Next, I check the Eclipse Tavern. The off-duty staff freeze and then bow when I enter. I breathe in. Orchard sweetness mixed with her human scent. I look around and question my staff. “Is Eve here?”
“Not anymore, Sovereign. She went out toward the Grand Staircase. She was running.”
I know they’re confused. They think she’s in trouble. She’s not. Although her cunt may be in for a pounding if we find her before Fifth Chime.
I make my way to the Grand Staircase, where statues of humans are depicted competing in the Championships, bathed in indigo. There’s no one here, just the sound of my footsteps on the marble. I stop and breathe in the air.
I smell her.
“Eve, you can’t hide from us in our own hotel.”
At the top of the stairs, I turn towards the Gardens. Women always like the Gardens. And I think I see her darting behind a fern.
I’m certain of it.
“I see you, Eve. You’ve been caught.” I check my IC. You managed to stay hidden for forty-three minutes—not bad.”
I pull back a particularly large bush only to see her abandoned shoes. I smile. “She’s close.” I follow her out the backdoor of the Garden, and then I have to make a choice. Either the gymnasium, which will be busy at this time of night, or the Twilight Pools. I opt for the latter on the assumption that she’ll want to stay far away from crowds.
Humidity surrounds me as I enter the Twilight Pools. They’re a series of baths large enough for small groups to enjoy each other’s company. I’m surprised it’s empty, but then again most of the VIPs will be busy with the human pets here for the Championship. None of them would want to be with their own kind when there are humans to be had.Ironic I’m chasing my own human, I think. I walk around the indigo waters perfumed with drugs meant to dissolve restraint. And then, finally, I see her crouching at the edge, looking like a goddess in that dress with her makeup and hair.
“You’re mine now,” I say softly.
She spins and then tries to run, but from the opposite archway, Lorian emerges, smiling.
“Cornered,” he says. “Now you’ll find out what happens when Sovereigns hunt for sport.”
Together we close in. Her gaze darts between us. Then she jumps into the water and tries frantically to swim to the other side. I jump in after her, catch her easily in my arms and bring her back to Lorian. He takes her from me as I get out and take off my drenched clothing.
Lorian uses his bedroom voice as he says, “There’s no way you can escape us now, my corrupted little angel.”
“You’re ours, Eve,” I say with finality, and it feels good to finally have her in the way that I have wanted for some time now.
43
CAUGHT, EVE
Cold.That’s all I feel when Rafe’s arms close around me in the water. Cold and the unshakable weight of inevitability. I thrash, but his arms are like bands of iron around me. I’m only a scrap of a human woman, and he’s a towering seven foot three of alien muscle.
I barely draw breath before Rafe shoves me into Lorian’s arms.
Lorian cages me against his chest. My wet skin sticks to him, and my kicking legs don’t reach the ground. I might as well be a mortal fighting a god.
Rafe climbs out of the pool, water streaming off his colossal frame. His soaked suit clings like a second skin until he peels it away.
I squirm in Lorian’s grip, but he’s too strong. I can’t even twist.
Then my mind begins racing. Without the Venus Lock, what will they do to me? Will they fuck me? Both of them? At once?
I know how big Lorian is. I know because I’ve had his cock in my mouth. It was too thick for me to breathe properly, and I thought I’d choke before he let me pull away. The thought of that inside me—impossible. It would tear me apart. Yet the ache in my body says I’d let him try.
And Rafe—I knew I was playing with fire when I wore this dress and the pheromones. Lira tried to warn me, but I didn’t expect…this.
Or did I?
Do I speak? Do I beg? Would pleading buy me mercy, or would it thrill them more? If I stay silent, maybe I can keep one shred of dignity, but silence feels like surrender.
My voice bursts out before I can stop it. “Where… where are you taking me?”
