The two smiled at each other and laughed, an honest and genuine sound. Maybe even companionable.
“I’m sorry,” Xia blurted. “For what he did to you. That was crossing a major line, and I would understand if you can’t forgive him for it.”
“You don’t have to play peacemaker, princess. I’m a big girl and he’s a grown man. I can work it out all on my own.”
“I know you can.” She nodded and looked down at the hands laying in her lap as she fought the urge to pick at her nails. “I’m not asking you to forgive him. I’m just asking that you don’t give up on him. I know that you understand tribulation, Nyx. Like you, he’s been through a lot of it. More than anyone deserves to go through.”
“How do you know what I’ve been through?” The question wasn’t angry or spit with venom, just bitter curiosity. Both of them made the silent decision not to look at each other as they spoke. Instead, they watched the sun fall from the sky knowing that everything changed when it rose again.
“I don’t, but I can take a few general guesses.”
“Like what?”
“I know you must feel an incredible amount of responsibility for people in this village if you were willing to risk yourself atClub Hel. The Devil is not a nice man, and I can’t imagine what he would have done to you if he knew why you were there.”
A flicker of movement caught Xia’s eye and she couldn’t help but glance discreetly. Nyx picked at her nails, the skin around them blistered and scabbed. Something else they had in common.
“He knew. I only made it two floors before I got caught,” she scoffed. “Some clever thief I am.”
“Well, don’t be too hard on yourself. There wasn’t a fleck of dust in his club that he didn’t know about. To say he has control issues would be an understatement.”
“I got that.”
“I hope he didn’t hurt you.” Xia’s voice was small as it worked around the rising lump.
“Well he sure didn’t please me.”
“What floor did he take you to after that?”
Nyx huffed another bitter laugh. “He had me tied up, gagged, and thrown into his office.”
Xia’s stomach squeezed. The Playground was something she wouldn’t wish upon her worst enemy.
“He talked about selling me,” Nyx continued. “But that was about the time your lover boy started tearing shit apart, so he forgot about me. What floor were you patroning when it all went to shit?”
“What makes you think I was patroning any floor?”
“Look at you.” Nyx gestured between them. “Girls like you don’t work at Club Hel. They get lost in it. You can’t fool me, princess. There’s no need to be ashamed of your tastes. I mean, I’m totally going to judge you for it, but that doesn’t mean you have to hold back.”
Was she serious? “I’m honestly a bit offended.”
“Oh, don’t play coy. Spit it out.”
“I was not there for pleasure. I was… I was his captive.”
“Pffft, yeah. And I was his dominatrix.”
We will show her what he did to us and then give it to her tenfold,the Siren hissed. She will never understand us.
Furious tears built in Xia’s eyes. She did everything she could to contain them but, as most storms do, she broke. “You know, for someone who claims to hold the world on their shoulders, you sure aren’t sympathetic to others buckling under the weight.”
Xia stood, her legs trembling as she took the few short steps to the water. When she was knee deep, she tilted her head back to bask in moonlight, surrendering to the two parts that came together to make her whole. The sound of feet slugging through water sounded to her right, but Xia was too furious to acknowledge Nyx.
A light touch brushed her arm. “Are you being serious?”
“Why would I lie about something like that? I don’t need your pity, Nyx.”
“I just thought–”
