by Tenaya Jayne
The soft wet fur rubbed the back of her body. Steam hissed from her burned skin as the water fell on it.
“Poor thing,” Iva said softly.
“Silence, Iva!” Lachlan ordered.
Tesla blinked and looked up into Lachlan’s face. He smoothed the hair off her forehead. “Sorry,” he murmured. “Peyton will be punished for what he did to you.”
Bullshit. She thought but she tried to give him a weak, grateful smile. She swallowed. The cuff was gone.
“Fill up, Iva,” he said.
The rain poured hard and heavy, filling the bowl-shaped floor. Too messed up to even move, Tesla floated on the surface, supported in Lachlan’s arms. After a few minutes, he pulled her closer to him and cradled her against his chest. Her head lolled on his shoulder. He was as naked as she was. He was pushing intimacy not sex. So much of their bodies touched. Just water and skin. Something registered in her mind she hadn’t noticed about him before. She pushed the pain back and tried to focus on him.
He wasn’t real. His body held a signature she couldn’t believe she’d missed before. He was a machine. An organic machine. Built, not born. Not that he wasn’t alive, he was. That’s how he maintained his youth. This body didn’t age. She pressed her hand against his chest. No pulse. No heart. He didn’t need one. Just a soul. He had that, and it lived in this body, but not naturally.
She blinked, unsure of what she was seeing. Unsure if she was seeing or if her eyes were just messed up from the torture. Touching Lachlan, she looked at his body structure, but she didn’t see the way she usually did. It wasn’t DNA strands she saw. What was that? Caged inside him? His soul? No way could she see that. Could she?
The mark on her hand constricted. Maybe she could. Her mouth lifted slightly in a side smile. X could kill him.
“Why are you smiling?”
“I’ll tell you later,” she said feebly.
“You’re healing fast. Your skin is almost fully restored.”
“I’m still burned inside. I need to sleep.”
“Whatever you need.”
He wrapped her in a towel and carried her back to the bedroom. He laid her down and covered her up.
“You can rest easy. I’ll lock the door. Peyton can’t get to you.”
She closed her eyes and fell asleep instantly with the pleasant thought of X destroying Lachlan in her mind.
“So good,” Lachlan whispered, holding Peyton’s face in his hands. “Such a good idea.”
Peyton smiled broadly, soaking up Lachlan’s praise. “You said the first time had to be the worst.”
He moved closer and licked Peyton’s bottom lip. “That was bad. She almost killed herself. I think it’s going to be so easy to control her now.”
Peyton looked at her through the wall. “She got the collar off, not a second before I put the cuff around her neck. She’ll get it off again. You need to put something different on her.”
“I have something. You’re not the only one who can create devices of pain. It will go on her as soon as she wakes up. She’s going to look so sexy in it, too. I can’t wait to see it on her.”
“How long are you going to keep her to yourself? I want to taste her, too. Since you’ve made it clear I can’t have you anymore.”
Lachlan sighed and stepped back from him. “I don’t know how long. Maybe I’ll get bored with her after she gives me a child. I don’t want her cloned until I have an heir. Then you can have your own Tesla.”
“Sure,” Peyton said, his tone making it clear he didn’t believe him.
“Just focus on your job. Or have you already tired of hurting her?”
“Oh, no. Not even close. I have many more ideas in mind for her.”
“Good.”
“Can I see what you have for her?” Peyton asked.
Lachlan smiled, pulled a small box from his pocket, and handed it to him. Peyton lifted the lid, his eyebrows rising appreciatively. “It will grow?”
“Oh yes. Until it covers her whole body. She’ll beg me then. She’ll do anything I want, just to get me to remove it.”
“Tired of breaking her down slowly?”
“My lust for her is about to choke me. I want to speed this up. I’m not going to wait much longer. Even if she resists initially, after she experiences the pleasure I will give to her, she won’t fight anymore.”
Chapter Eighteen
Forest paced the floor of Tesla’s room, her hands pressed to her head as tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Where is my daughter?” she cried.
Syrus pulled her against him, but he had no answer. Rahaxeris stood like a statue in the corner, looking down. The three of them had been like that for a while. Forest thought she knew hell, but now she realized she’d been wrong. The fear. The unknown possibilities that she had lost her daughter forever and would never know what had befallen her, was worse than anything she’d ever experienced.
There was nothing they could do and that made it worse. Tesla could be anywhere and was most definitely beyond the reach of any search party. X was gone, too. Was that comforting? Forest didn’t know. There were moments she felt hope in the fact the X was gone as well. He would protect Tesla. She was sure of that. But what if he couldn’t? What if? What if? What if…
Being helpless crashed against Forest’s most basic, fundamental nature. She would go mad like this.
A thud in the living room had all of them jumping and running.
“Merhl!”
He’d landed in a crouch, and his skin was greyish. He looked up at them and stood upright, his color blanching worse. He swallowed hard.
“The wizard king has Tesla.”
Forest cried out. Syrus caught her as her knees gave.
“She’s alive. He wants to keep her that way. X has gone after her, but I have no idea the odds he might succeed. He managed to world jump. I don’t know how he was able to do that, but he did…I…” Merhl’s face crumpled. “He loves her. He will not stop. I know that. I would go after her, too. I will,” he amended. “It was hard enough for me to get back here without her help. I felt I needed your guidance, Rahaxeris, before I did anything. I can’t think.”
Rahaxeris turned and faced the window, his shoulders stiff. “There’s nothing to be done, I fear. I have no solutions or guidance for you, Merhl, since I’ve never been to the Everpath. How can I direct you? I fear Tesla’s fate is in her own hands.”
“I can try to take you there with me,” Merhl said.
“No.” he shook his head.
“What?” Forest demanded. “You won’t even try?”
He turned to face her. “Tesla told me about the Everpath. I don’t have the ability to see it.”
Forest’s face went stony. She shoved out of Syrus’ arms and stalked to her bedroom. The next minute she was back, pulling her hair into a ponytail, her lightning sword strapped around her waist. “Merhl take me. I’m going to find my daughter.”
Rahaxeris held up his hands. “You’ll die. You’re not built for jumping.”
“You think I’d hesitate to die for my child?! Tesla is my blood. Why can’t I do what she can do?”
Syrus moved to Forest’s side. “She has a fair point. Tesla came from us. We should be able to handle what she can handle.”
“That sounds good, but you’re wrong.” Rahaxeris said. “You can’t do a fraction of what she’s capable of, powerful as you are, mage. She’s hidden things from you since the very beginning, because she loves you and didn’t want to scare you.”
“I can’t stand here and do nothing, Father,” Forest said.
“Okay,” he nodded. “Let’s go to Kyhael. Even if we can get to the wizard’s world, we won’t be able to get her from the king with nothing but passion. We need a plan, and all the wizard artifacts the Rune-dy collected through the years.”
He struck the air, opening a portal to Kyhael. Merhl and Rahaxeris went through first. Syrus held Forest back. She faced him, confused.
“One of us s
hould stay here, in case they come back.”
“Oh.” She blinked a few times quickly. “Yeah. You go. You’re more powerful than I am.”
He shook his head. “Not in this situation. You’re more dangerous than I am right now. You’re her mother. That connection is more powerful than anything. I don’t want to stay, but I can heal. What if X can bring her back but they’re injured?”
Forest gritted her teeth. “Damnit, Syrus.” She kissed him hard and fast. “I love you!”
“I love you.”
“I’ll get her.”
“I know. I’ll let you know through our connection if they come back. I’ll make you feel it.”
She looked at him, knowing it might be the last time she ever saw him. She placed her hand over his heart, telling him everything she didn’t have the words for, before rushing into the waiting portal.
Lips against her skin woke Tesla. She didn’t have to open her eyes to know who was kissing her. Lachlan’s skillfully dirty lips pressed on her neck, along her collarbone, and dipped lower to the top of her breast. That was enough right there. She opened her eyes and shoved him back from her.
He seemed unperturbed by her rebuttal and smiled lazily down at her. “You’ve rested long enough. You’re healed now. It’s time for a new game.”
“Super,” she said sarcastically. “I love mind games before I’ve had my coffee.”
He chuckled. “I love you.”
She scowled but said nothing. “Peyton killed my dress last night. What are you going to dress me up in today?”
His smile broadened and his eyes glinted. “So glad you asked.” He held a small box over her and opened the lid. “You’ll wear this today.”
She tried to sit up when a black metal spider crawled out of the box and jumped down to her neck. Scrambling, she clawed at it to get it off, but it scurried too fast over her skin and under the blanket. She rolled to try and get away from it, then it was crawling on her again. Lachlan grabbed her arms and pinned her down. The spider crawled up her, its sharp legs leaving pin pricks of blood on her skin. She looked down as it settled over her heart.
“No. Please!”
“Begging already? Perfect.”
The spider’s front two legs reared up and stabbed deep. The legs pushed down through her flesh and wrapped loops around her ribs. Tesla’s breath hitched in a gasp of pain. The other legs lengthened, growing across her body, turning into a metal web. The body of the spider twisted and transformed into a round gear with locking parts.
Lachlan pulled her to her feet by her hands. “Stand still.”
Terrified, she complied. The web continued to grow, until it made a dress. More gears formed down the mesh sleeves, along the scooping neckline, over her back, and down the skirt over her legs.
He stepped back and leered at her, a shiver moving over him. “Oh, that is so hot. Come over here and look at yourself in the mirror.”
“I…I don’t want to move.”
“Oh, come on. Nothing bad will happen to you so long as you do what I say. I’ll keep the gears disengaged.”
“And if they are engaged?”
“Such a curious little thing. Let’s just say, you won’t like it at all. Now come here.”
Shaking slightly, she moved one of her arms an inch. The whole dress adjusted. Blood was running down her torso from where the spider stabbed and hooked its legs through her. She walked slowly and awkwardly to the mirror. He stood behind her, gazing at the reflection.
“This look suits you, Tesla. Brutal and yet, still submissive.”
“This isn’t a dress, it’s a machine. A torture device.”
“Quite.”
“What do I have to do to get you to take it off?” she asked angrily.
“First of all…” He twisted a gear on the neckline. A spike thrust out of it and impaled her. She gasped in pain and surprise. “Change your tone of voice. I’d appreciate more respect.”
Shuddering, she looked down, counting all the gears she could see. Thirty on the front. This dress was an iron maiden. Too much more disobedience on her part, and she’d bleed out, full of holes. He put his index finger under her chin and titled her face up.
“Be my queen. Stand by my side in life. Give me children.”
“You didn’t answer my question. How do I get out of this?”
He looked over at the bed suggestively. “Give me your consent. Ask me to make love to you, and I’ll remove it, and you will never see it again.”
Tears flushed her skin, and she looked up at the ceiling. “No.”
At her words, three more gears stabbed her. One in each arm and one directly over her navel. Blood ran hot under the metal dress.
“You want to die?” he asked.
“No.” Her tears ran as freely as her blood.
“Shall I hand you over to Peyton again?”
Fear filled her eyes, and she shook her head. “No, but it can’t be that easy, Lachlan. Give me something else in exchange for my body.”
“Your body belongs to me. Kneel.”
“How?! I’m bleeding! I’m scared to move anymore.”
“Kneel!” he shouted then he walked behind her and twisted part of her dress. It clicked and turned, then it forced her to her knees, moving her like a posable doll. It forced her hands behind her back and her head down. The spikes through her arms and stomach burned and bit harder.
“Please,” she cried, her voice cracking.
“What was that?” His tone was smug.
“Please!” she managed louder.
“Hmm…” He narrowed his eyes at her then turned his back. She lifted her head a fraction. His hands flexed behind him as he paced a few feet in front of her. An emotion she couldn’t recognize crossed his features as he turned back to her. If she didn’t know better she would have thought it was love.
“I’ve been cruel,” he conceded. “It’s my nature. I’m so old, I’ve forgotten how scary the first time can be. I’m sorry… Let’s try this another way.”
He twisted the back of her dress again and it softened, allowing movement again. He picked her up under the arms and lifted her back to her feet. Blood was pooling on the floor under her. He smoothed her hair back from her face.
“I’m sorry. I’m so impatient. You have to learn I am your master. Then things can be good…How about this? I promise to back off Regia.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“Ask me to make love to you. Willingly surrender, and I promise I will leave Regia alone for good. Everyone you love there will be safe.”
“Prove it.”
He crossed the room and came back with a sphere in his hands. “See this? This is how I tracked you. It’s how I planned to finally get through your wall. His hand rubbed a circle on the top. She saw Regia in the inside of it. She saw the way the blood lock looked from the outside. The object was alien, and she had never seen anything that held so much power. He could get through the blood lock with that, if he used it right.
“See? I can annihilate your world, but I’ve held back. Waiting for you. I didn’t want to risk killing you in the process. You mean more to me than anything I’ve taken, conquered, or killed. I love you. I will give up Regia if you submit to me.”
She closed her eyes and swallowed, nodding her head slowly. “All right, Lachlan. You win.”
“I always do. Now say it.”
Her heart hammered as it broke, but she looked him in the eyes. This was her life. Here with him. He would always outmaneuver her. Her breath shuddered, and her lips trembled. “Make love to me.”
He exhaled, his eyes burning. He took the sphere back across the room and set it gently inside a small trunk. He came back, hauled her up to her toes, and kissed her roughly as he walked her backward until she fell on the bed. The dress dug into her back as he climbed on top of her. She winced.
“I’ll take it off when I’m done.”
His tongue pushed into her mouth, and he pressed down on her, her wounds go
ing deeper.
“Ahem.” A voice came from the doorway.
Lachlan turned, shock covering his face. X stood there, an arrow trained on him, a shadow monster behind him.
“If anyone is going to de-flower Tesla, it’s going to be me.” X’s voice was matter-of-fact.
Lachlan snarled, stood up, and threw a ball of energy at X. The monster behind him jumped in front of him, and the spell hit it in the chest. The energy fizzled into nothing in the air. The shadowy monster smiled and slunk to X’s side. Taken aback, Lachlan’s eyes darted from the arrow, to the monster, to the glow in X’s hands. He took a slow step forward, his eyes narrowed. “What are you?”
X smirked. “What? You don’t know?”
Lachlan raised one hand, spinning white light accumulated over his palm. “You think you can kill me with an arrow?”
“Oh, I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to enslave you.”
The sound of running footsteps echoed down the hallway coming toward them. “There’s another one coming,” the monster thing said.
X didn’t take his eyes off Lachlan. “Handle that for me, will you, Fluffy? Thanks.”
The monster growled and charged from the room. There was a roar, a blast, and then the sound of Peyton screaming. Tesla struggled to get up off the bed. Lachlan’s eyes widened as though he just realized what X was and he took a step back, his lip curling. “Necromancer.”
“Release Tesla.”
Lachlan grabbed her and held her in front of him like a human shield. “You want her? See if you can save her.” He grabbed the gear over her heart and turned it. The whole dress came alive. Every gear stabbed her.
She cried out. “Shoot him.”
X loosed the arrow. It went straight into Lachlan’s eye. He fell to the floor.
X caught her as she fell and turned her face up. His hands shook above the metal now turning red. “What do I do?”
