Blood. Since my beginning, there has been the problem of blood. Blood weighs the body down. It allows for the mind to wander. Of all things, blood seems to be our downfall.
He stomped his heel to crush the men’s hollering. “She is ours to protect.”
Lies. Although he never touched her, Rae was convinced Severin was as completely untrustworthy as Cassian. In fact, she couldn’t trust anyone anymore, so as time passed, she kept her thoughts inward and waited until she could have a say.
The chattering noise of teeth and tongues from around the room echoed and tickled her ear canal. She hated hearing the noise of their unearthly excitement. Obsessive lust was one thing, but some alphas’ expressions were on another level. She fought to extend her body forward, but it was of no use. She was stuck. Glancing down, she noticed two pipes opened into the glass sphere she was resting in. Above, the top closed, latching her inside for good.
No. Not again. No more sleep.
She couldn’t stand the days passing as seconds, the years turning into fleeting moments. She jerked forward again, to no avail.
Giggling, Severin stepped down and adjusted the front hem of his uniform. “There, there. It’s alright.”.
Her senses were not sharp, but she was slowly starting to understand what he might do to her. They were going to flood the glass sphere with water. They were going to drown her, and everyone in the world would be her witness.
“Let me go, at once!”
More alphas laughed with the minister. Some pounded their fists against the metal interior of the room, while others held onto the rafters like wild and deranged animals. They were the old leaders, and they couldn’t hold back their savagery. The habits ran through their veins. “Shut the fuck up and perform, darling!”
Reaching into the front pocket of his uniform, Severin lurched forward and pulled out a thin tarot card. It had to have been hundreds of years old. Without glancing at the artistic design, he threw slid it inside an opening underneath her writhing body. It floated into the small puddle of water, floating closer to her toes. When she gazed down, she could easily see the design. It was the Six of Swords. Inverted.
“A wonderful card. If you examine the artwork closely, a woman and her child are being towed across the waters in search of new land.” He paced the room as a king might wander his courtyard. “Customarily, this card represents change and safe harbor. How fitting it is to your situation.”
“W-What? Please, tell me what is going on…”
Severin sighed and wrung his hands. “Unfortunately, the card is inverted. It appears your travels have led you to utter ruin and disaster. Yes… loss has been etched into your name.”
Low chuckles of pure disgust and hatred echoed near her open legs. Men encompassed her. Suddenly, the lights above her cut through the darkness of her new prison, blinding and hot. She felt the glass reflect against her pale skin. Taking in what sights of horror she could process, she blinked to focus her eyes, but as the flood of images turned clearer, she realized they were waiting for her to panic. It made them all the more satisfied to see her writhe and kick with no result.
Her twin, Ruby, had lied to her. She’d stolen her children, imprisoned her alphas, and killed her dreams of starting a family. Now, they would ruin her for a lifetime.
“Indulge in the fantastic sight of her tears, everyone. We all love a good victim,” he said. “So, gather around. Feed on her tears.”
“I want to talk to her,” she murmured, voice growing with strain and vocal fry. “I want to talk to that cunt sister of mine!”
“Shh... Quiet, now.” Severin held up a finger. “We don’t want to ruin the broadcast too much, do we? The people must know that you’re safe. We saved you from his clutches.”
Rae gave up and obeyed the man. “But-But I don’t understand. I am not safe! My sister… she was supposed to let me live! She was supposed to give me my children back…”
She thought of Cassian and all the harm he did to her. Her father, her maker, her tormentor ruined her in the worst way by giving her something supposedly wonderful: life. Severin had made his intent abundantly clear. This was a show for the public to feel better for the sins of the past. Severin would tell the world they saved her life, and surely, she’d then be sent away, back to the darkness whence she came.
“And yet, they are her children now.” Severin’s eyes darted back toward the cameras that surrounded the subterranean platform. “The future can be fabricated. Edit that portion out,” he said.
Voice tight, facing the heavens, she uttered, “Father, what is the point of bringing me all this pain? No one listens. Nobody changes. Everyone is so horrible to one another that love seems nonexistent. It shatters my heart.”
“On second thought, this is all so good,” Severin said to himself. “We can edit this down properly.”
She shifted her eyes back to her new captor, growling as an alpha might. Severin giggled and walked toward her, stuffing the remaining cards back into his pocket. He hastened forward, sure to extend the look of pleasure across his lips. He did not blink against the sudden light, but he was a different breed of punisher.
When a man searches for truth in an atom bomb, he extracts a piece of himself from inside it.
Soldiers. There wasn’t anyone left who hadn’t fought in the wars against the coalition of the New Republic. In this region, even some women fought. Of course, that didn’t mean they got all of the same rights as the alphas. No—only some omegas qualified to be leaders. Betas were another story. Her sister was one of those be
tas, and it was only because she had been bought by Severin through Cassian so long ago that she had any right to power.
It was the same piece-of-shit world as before. Only, now she had to start from scratch. She wasn’t sure her mind could handle it.
“You’re pathetic,” Rae said, spitting against the glass. “A pathetic little man who couldn’t have children of his own. A beta, a—”