“Oh, nothing,” I say, imagining Dorian taking a big bite out of her dismembered thigh. The thought brings me joy.
“Whatever,” Sable says, waving a hand at me. She pockets the knife and pops out a hip, smiling.
“Now, Riven,” Sabel orders. It takes me a minute to catch up to what she’s asking of me. When realization sets in, I look at Sloane, desperately trying to convey to her that I have a plan. Before panic can consume Sloane, I speak the command.
“Somnius,” I say, eyes never leaving Sloane’s. I will bring Sloane back from this, even if I have to claw my way to the depths of hell and make a deal with Lucifer himself.
Realization strikes Sloane as her lips part on a sharp inhale. She starts to speak, but it’s useless as the activation word renders her silent. Her eyes widen for only a second before they close once, and then open. Sloane stares at me, that glossed-over, half-present expression consuming her. I glance up at Sabel to see her beaming with delight.
“Let’s test it, shall we?” Sabel asks. I don’t like the smug look on her face or the connotation in her tone.
“Sloane, would you be a dear for me and tell me who the man in front of you is, and what he means to you?” I glare at Sabel, eyes narrowed. What the fuck is she trying to prove? Sloane starts speaking, her voice detached and robotic.
“His name is Riven Reilly. He’s a professor and …” Sloane pauses, tilting her head. Her eyes are on mine, but they appearvacant, devoid of life. The usual vivid green is a dull color that makes my skin crawl. She looks through me, as if I’m nothing more than a memory. “And a vocalist for the band Reverb. His stage name is Vantros. I resisted him at first, sensing that he’d consume me if I let him. Because he wasn’t the light in the room, or even the safe place. He was something else entirely. He was the shadow in the darkness that recognized my own, dragging it out into the light. He came into my life like a raging storm, ensuring destruction and chaos. I saw it, and instead of running in the opposite direction, I welcomed it in.”
Sloane stops talking, and a flicker of emotion flashes behind her eyes as she stares into mine. It’s as though she’s battling with her mind for control. Although I know the words she spoke are the truth, I still wish that she was saying them of her own volition. I want to see herrawemotions, not this stoic statue that sits before me. I’m internally berating myself for activating the Eden Frequency on her.
I don’t breathe for several seconds, still stunned by Sloane’s raw response. She’s fuckingperfect. I want to tell her how much her words mean to me. I want to kiss her until her lips are swollen and tell her how proud I am of her for using themsowell. I want to reward my little nightmare with multiple orgasms until she’s screaming my name. The thoughts distract me momentarily, transporting me to another time and place. Sabel’s voice pulls me from that marvelous place deep inside my mind. The place reserved only for Sloane.
“Howverypoetic, Sloane. Thank you. Would you say that Rivensavedyou, then?” Who does Sabel think she is, a fucking therapist? Stop hounding her and get on with it. I grind my molars.
Sloane stares into my very soul with a war waging behind her eyes, speaking softly. “Riven didn’t save me. Hesawme.”
I remain still as I process Sloane’s words. The world around me goes silent, and it’s the kind of silence that’s more of a calm quiet. It’s as if I’m underwater and only Sloane is floating in front of me. My hands tremble, wanting so badly to reach for her. But I know that if I do, I might not be able to save her.
I find myself almost in disbelief. What if this isn’t Sloane at all, but rather a product of the Eden Frequency? How can I be sure that this isn’t some illusion created by Sabel to torment me? There’s a fraction of my heart that believes that it’s real, but I know all too well that belief can be a tricky thing.
Belief can be dangerous. Belief can bedeadly.
I need to free Sloane’s mind of this persuasion so that I can restrain her onmyterms and make her say the words toonlyme. I search Sloane’s face, sure that I see a flicker of emotion beyond that of the impassive woman sitting before me. My girl is fighting for her control, and my plan might work after all.
“Sloane,darling,” I say, keeping my voice calm and melodic. Sloane tilts her head and narrows her gaze. Her palms, which were resting on her thighs, are now gripping tightly into fists. I’m getting through to her; I just have to keep pushing.
“As much as I am enjoying this little display of … whatever this is, I’d like to get things moving,” Sabel interrupts, disgust layered in her tone. Sabel kneels in front of Sloane again, meeting her at eye level.
“Sloane.” Sloane moves her head slowly until her eyes meet Sabel’s. “Listen to me very carefully. I want you to forget everything that you know about Riven Reilly.” Sabel pauses, and I don’t hear anything else over the screaming inside of my head. Is this possible? Can Sabeleraseme from Sloane’s fucking mind?
The screaming inside my head must actually be outside of it, because the guards are on me in an instant. They press me firmly into the ground and onto my stomach. One of them grabs mywrists and pins them behind my back, binding them with cuffs. I feel my strength finally fucking returning as I buck the guard off of me. He flies backward, hitting his ass on the ground. I jump to my feet only to be ambushed by the other guard. This one fires his gun, but obviously doesn’t expect the kickback, and he misses. Luckily for me, he’s a fucking moron. I back up a step, ready to charge the stocky motherfucker. Then, I feel something sharp stab into my left ass cheek.Fuck, not again.
The guard that I threw off me must have injected me with something, because my limbs became heavy. I stumble, falling to my knees and then flat on my face. I try to move, but all I can do is lie there. My view of the room changes as one of the guards flings me around until my cheek is laying flat against the cement floor, and I’m staring right at Sloane and Sabel.
This is hell. I’m officially in my own personal hell.
I see Sabel’s stilettos coming toward my face. She stoops down, tilting her head to look at me.
“So sorry, Riv. But I can’t have you ruining the show. The limb paralytic will wear off in time, relax.” Sabel practically hums, smiling from ear to ear with delight at besting me over and over again.Para-fucking-lytic? Shewillpay for this. I will make her fucking pay. She walks back over to Sloane and leans over her, bracing her hands on the chair back to cage her in. I hear Sabel speak again, loud enough to make sure that I don’t miss a single word.
“Sorry, honey. I had to take care of your boyfriend. Where were we? Ah, yes. You will forget Riven Reilly. You will forget everything that he is to you, every memory that you have made with him. You will forget that he is Vantros. You will then—”
Sabel is interrupted by the sound of a loud bang echoing from behind me. Sabel’s head turns, eyes widening at what she must see. Something must be going on behind the two-way mirror. I’m immediately on alert, worried about the guys that Inearly forgot were still inside and being forced to watch all of this unfold.
There’s another loud noise, followed by glass shattering and littering the ground in free fall. Sabel shrieks, pushing from Sloane’s chair and reaching down to remove her stiletto heels, tossing them aside. Then, the little witch sprints to the far back of the room. A speck of glass lands near my face on the ground, and I can see that it’s a piece from the two-way mirror. My money is on Callum. If anyone could figure out how to shatter the shatterproof glass, it’s him.
I hear Cal’s voice yelling my name from behind me. The guard holding me down is ripped away and tossed to the side like he weighs absolutely nothing. I quickly glance at Sloane to see that she remains in the same trance-like state that she was in minutes prior. I turn my head in Cal’s direction, peering up at him the best that I can with my fucking useless, paralyzed limbs.
“Paralytic,” Cal and I both say. I assess the carnage left behind in Cal’s wake. I see Raithe charging the other guard, slamming him into a wall, and ripping his gun from his hands. Raithe slams the gun into his skull repeatedly until the guard is knocked out and falls to the ground. Cal and I watch in awe, unaware that Raithe had it in him. Raithe turns toward us, sporting a huge, shit-eating grin.
“Man, you’ve seen better days,” Raithe says, walking over to me and squatting down. He pats me on the shoulder.
