“Why are you in here, Taliesin?” I whisper, the question slipping out before I can pull it back. “Or is asking you going against some prison code I don’t know about?”
“Pretty much.”
Leaning myself back against the wall, I turn to look at him, really look at him. His knuckles are split and raw from what he did in the gym. He’s the most violent man I’ve ever known, but right now, he’s the only thing that feels safe.
“So you’re not going to tell me how you ended up in Quo?”
His gaze fixes on the shadows in the corner. For a moment, I think he’s going to snap at me, tell me to shut up and sleep. Instead, he lets out a long breath.
“I’m from Ashgrave,” he begins. “My mom runs a free health clinic in the slums. My cousin, Chloe, worked there with her. She was barely nineteen. Sweet, quiet girl. Apart from her laugh. She fucking snorted like a pig when she laughed.”
He stops, his hands clenching into fists on his knees.
“The Mayor of Ashgrave is a low-level Elite, but his son never leveled up beyond Ordinarii. I think the chip on his shoulder made him want to display power in any way he could. He’s a fucking bully. One night he cornered Chloe on the way home from work. He… he did things to her. Brutal things. And because he was who he was, the police didn’t even file a report. They called it a ‘misunderstanding.’”
My heart aches. I know that story. Different names, different cities, but the same ending.
“Chloe couldn’t live with it, Rory,” Taliesin continues. “She killed herself three days later. Left a note telling us what happened, and saying sorry for being weak. So, I went to find him. I didn’t use a knife. I used my bare hands. I wanted him to feel every bit of the terror she felt. I nearly killed him. The only reason I didn’t is because some guards pulled me off.”
He looks at me then, and the raw vulnerability in his golden eyes makes my breath hitch.
“When I got sent to Quo, the block was run by a guy named Zed. He was just a regular gang banger but had fought his way to the top. He also didn’t care about anyone. Especially the female Diggers. I realized then that if I wanted to keep people like Chloe safe—I had to become the monster that kept the other predators away.”
He reaches out, gently brushes a stray hair from my forehead. His touch is so light, so heartbreakingly sweet, it makes my eyes sting.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get to the gym faster,” he says softly. “I should have known Voss would play dirty.”
In the slump of his shoulders, I see a man who carries the weight of everyone’s safety on his back. I reach out and cover his hand with mine. “But youdidget there in time. You saved me, Taliesin,” I whisper. “You did.” I look up at him, the last of my pride finally crumbling. “Cosmo’s never coming for me. Thewarden told me he’s in trouble. I don’t have anyone outside of here. I only have you.”
Tally moves. He doesn’t ask for permission; he simply gathers me into his arms, pulling me against his chest. “I’m so fucking sorry,” he whispers. The words are so faint I only catch them because his lips are pressed against the damp hair at my temple. “If there was any way… anything I could do to turn back time for you… I’d do it, Rory,” he continues. “You shouldn’t have to live with the memory of those hands on you.”
He’s holding me with such fierce, desperate strength that it’s impossible for me to turn around and see his face. Maybe that’s how he wants it.
He doesn’t want me to see how much he cares.
“This pit is dark and lifeless.” His words breathe against my neck. “You’re the only thing that shines. And I nearly let them break you.”
For the first time since we left the gym, the shivering in my body dies down. His arms are a cage that feels like freedom.
Suddenly, abruptly, he pulls back, placing me on the cot and jumping to his feet. “If you’re going to survive,” he growls. “I think it’s time you carried a shiv.”
I’m thrown by the change of topic, but also slightly grateful, though I’m not ready to examine why. “Sounds good.”
He gives me a half-smile. “So, if I get you one, will you be a good girl and not stab me with it?”
I try to give a sarcastic sneer, but it hurts my face. “Well, I don’t like to make promises that I can’t be sure to keep.”
Taliesin’s laughter startles me. “Then I’d better try not to get on your bad side again,” he says. “Don’t want to become a victim of the Ballerina Butcher.”
“Yeah, she’s got a real mean streak and a hell of a kick, though…” I prod my aching skull. “She prefers bouquets for her performances, not blows.”
Taliesin leans against the cage door, and a smile plays over my lips. “I’ll remember that. Roses it is.”
He disappears out of the room and I lie back and close my eyes.
And imagine Taliesin Bevan holding a bunch of flowers. Giving them to me.
Fuck.What is wrong with me?
