Page 56 of Black Onyx
“I’m so sorry you had to live like that,” Rival says sincerely, and I shrug, unsure what exactly to reply to that.
“It is what it is.” I shrug.
“I’ll kill him,” Loki rumbles.
My smile is vicious, “No, you won’t. After everything that fucker has put me through, I get to watch the life leave his eyes.”
“Why is it so hot when she gets all bloodthirsty?” Loki asks, turning to look at Rival.
“Don’t you mean it’s hot when she lets us see that side of her? I do not doubt that our Farren is bloodthirsty all the time.” Rival replies insightfully.
My grin turns sharp, “Well, you’re not wrong.”
I choose to ignore the ‘our Farren' part of the sentence for the pure fact that a lot of emotional shit has been thrown my way today, and I’ve reached my limit. I’m not capable of dealing with any more.
Mayhem interrupts the conversation as he walks out of his room, looking freshly showered and shirtless. I’d like to say that I try not to stare, but that would be an outright lie. His blue-streaked white hair is tucked behind his pointed ears, which he usually has hidden. Unlike the norm for the fae, both he and Rival are bigger, both in height and musculature, and it’s his muscles my eyes get unashamedly drawn to; I mean, they’re right there! How could I not stare?
His broad shoulders taper down to a slim waist, and the blue tinge to his skin practically glitters under the lights, defining the groves of his stomach and the V lines leading down temptingly. There are darker patterns etched into the skin, and I’m familiar enough with the fae to know that it’s not a part of their usual genetic makeup, but I also don’t think that it’s magically done or a tattoo. More and more, I’m starting to realise that my first assumption that they were all rare supernaturals or more than they first appeared was accurate. There’s still a lot of mystery surrounding them, and I’m getting more curious.
Suddenly Killian appears by the edge of the sofa, stepping out of the shadow created by the lamp and making Loki jump. He grins at Loki and takes a seat next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. His body stays tense though, and I’m assuming they found something out on their trip to spy on the Headmaster. I’m about to ask where Storm is when black and smoky shadows start to coalesce into a shape in the middle of the room.
“Where’s Reaper?” Storm asks immediately, looking around the room. He’s not doing quite as good a job at hiding his anger and worry as Killian is trying to do, and I straighten, what the hell is going on now.
“I’m here. What’s up?” Reaper asks, appearing from his room and joining the rest of us on the sofas.
“We were right. As soon as the kid left the office, he was on the larimar stone. We're not sure who was on the other end, but his side of the conversation was extremely telling.” Storm crosses his arms over his chest as somehow his expression darkens even more.
“So he does have it out for us then?” Loki asks.
“Not for us,” Storm replies, looking at me.
“Oh, for fuck sake, me again?” I groan.
“Explain,” Reaper barks, and Storm’s gaze snaps to him with a questioning look and a raised eyebrow. Reaper holds firm and doesn’t try to defend his tone.
“The whole point of it was that Reaper would lose control and take Farren out. He banked on us staying out of the way and not caring enough to warn her.” He’s interrupted by a roar so loud that it shakes the room.
Everyone looks at Reaper, concerned as his fists clench and his eyes glow as the slit in his pupil grows.
“Reaper,” Storm warns.
He doesn’t reply, just shakes his head sharply, and for some unknown fucking reason, I get up from between Loki and Killian and plop my ass down on his lap, sitting sideways so I can wrap my arms around his neck. As soon as my brain catches up with my actions, I start to panic. What the fuck was I thinking? They’ve all told me how volatile he is, fuck, he’s told me he's deadly, and here I am just casually sitting on his lap whilst he’s growling fiercely enough that he’s shaking the fucking room? What the fuck is wrong with me! As I start to spiral myself into self-hatred and despair, his arms wrap around me, and he looks at me confused, almost completely calm now. Okay, so maybe a part of me knew what it was doing then. That or I’m just extremely fucking lucky this time.
“What the hell, Farren, that was incredibly dangerous!” Storm practically shouts at me, the flames roaring between horns and starting to wrap around them, which is a new development. I glare at him in response.
“He’s fine. Carry on the explanation.” Killian orders.
Storm turns his glare on him, and then seeing whatever look is on his face, he backs down. I want to turn to see what look Killian just gave him, but Reaper is holding me so tightly I can barely move.
“He was going to use me to end her?” he asks, his voice still a rumble, but at least he’s talking instead of growling.
Storm watches him warily but answers anyway, “From what we overheard, yes. But it wasn’t his plan. He was working under someone else’s orders.”
“No idea who it could be?” Mayhem asks, looking at me.
I sigh, “Honestly, it could be a number of people. I need a little bit more information to go on than that.”
“Why am I not surprised,” Storm mutters with no real bite, so I just stick my tongue out in retribution.
