He’d seen Floyd manifest illusions often enough. He should have recognized this one. He’d probably won a handful of Illusionist powers in TFPs, too. Liar’s Trade seemed to draw Illusionists to the game tables.
But she wasn’t finished.
The cell darkened around her, like a wave of black clouds was rolling in. A flash of lightning cut across the space above her head, which suddenly looked exactly like a real sky.
Nox looked up at the darkness that used to be the ceiling. “Is that you, Ridley?” He’d never seen her do anything like this before.
“How long have you been projecting illusions, Rid? Do you remember what Silas did to you?” He hated asking but couldn’t figure out how to undo it unless he knew.
Maybe I don’t want to undo it. She wants me.
What’s my problem? I just need to shut up.
We could finally be together, if we can get out of this place.
Rid licked her lips and tilted her head to the side. “He made me more powerful. More of what I was destined to be.” She paused. “More of everything, Nox.”
The way she said his name made him shiver. Her powers were stronger now. He could feel the pull—tugging at him.
“I feel it even more when I touch you.” Ridley raised her arms over her head, exposing the Dark Caster tattoo that encircled her navel. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m still going to kill Silas. No one does anything to me without my permission. Even if it does feel absolutely decadent.”
“You might not get the chance to kill anyone,” Nox said, trying to emphasize the gravity of the situation. “There’s no way out of here.”
The dark clouds around her disappeared. Only the snake remained, coiling through her pink-streaked hair.
“There’s always a way, Nox.” She kept saying his name, making him forget everything but her. “If you want something bad enough.”
Ridley slid her hands down the bars, and Nox could almost feel her touching his skin. She lowered her voice. “Do you want me bad enough? Do you want us?”
The intensity in her eyes—
The need in her voice—
Nox’s head swam.
“More than I’ve ever wanted anything,” he said.
I want you, Rid. More than you’ll ever understand.
He tried to pull his eyes away from the Siren standing in front of him.
I want to kiss you and hold you and run my fingers through that wild hair.
He tried not to think about it, about her, about the way she said us.
I want to protect you and make sure no one ever hurts you again.
He knew what he wanted. Maybe he had always known.
I want you to let me love you. Finally.
But first he had to find the girl he loved.
Is she still the same girl?
This girl wanted him, so could it really be her?
He knew they belonged together the first night he met her at the card table—maybe even before that, on the beach in Barbados—and he also knew that if Link wasn’t part of the equation, Ridley would’ve acted on her feelings. He was sure of it.
Was it so wrong if he let her love him now?
You don’t even know if her feelings for you are real.
She probably doesn’t even know.
Still …
The sound of boot steps echoed through the passageway, and Ridley turned toward the noise. The snake around her neck vanished, replaced by the stench of a Barbadian wafting through the air.
A moment later, Silas Ravenwood’s wing tips followed. He ignored Nox and walked straight to Ridley’s cell. “How is the most powerful Siren in history feeling today?” He smiled at her like a proud father.
Nox’s stomach twisted.
Ridley tossed her blond locks over her shoulder. “I’d be doing a lot better if I was sleeping on silk sheets in a real bedroom.”
“There will be plenty of time for that if you behave yourself.”
“I always behave myself,” she purred.
Silas took a pull on the cigar, studying her. “But you’ve got a lot of power pumping through your system, my dear.”
“That’s how I like it.” She pouted.
“We have to make sure you’re stable.”
“Why? That never stopped me before, and I’m pretty sure it never stopped you, either.” She leaned toward Silas. “We’re not stable. We’re Dark.”
Nox couldn’t stand to watch any more of this. He could see it now. Ridley had become another person entirely.
“Tell me what you did to her, Silas. Or I’ll make you suffer when I figure out how to get out of this cell. And I will find a way out.”
Silas turned toward Nox and flicked his ash into Nox’s cell. “Sorry, kid. You won’t get the chance. Today is the day you’re going to die.”
CHAPTER 19: RIDLEY
Eyes of a Stranger
None of it was real—not the snakes or the rats.
Ridley understood that now.
After they dragged the Rat Man away, she’d had plenty of time to think about it, and the realization had settled over her slowly. She realized the ceiling wasn’t actually rolling with storm clouds. Her arms weren’t crawling with snakes, and her cell wasn’t teeming with giant rats. The storm was inside her—something Ridley had always known. But it was comforting to finally have confirmation.
It also meant she was done cowering in the corner of her cell.
I just have to practice controlling this new power. No one else is going to help me.
Ridley couldn’t count on anyone except herself—something else she had always known.
It had been that way since the night her powers were Claimed for the Dark at sixteen.
Why should things be any different now?
Her memories were coming back, too. Silas threatening her. Those idiot doctors discussing her infusion. The Rat Man—Nox’s—face.
Nox.
The idea that he might have been there with her, and not just an illusion, seemed even stranger. How did he survive the fire at Sirene? Why would he risk his life to come here, after he’d escaped Silas?
For me … he came for me.
That thought—and the hope that came with it—was the anchor keeping her from drifting back to the crazy place. The pl
ace Silas left her after he pumped her veins full of a power that might have killed her.
How did Silas do it? Infusing one Caster with another’s powers wasn’t like mixing a martini. It must’ve required research, maybe years’ worth.
Who cares? You’re even stronger than you were before. A Siren with Illusionist powers—you’ll be unstoppable. You just have to figure out how to control the powers. Don’t let them control you.
It was easier said than done.
The illusions came and went without warning, and they always caught her off guard, with heat searing its way through her veins and her vision blurring until the flashes started.
The cell door opening on its own.
Snakes twisting around the bars.
Her senses were in some kind of supernatural overdrive, and it was still hard to differentiate reality from illusion.
When Ridley heard Silas’ Darkborns in the passageway, she pretended to be asleep. If they were really out there, maybe they’d leave her alone. If they were another illusion, she could practice ignoring it.
“Did you clear all the other girls out?” one of the Darkborns asked. “Silas doesn’t want anyone down here except for the two of them.”
“Yeah. Moved ’em all earlier,” the other guy said. “What do you think Silas is gonna do with him?”
“Kill him. What else?”
“Or experiment on him, which is probably worse.”
Ridley tensed as the rage burned inside her again.
I’m not your victim. But eventually, you’ll be mine. Right after Silas gets what he deserves.
“Then kill me already,” someone groaned.
Rid recognized his voice.
Nox.
He had survived whatever Silas had done to him. He was really here.
The images came back to her slowly. Nox standing outside her cell, talking to her. The sound of her own screams. Silas grabbing Nox and dragging him away.
She’d begun to think he was just another illusion for sure. Something she conjured to feel better. Something to give her hope.
Was that it?
The Darkborns had dragged his beaten body down the dim passage to the cell next to hers and slammed the door. Nox lay on the floor, blood smeared across his cheek, as if Silas wanted to be sure she saw him.