“There was something about your voice that intrigued me from the start. Everything about you intrigued me from the start. It was terrifying and exhilarating, and I was completely out of my element.” My strength starts to deplete, and I struggle to keep my current position. But I can’t stop. He’s close. I can feel the webs of his subconscious getting pulled apart—the real him trying to break through the debris.
“And you can deny it all you want, but I know you followed me into the woods when I went on that run. But even then, there was that undeniable pull toward you. I couldn’t explain it then, but something you said—what seems like a lifetime ago—made it all make sense.” Our memories collide with one another, and I wasn’t expecting it to make me feel like I can’t catch my breath. It’s jarring—the memories—because I spent so much time trying to forget them.
The good and the bad.
“What did I say?” he asks, his voice sounding softer—more likehim.
I can’t look at him, tears in my eyes as I remember the way he looked at me. The way he said those five words, like they created the most important declaration of love. My heart aches in my chest, yearning for that same time. The words catch in my throat, the sound of his voice playing in my head as I say them to him. “We’re written in the stars.” Our eyes lock. Through myblurry vision, he peers up at me, having enough leeway since my hold has slackened.
“You remember all of that?”
“In painstaking detail.” I chuckle. His laugh follows close behind. I blink the tears back, smiling—genuinely smiling for the first time in forever. And just like everything else, it all comes crashing down.
Literally.
Callum drops through the gap I created, all the sappy memories causing my grip to loosen to almost nothing. In doing so, my legs fall—fucking gravity—and the tension instantly snaps through my body, and my shoulders take the brunt of the impact. Excruciating, blinding pain seers through my back, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if my shoulders were ripped from the sockets.
A guttural scream tears from my throat as I swing back and forth, the height of the chain making it impossible for me to get any sort of stabilization. My fingers grapple at the chain, but the sweat makes it slippery, and I’m unable to keep a grip. In the midst of my own agony, I forgot about Callum. My neck snaps down frantically, but his form is stationary, knees and hands pressed into the cement floor, his head hanging low between his shoulders.
“Callum?” my voice comes out uneasy. At the mention of his name, his body visibly stiffens, and I truly have no idea which version of him is left.
Until his eyes meet mine.
The voidness in them is gone, not only complete darkness but with that sliver of green I’ve committed to memory. The color is so piercing it’s like a beacon calling my soul home. Callum rises slowly—like he’s afraid if he moves too fast, he’ll be gone, shoved back into the depths of his own mind—before he stands to his full height.
“It’s gone,” he says, almost uncertain. “The tension, the feeling…I don’t know how to explain it…” he trails off, like he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. “It’s like it just vanished,” he finishes, taking a hesitant step in my direction before the distance between us is closed completely, and he grabs my face with both hands. Instinctively, my legs wrap around his middle, bringing instant relief. One of his thumbs swipes against my cheek, wiping away the tears as they fall of their own accord.
“Don’t cry for me. I don’t deserve your tears,” he says, brows pulled together. I don’t have to be in his head to know what he’s thinking. He hates himself. Hates what he did to me.
“I knew you were in there. You’re too stubborn to go away for good.” That at least earns me a quirk of his lip. He doesn’t say anything, though, too immersed in his own thoughts to voice a response. “Kiss me,” I demand.
He doesn’t skip a beat. One second, he’s looking into my eyes, saying all the words his mouth won’t voice, and the next, his lips crash into mine. Tongues and teeth clash, roughness and passion that is full of I’m sorrys and I love yous. Callum pulls back first, resting his forehead against mine. “Let’s get you out of here.”
He slowly pulls my legs off him, gently letting them down so the shift isn’t as bad. However, once the contact is severed, the door opens again, and our eyes grow wide. Callum gives me a subtle shake of his head before settling into the skin of the monster I’ve become all too familiar with.
THIRTY-NINE
Kallie
A stream of shadows lashes out, snatching the knife that was thrown to the wayside. At lightning speed, he brings the blade back to rest against my throat. “Play along. I’m gonna get us out of here,” he whispers for only my ears to hear.
“Do it! I fucking dare you!” I yell, not missing a beat. He digs the blade in deeper, just a hair but enough to draw blood.
“Just remember we need her alive,” Ambroyss muses, his voice booming through the room. My skin crawls, and I fight back the urge to vomit.
“I know, Commander. I was just having a little fun.” He plays the role so well I almost believe it. But his face is still turned for only my eyes to see, and his are pleading with reassurance.
“I must say, Kalliope, you put up more of a fight that I expected.”
“I think you’re confusing me with a docile daughter,” I retort. Callum moves the weapon from my skin and turns to faceAmbroyss as his steps come closer.
“I already have one. And trust when I say, you’re nothing like her.”
My eyes blow wide. He already has one? That would mean…no. A sister? I can’t even come to terms with it. So I pocket it for later, knowing that, right now, the only thing I need to be worrying about is getting out of here. “Forgive me if I don’ttrustyou, so I take whatever you say with a grain of salt.” He smiles at the comment but not one that reaches his eyes. It’s more maddening, like he’s trying to not lose his composure.
Ambroyss turns his attention to Callum. “We’re ready to start the next phase.” Callum nods in agreement. “Get her down from there. The others are prepared for the transport,” he finishes.
Transport? “Why are we moving when I have a private room right here?” Nobody answers me, but I’m not worried. If we’re changing rooms, then that gives ample opportunity to escape.
