures my attention. I whip my head in the direction of the noise and growl threateningly, preparing to rip the intruder limb from limb. If anyone tries to keep me from my precious treasure, they will pay the price. I will not hesitate to do what needs to be done.
“Who’s there?” I bellow, and the footsteps abruptly pause.
A moment later, a timid voice calls, “Hux?”
“Jack?” I stalk forward, my hands extended, until they rest on a pair of shoulders. “What the bloody hell are you doing here?” I demand, my hands tightening on his skin. I just barely resist the urge to shake him.
And then the sheer wonderment and joy of being able to actually see and hold my younger brother bombards me. For so long, he has been nothing but an elusive fantasy. Before Violet, we were forced to write notes back and forth to each other whenever we switched places. While I flourished in the darkness, my little brother thrived in the light. He sought to save the world and the people in it while I sought to destroy it.
“Brother,” he whispers, voice choked.
“Where the bloody hell are we?” I demand. “And where’s my precious treasure?”
“What do you mean?” Jack questions, sounding genuinely bemused. “Aren’t you driving the body?”
I just barely hold in my snort. “I’ve been in the darkness for the last few hours.” Phantom shivers race up and down my arms as I remember the coldness and gripping loneliness. The only thing that made it bearable was the prospect of seeing Violet again. I was nearly driven mad with my fear for her. The last thing I remember was standing beside her as we went to the portal…and then, nothing. I’d assumed Jack was in control of our shared body.
But…
“If we’re both here, then what the bloody fuck is happening with our body?” I hiss through gritted teeth, my head whipping towards the sliver of light. As I watch, horrified, it begins to spark and fade, the hole becoming smaller and smaller as the seconds tick by.
“Run!” Jack screams, darting around me and towards the piercing light. I’m right on his heels, finally able to see his silhouette and blurry features the closer we get.
The light is now half as tall as it was initially, significantly dimmer until it’s a hue of molten amber instead of silver.
Just as we’re about to barrel through the hole, it flickers once and then abruptly dissipates, once more leaving us encased in pure darkness. I can’t see my hand in front of my face, let alone Jack.
A roar of pain and fury leaves me as I desperately touch the air where I last saw the light.
No. No. No. No. No.
I can’t remain in this place, not after I found my mate. I need to be there for her and protect her.
Who knew how hard it would be to once again live in the darkness after experiencing the light?
“What are we going to do?” Jack whispers, his voice wobbling.
I drop to my knees and pound my fist against the ground. Once. Twice. Three times. Each blow sends pain reverberating up my arm, but I welcome it, allowing it to cool my blistering emotions.
When I don’t answer, my free hand clenching around the chocolate bar, Jack continues in a ragged voice, “I think…I think we’re not alone. I think there’s someone else here with us.”
If that’s the case, then a stranger is currently in control of our body. A stranger who has the power to get close to my precious treasure…
Rage skitters through my veins as I scream my pain for the world to hear. Hanging my head, I allow my fingers to unclench from the chocolate bar before holding it reverently to my chest.
“Brother,” Jack begins softly, placing a hand on my shoulder. When I don’t immediately answer, body still trembling with anger, he gives it a squeeze. “We need to find our way out of here.”
“Some fucker has taken over our body,” I manage to hiss out, still not raising my head. Tension thrums through me, and I can feel my heart racing in tandem to my spiraling thoughts. “What if he hurts Violet? Who the fuck is he?”
“I don’t know,” Jack says, resignation clear in his voice. “But I swear to you, I’ll find a way to get us both out of this alive. We’ll find our way back to her.”
“We’re trapped in here!” I finally lunge to my feet, knocking Jack’s hand off my shoulder in the process. I whirl on my brother, lips curling away from my teeth. “You promised me that I wouldn’t be trapped in the darkness anymore. You. Promised. Me.” My chest heaves with each word as pain flays me open, baring my organs for the entire world to see. I hate being vulnerable, hate showing anyone the person beneath the monster. That person is only reserved for my precious treasure. For my mate.
“There has to be another exit,” Jack says resolutely, but I can’t help but notice that his voice shakes. “Once we find our way out, we can overpower the asshole and make him pay.”
“I’m going to rip him limb from limb,” I warn, tone impassive. “I’ll rip his spleen out of his body. I’ll gouge out each of his eyeballs and then feed them to him, one at a time. I’ll use his heart as a baseball and his head as a basketball. And his tears? I’ll lick them from his face as they fall, claiming his pain as my own. And when he tries to run, I’ll burn each of his feet until even standing is impossible. Only then will I skin him alive and wear it like a coat of pride. As he bleeds to death, I’ll grab his tonsils and tie them into a cute little bow around his face and then gift him to my precious treasure. Do you understand me?”
Jack audibly gulps. “I’ll be your moral support.”
I nod my head once, accepting that.
“You can hold the body still for me as I enact my revenge,” I state seriously.
“Errr…”
“Come.” Without a word, I stride in the opposite direction of the light, my hands extended as I feel around in the darkness. “We need to find our way out of here. Now.”
Chapter 32
Violet
I’m in Vin’s arms before he can even finish speaking, unable to stop myself from nuzzling against his neck. His body stiffens underneath me, obviously taken by surprise, before he tightens his arms around me and returns my hug.
“What’s going on?” Frankie demands immediately, his icy voice curling around me and instantly putting me at ease.
They’re safe, and they’re here with me. We’re safe.
Pesky tears spring to my eyes at the reminder that we’re not all safe. Not after…
I shove those emotions in a glass bottle and toss it in the churning river. Maybe someone will find them one day and know how to handle them. All I know for certain is that if I allow these thoughts to fester, if I allow them to take root like a carnivorous plant, I’ll never be able to claw myself out of the depressive hole I’m already halfway in.
“Pinkie…” Mason steps up behind me, effectively caging me between the two men. He begins to rub at my tangled curls while Vin buries his face in my neck.
“Barret’s dead.” It’s Cal who answers, his voice carefully blank. When I reluctantly pull back from Vin, it’s to see Cal staring blindly ahead with dark, empty eyes. “He’s dead.”