“You aren’t a lot, butterfly. You’re perfect, just the way you are.”
When her head lifts, her eyes fill with tears. “Thanks…”
I nod, and for a brief moment we settle into the silence. We are both thinking the same thing. That the common factor in our life that is missing is the one that saved us both.
Xera rescued me from a linear life, one where the next day was foreseeable. She gives me unpredictability, and for someone that lives for eternity, I need that.
I need her. It’s without question.
“Also, I’m not staying in here.”
“What?!” I’m about to protest, but she cuts in before I can continue.
“I’m staying with Brice.”
My eyes round, and I swear to Belial they nearly fall out of their sockets. “You have lost your mind.” I swore we just had a nice moment. I didn’t push too hard, did I?
She shakes her head. “No, I haven’t.” Her chest rises, and I can tell it’s hard for her to control her breathing. We don’t need to breathe, but still, she does, like any normal Mundane would. “Xeraphine always got what she needed by manipulating her targets. Brice obviously likes me, and I can use that against him?—”
“Stop.” I am across the room, standing beside her as she sits on the bed. “I will not have youusingyourself.”
“I’m not going to sleep with him!” I don’t think she’s ever raised her voice at me, except for the time she nearly killed us by swerving us toward a stationary vehicle. “I mean… I will sleep with him, but I won’t have sex!”
“Sydni, no. Xeraphine would?—”
“Be proud of me.” She pulls up her legs, crossing them in front of her. “Tell me, if they took you, do you think she’d hesitate to fuck her way to finding and getting you back? Do you think she’d hesitate to do the same for me?”
My nose twitches, and I refuse to answer that question.Over my dead fucking body.
“She would do anything, kill everything, fuck everyone, to get us back. She’d destroy herself, only to be healed by us. I won’t hesitate to do the same.” The defiance in her eyes as she stares at me catches me so off guardthat I laugh lightly.
Xeraphine once told me that Sydni had a resilience that could never be broken. The only thing she envied about her pink-haired best friend was how Sydni could cry unabashedly and still appear as strong as she was before shedding a single tear.
That’s why she won’t feed until we get Xera back. Why she’s spending every second on that computer searching for anything that will keep us safe, and why she’ll use the power she has to get everything she needs.
Just like my girl.
The edge of my lip pulls upward, and I nod. “Okay. You’re right, as always.”
She smiles brightly as I give her cheek a soft pat. “I’m going to go shower. If I don’t see you tonight, I’ll see you in the morning.”
A nod is all I get before I turn my back to her.
She would be so proud of you, Sydni… So fucking proud.
Chapter 13
Xeraphine
Ten days later
I’ve imagined tearing out her eyes and feeding them to Mister every time our gaze meets. Rolling around in her guts after I’ve torn her apart slowly, and then swimming in whatever remains of her useless insides.
My jaw trembles, and I can’t fully grasp how my mouth feels so dry, yet a thread of saliva stretches between my parted lips.
I wish she would leave the room when her three henchmen would rape me. At least give me a chance to fight back, let my Amoro feed on their lifeforce’s, but nope. She’s giving me no means to escape, not even a single second.
They’ve not allowed me to even sleep. I’m forced to stay conscious—for what reason, Tali never says. A power play, or she just likes to see me suffer. She keeps telling me I’ve brought this on myself, but I just can’t fathom what I did to deserve this.
