“Deryn!” Xander’s eyes popped as he tried to hide the evidence behind his back. “This isn’t what it looks like.”
Deryn glared at him. “I’d really hoped coming here would break you of that horrid habit.” She moved her glare to Cress. “I assume I have you to thank for feeding his addiction?”
Cress shrugged. “If you do, does it count as touching him and will you gut me?”
Deryn smiled proudly. “I’m glad you were listening. No, I won’t gut you. This time, at least. But, Xander, you will suffer the consequences.”
Xander’s face sank. He knew what that meant. “Aw, baby, no. Not sexy time.”
“Only good boys who don’t taste like cigarettes get sexy time.”
Xander was quick to drop his cigarette and smash it with his foot.
“There was only a nub left. You already smoked the whole thing.”
His bottom lip quivered.
Deryn groaned. “Do you at least have five more minutes of breaktime to sit and eat with me?”
“Anything for you, light of my life. Apple of my eye. Pleasurer of my -”
“I get it!” She held up a hand to shush him.
Xander grinned. He reached out and took her raised hand. He and Cress exchanged a little nod before he led Deryn inside.
“What was that?” she asked as soon as the door was closed.
“We’ve agreed to tolerate each other’s existence for the time being,” said Xander.
“Couldn’t you have tolerated each other’s existence over some waffles instead?”
“The man ate your chocolate bar. He doesn’t deserve waffles.”
Deryn frowned. He had her there.
“Deryn, you know I’m smoking less,” said Xander. “But I’m damn stressed right now and, even if I wasn’t, it’s hard to fucking quit cold turkey.”
Knitting her brow, she asked, “What the hell is cold turkey?”
“Something Sam said when he confronted me about my smoking. Means all at once, for whatever reason. You even have that prick getting on my ass for you.”
Deryn found great joy in that.
Xander and Deryn entered the mess hall. She grabbed her food quickly and they sat at the closest table to the kitchen.
Deryn spotted Talon across the room eating with Dakota, Laramie and Harper. Her brother kept looking at his watch and she knew why. Nita and her team were late.
Nita had shared her plan with Deryn that morning before calling Sewick, just in case Talon got so worried he needed calming.
But, as it turned out, he didn’t need calming. Because, at that moment, the door burst open and Nita ran in. She raced to their usual table without pause and collapsed beside Talon. He took her face in his hands.
Even from the distance between them, Deryn could tell that Nita was crying.
As Talon stood and led Nita back toward the door, it opened and the rest of her team walked inside. Harper, who had tensed when Nita came in alone, now stood and hurried to Adrian. They spoke in hushed voices as everyone followed Talon and Nita back outside.
Deryn caught Dakota’s eye from across the room.
“Go.”
She looked at Xander and blinked. “What?”
“I need to get back to the kitchen anyway, and you’re not going to relax until you know what that was about.” Xander leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “I’ll meet you in the lab when my shift’s over.”
Deryn nodded. “I love you.” She kissed the top of his head and left the table.
Dakota and Laramie were already waiting for her by the door.
The three of them hurried to Talon’s room. Even before they reached it they could hear the rushed and panicked voice of Nita, but they couldn’t make out what she was saying.
When they arrived, Matilda and Piz were already there trying to calm everyone, but Nita wasn’t having it.
“We’re fucked!” she shouted while pacing the room. “We’re so incredibly fucked!”
“What happened?” asked Laramie as he shut the door behind them.
Everyone paused and looked at Deryn standing by the door. She stepped back. “What?”
Nita hiccupped.
Talon sighed and said, “Sewick Blum’s head is above Utopia’s doors. If he was executed that means -”
“Soren betrayed us,” finished Deryn, her body going stiff. That meant -
Deryn bolted out the door and across the hall to her room.
If Soren betrayed them it was because he got information he needed. She doubted this was just about the location of the Resistance’s base. No ... this was something more.
Did he know about Fiona’s connection to Bronson and Quigley? Had he found the mind-control chip?
If he had, that meant he knew how important the two of them were to her and Xander. They would finally have grounds to arrest them. To use them.
Deryn fumbled with the earpiece on the nightstand, her hands shaking as she turned it on and frantically pressed the button.
“Bronson! Bronson, can you hear me? Are you there?”
Static.
“Bronson, please!”
Click.
“Cupcake, what’s wrong?”
Relief rushed through her and her eyes swelled with tears.
“You’re okay.” She sniffled.
“Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?”
And so she explained everything. About Soren and Sewick showing up near their base, and the deal Talon had struck. In the middle of it, Dakota came in to check on her. He leaned against the door and waited patiently as she spoke.
Bronson listened carefully, repeating things to Quigley and the others, who had all crowded around him.
“It sounds like you did everything right, Cupcake. He has no reason to believe Fiona is anything but a random choice.”
“But -”
“No buts. Worry about yourselves, not us. They know the general location you’re in. You should move.”
“No, we can’t move. There’s too many of us. Where would we go?” She closed her eyes and whimpered. “Please, Bronson. Can’t you all just leave? We’ll figure something out with Fiona later. I promise -”
“Deryn, you know we can’t do that,” he said sternly. “Quigley and I aren’t leaving without Fiona, the Boyces aren’t leaving without Lona, and Chace isn’t leaving without Ronan, Kemp, Miki and Ulric. We’re all rooted here.”
“Give me the earpiece. I want to talk to her about something,” she heard Odette’s faint voice say through the line.
There were some rustling noises while the earpiece was passed to her.
“Deryn, it’s Odette. We can’t leave yet but there’s someone else I want to get out.”
“Who?”
“Finley, if I can convince her. She’s in too deep. She ...” Odette paused and took a breath. “Her father was the one who failed to capture Chace. He was punished with a new form of torture that the president made her partake in. He’s gone insane.”
Deryn’s eyes widened. “What?”
“I don’t know the details. We only got a short amount of time together since she found out Saevus has been following her every move. After driving her father mad, he decided it would be a good time to propose marriage. He wants her to be a mother to his son and ... Deryn, you know she couldn’t say no. It would have been too suspicious. She’s supposed to worship this man and his ideals. She needs to get the hell out of there before he decides one day to just elope.”
“She’s younger than his daughter!” said Deryn, absolutely appalled.
“That’s your takeaway?”
Deryn sighed. “You’re right. If you convince her to leave the Resistance will take her in.”
Dakota crinkled his forehead.
“Thank you. Neo and I might just spike her drink one night and kidnap her, so be ready to act.”
“Of course,” said Deryn. “I know nothing I say will convince you and Neo to leave the city but, if you could try and convince Bronson and
Quigley -”
“I’ve already tried numerous times but I have no power over them. But Neo and I have been training them in the basement. If anything does happen, at least they’ll be somewhat prepared.”
That didn’t do much to calm Deryn’s nerves, but it was the best she was going to get.
“Please be careful. And take care of my boys.”
“You got it.”
“Goodnight, Odette. Tell them that I love them.”
“Will do.”
Deryn took out her earpiece and put it on the nightstand. She fell back on her bed, closing her eyes and taking several deep, meditative breaths.
“Who are we taking in?” asked Dakota, coming over and sitting beside her.
“Do you remember Finley Scout?”
“Vaguely. Wasn’t she Xander’s girlfriend?”
Deryn nodded. “She helped us escape. And now she’s Saevus’s fiancée. He wants her to raise Ronan.”
“Yuck!” Dakota crinkled his nose.
“My thoughts exactly”
“But taking in another Guardian. I can’t imagine that will go over well.”
“Well, too bad because there are two others, besides her, we’re going to have to take in if we don’t finish this shit soon.” The only thing close enough to throw was a pillow, so Deryn tossed it across the room. It wasn’t very satisfying. “I don’t think Sam and April can deliver the army they promised.”
“Why not?”
“Just something I’ve been noticing. In how they act when it’s mentioned.”
Dakota didn’t say anything.
Deryn lifted her head and stared at him. “Do you know something?”
“No more than you do,” he said. “But I got the impression yesterday when Autumn was asking her about their chain of command in the Peace Ops that they didn’t exactly have permission to be here. It was something about how they all have to report to their designated superior, and how Sam and his captain are always at a head. She’s apparently very traditional while Sam is a bit off book.”
“You think his captain told him not to come?”
Dakota shrugged. “Maybe. But whether she did or not, she just doesn’t sound like someone who would willingly hand us an army.”
“Sam mentioned something the other day about needing to prove they would be fighting with the correct side.”
“I think those heads on the wall should be proof enough,” said Dakota.
Deryn sighed. “Sam and I are supposed to go outside tomorrow to do some testing. I’m just going to flat out ask him while we’re alone.”
“Should you be going outside tomorrow if Saevus might know where we are?”
“We’ll take the back exit and walk pretty far,” said Deryn. “Plus, I’ll have Sam with me and probably April. We’ll be fine.”
“Famous last words,” said Dakota.
She stared sharply at him.
“Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
Deryn smiled. “I’m always careful.”
Also famous last words. But Dakota wasn’t about to say that.
CHAPTER 43
Soren sat in his office alone, his door locked as he stared at a photo of Deryn. She was younger in it, but not too much younger than she was the first time he saw her. Still, he wished he had something more recent.
He had taken the photo out of its original frame shortly after snatching it from her old house in Redwood. While he always had it with him, there were few moments where he actually had time to stop and look at it.
Even through this worn photo, his heart thumped at the sight of her, the green of those perfect eyes that always seemed to stare so deeply into him.
Soren cursed the day he was first hypnotized by those eyes.
He often wondered, if it weren’t for his friendship with Talon would he have even noticed her as she left quarantine? Back then, he’d made it a point to ignore the faces of the children whose lives they’d stolen. It made it easier. Less cruel somehow.
An image of Deryn and Xander together ripped through him.
When Soren saw them in the forest, the two of them had seemed so natural together. Just the way they stood was so protective, so loving.
Would he and Deryn ever have that?
More than ever, he was starting to believe the answer was no.
Soren’s fingers clenched around the photo.
Xander Ruby was a bastard. He’d always been a bastard. He was the president’s favorite. How was he the one to get the girl?
The girl Soren had always wanted, had always fought for. If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t even be alive.
He had done so much for her.
And yet ...
He lifted his free hand and trailed his fingers along the scar on his neck.
And yet she had hated him enough to slit his throat and leave him for dead.
A knock on the door tore him out of his daze.
He ignored it and looked back at the picture of Deryn.
Whoever it was knocked again.
When it became clear that he wasn’t going to answer, something buzzed and clicked.
The lock.
Shit.
Soren slipped the photo into his pocket as the door opened.
Elvira stepped in, always walking with purpose.
“Dear wife. Do I not even get privacy in my own chambers anymore?”
“My father gave me access after it became evident you planned to run away with that toxic trash,” said Elvira, crinkling her nose as if she could smell ‘toxic trash’ at that very moment. “We’ve been summoned.”
“Aren’t you exhausted following the orders of a man who nearly killed you?”
“He says he never would have gone that far.”
“And you believe him,” said Soren, raising his eyebrows. “Puppet.”
“And what are you?” Elvira snapped back. Something she had never done before.
Soren’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You’re doing whatever it takes just to get a few measly months with that trash, even betraying the only person who ever dared to trust you.”
Soren leaned back in his chair and smiled. “Oh, so this is about Sewick. I’d heard about the two of you a while back but, I must admit, I never thought it was serious.”
Elvira’s cheeks reddened. “I don’t give a flying fuck about Sewick. That was two years ago and brief. I even carried that idiot’s head to the wall myself.”
Soren’s amusement faded. “You did what?”
She crossed her arms and raised her head defiantly. “I mounted his head on the wall with all the others.”
“Why would you do that? Now they will know that -”
“That you betrayed them. Yes, I’d gathered that.” She smiled wickedly.
“No, now they’ll know we’re coming for them.” And that he’d betrayed them. What they wouldn’t know was that he had his reasons.
Elvira shrugged. “So? They’ll think we’re coming for their friends first. That’s all that matters. Now, once again, we’ve been summoned, so get your ass up.” She turned and walked toward the door. When she reached it, she glanced back. Noticing he hadn’t moved, she leaned against the doorframe and smiled again. “Dear husband. You are already the villain in her story. This shouldn’t make a difference.”
Soren’s eyes shot to hers. “I’m the villain? Tell me, dear wife, how many times have you thought about throwing a four-year-old out of a window for your own selfish reasons?”
Elvira’s smile faded. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He stood and walked toward her. “Oh, yes I do. Because I know you better than anyone. You’re cruel, Elvira. In many ways, you’re even crueler than your father. And all to impress a man who will never love you as much as he loved Xander Ruby. As much as he’ll love the son he always wanted.”
Their heads were incredibly close, their breath intermingling. Elvira swallowed.
“If I’m so cruel then why did yo
u save me the other night?”
He smirked. “I thought your precious father had no intention of killing you?”
“Answer the question.”
Soren kept her gaze, staring into the muted version of the eyes he couldn’t stop thinking about.
“Because your father’s anger will pass and you’ll be in his good graces once more. He despises me and I need you to stay alive long enough to protect Deryn.”
Elvira winced at the sound of her name. It was so rarely spoken between them. He used to fear calling her anything more than precious slave or toxic trash, but not anymore. He had long passed the point of caring.
Elvira’s anger flared, her face pulsing. Soren didn’t notice her hand reach for his pocket until it was already there.
She snatched his photo of Deryn, making sure he got one last look at it before she tore it to pieces.
Before Soren could grab the small bits of paper from her, Elvira bolted out of the office. She didn’t stop until she was in their parlor, then tossed the photo’s remains into the roaring fire.
“No!” he screamed, watching as the photo became ash, one green eye staring up at him before vanishing completely.
“We’re done, Soren!” Elvira shouted, stepping away from him. “I refuse to be as pathetic as that slave of yours, selling out my own family for a moment in your favor. You want that piece of trash so badly?” She pointed at the flames. “Then have her, but not in my house or as my husband. We’ll see how long my father lets you keep her once I tell him I’m through with you.”
Soren scoffed. “Please. If you leave me, he’ll force you into a marriage with a mind-controlled Xander as soon as he has him.”
“Then he’ll be close enough for me to kill him,” she snarled. “Now, let’s go. We’ve been summoned and, since you no longer have my support, you’ll want to be on time.”
Elvira headed for the front door, her shoulders stiff and her hands balled into fists.
Soren followed, wondering just how much trouble he would be in if he tossed her out of a window.
By the end of all of this, he just might. In spite of the consequences.
• • •
Elvira and Soren sat on opposite ends of a hover-car her father had sent. Neither dared say a word, the tension still radiating between them. Soren didn’t know how serious she was about actually going through the effort of divorcing him, but he knew better than to push her buttons at that moment.
Arise (Cruel and Beautiful World Book 3) Page 42
