Page 5 of Cruel Master
Juliet: Yes, Master.
Chapter Two
Hadrian
“That’screepyasfuck.I love it.”
I jump out of my skin as Quinn’s voice echoes through my lab. I raise my hand automatically to my face, tracing the edges of the mask. I’ve told Candice over and over again to ask me before she lets anyone in, but she doesn’t bother any more when it’s Quinn.
I get the strong impression Candice resents the idea of having to ask. In her mind, it’s simple. Quinn is her friend. She can invite her into her house if she wants.
The constant possibility of interruption would have driven me insane a few months ago, but as time has worn on, I’ve started to relax. Orchill the fuck out, as Quinn puts it. And the benefit to Candice of having a friend has been incalculable.
Now, though, Quinn’s stare is making me self-conscious. Here, in the bright laboratory light, the mask feels ridiculous. When Juliet wakes up in my staging area, things will be very different. She’ll recognize me right away. The masked antihero she’s obsessed over for years.
Saldar.
Quinn edges closer, fascinated. “It looks so real. How does it move like that?”
“Don’t ask,” Candice cuts in before I can answer. “He’ll tell you, in great detail. There are nanoparticles involved. We'll be here all day.”
Quinn grins, as she always does when Candice makes fun of me. It doesn’t feel nasty, though, more the camaraderie of a team. That’s what the three of us have become, in a weird way, and it’s embarrassing how much I enjoy it. In the years since Juliet’s betrayal, I spent so much time alone that it became all I knew.
“Thanks for the warning. It’s awesome anyway.” Quinn hesitates, then sets her jaw and asks, “When does your Ward…arrive?”
It’s easy to forget Quinn is a captive here. She seems to be able to push past it most of the time, but I catch moments where the knowledge hits her. Like now. Dealing with awkwardness isn’t my strongest suit, and I’m grateful for the mask as I reply, “Next week.”
The rasp of my altered voice still makes me jump. I’ll have to get used to talking in this thing.
The following silence is even worse, and I swear Candice lets it drag out on purpose before she breaks it. “Hey, Quinn, did you ever playSaldar’s Curse?”
Quinn brightens. “Oh shit. That’s the mask, right? I knew it looked familiar. What made you choose Saldar?”
An innocent question with a million loaded answers. All Quinn and her group of friends know is that my Ward is arriving next week. I still can’t quite think of them as my friends, despite Quinn’s best efforts. They’re friendly, but we don’t discuss anything personal. My fault, of course. Opening up isn’t my strongest suit, either.
I could tell her. I should, really. Down the line, once I have Juliet in hand, Quinn and her friends will be Juliet’s social circle. She’ll need one. She was always the extrovert, dragging me out into the sun. But I don’t want to tell Quinn yet. Talking about Juliet feels like giving pieces of her away.
I’m not ready for that. I want her all to myself.
“I’ll explain later.”
Candice rolls her eyes. “Might as well plug in. You’ll not get a decent conversation out of him today.”
Quinn shrugs, straps on her VR gear, and disappears into Candice’s world, leaving me as good as alone in mine.
I can’t concentrate on my work with the unfamiliar weight of the mask on my face. When the medical team fitted me with the prosthetic, they instructed me to wear it for at least four hours a day in the run-up to Juliet’s arrival, to get used to the way it feels and moves.
After a couple of hours, my patience is wearing thin. It’s not uncomfortable, exactly, but it’s a constant pressure. It picks up every movement of my face—if I raise an eyebrow, the mask’s inhuman features form a complementary expression. It’s eerie even watching myself in the mirror. It’ll terrify Juliet.
Good.
It’s an old thought, bitter and nasty. I’m cursed with an eidetic memory—perfect recollection. Useful when studying for my finals, less helpful when I relive the worst moments of my life over and over again until I feel like I’ll go mad.
A knock at the door. Grim faces. “We’re seizing your equipment, Hadrian. We’ve had a disturbing tip-off.”
She didn’t try to hide what she’d done. I knew my work scared Juliet, but I never imagined she’d turn me in. I’ve heard that knock in my dreams for the last five years. And every single day, she’s still the first thing I think of when I wake.
I tried to get over her. The sensible way first—throwing myself into work, starting new hobbies, a few soulless hook-ups. When that didn’t work, I tried leaning into my obsession, hoping to sicken myself on Juliet until she ceased to matter.
