“That’s not happening, rabbit,” I murmur. “I won’t let it.”
She scoffs. “I think we’re pretty fucked here, Ryven. In case you didn’t realize, we’re inside a couple of jail cells, and there’s no way out.”
I lean my aching head against the bars and sigh. “There’s a way out of here. We just have to find a way to get to it.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, there’s a secret tunnel over there at the far end of the room. If we can find a way out of these cells, we can run for it.”If they haven’t sealed it.
She groans when she shifts her weight. “The problem is getting out of these cells, Ryven.”
“Just trust me,” I whisper. “I’ll find a way.”
It grows silent inside the room as we both get lost in our thoughts. That is, until she breaks the silence with a hiss. “Ryven?”
“Yeah?” I whisper back.
“Did you really mean what you said back there?” Her voice is tight from the pain of the acid, vulnerable in a way I haven’t heard in a long time.
If it were any other time, I would make her work for what she wants to hear. I would force the words from her lips and make her ask me plain as day. But not now. Not at this moment. “Of course I meant it. You’ve been everything to me since the beginning.Even when you left… even when you couldn’t forgive me. I never stopped loving you. You’re still everything.”
She squeezes my hand, and I lace our fingers tight—like letting go might make her disappear again.
“I love you too, Ryven. I don’t think I ever stopped.” Her voice is soft, but the weight of her words floors me.
She never stopped.Neither did I.
Warmth blossoms in my chest at her words. Words I’ve waited for years to hear come from her lips once more. I would wait an eternity to hear them again. I would wait a lifetime to be able to live in her existence.
“I wish you were in here with me,” I mutter. “So I could hold you,” I add suddenly feeling the need to have her in my arms.
“I wish that too,” she whispers.
Then Cedric’s voice cuts through the darkness, cruel and mocking. Then the lights come on around us. “Isn’t that sweet? The lovebirds want one last cuddle.”
I growl and get to my feet. “Let us the fuck out!” I roar, slamming the bars with my fist.
He laughs. “Don’t be so naive to think I would ever do that, Ryven. Next time you see daylight, it’ll be strapped to a stake in front of the whole district.” He rubs his beard. “I might even bury you next to one another so future generations can see what love can do to you when you are on the wrong side.” Then he laughs again. “Doubt it. You’d like that too much. No, where you’re going... it’ll be worse than death. And slower.”
His words just piss me off more, and I grip the bars tighter. He sees my anger and smirks. “Oh, Ryven, my boy. You know your anger doesn’t scare me.” Then he raises his brow. “Tell me, Ryven. How long have you been planning this? Or did this bitch talk you into it?”
I growl. “I’ve been planning it since the day you murdered Joey for being afraid.”
He has the audacity to laugh again. “You mean to tell me you’ve waited that many years for your revenge? Why wait all these years? Why not just pull the trigger back then?”
I scoff. “I was playing the long game, Cedric. You, of all people, should know better than that.”
“Joey was worthless. A coward. Couldn’t even kill when ordered. He meant noth—“
“He wasn’t nothing!” Rory snaps, cutting him off. “He was my fucking brother, and he was worth something.” She stands from the ground and grips the bars like I am. Her voice shakes—but her grip on the bars doesn’t.
He was worth everything.
His eyes widen for a moment as realization kicks in. “Oh, I see. That’s the reason you are involved in all of this.”
Rory grits her teeth. “You deserve a death that drags,” she says. “And I’ll be the one to deliver it.”
Chapter 33
