My eyes snap open, heart slamming against my ribs as I stare up at Aurelia’s ceiling, chains still swaying softly above me. I don’t breathe, just listen, sweat slicking my skin before I swiftly sit up.
Swinging my legs off the side of the bed, I plant my elbows on my knees, head dropping into my cut hands, running my fingers through my hair.
That dream, no, thatfucking warning, is still in my brain, refusing to fuck off. My nightmares had eased after I met Aurelia. After I let her in.
But It was her.
Itwas her.
Behind me, I feel movement as Aurelia stirs, soft and quiet, shifting in her sleep and when I glance over my shoulder, she rolls onto her back, eyes still closed, peaceful.
The sheet dips over her perky tits, exposing the marks I left behind, purple bruises and red bites, a roadmap of what the fuck I did to her last night. What she let me do.
I think back to all the times I’ve almost killed her, and how fucking precious she’s become for me to lose. I can’t keep pretending this is nothing. I need to figure this shit out. I need to stop whatever the fuck this is before I cross a line I can’t uncross and go too far.
Quietly, I stand, dragging on my jeans before buckling my belt.
“You’re going already, circus boy?” her sleepy voice slips through the silence behind me.
When I turn, her eyes are just starting to open, lashes fluttering as she stretches, arms above her head. She looks like sin dressed in silk and bruises.
I lean down, pulling open the drawer beside the bed, finding a pen and a scrap of paper. My hand moves without hesitation, writing the only thing I can give her right now.
I kneel back on the bed, turning the note for her to read.
I’ll see you soon, Allure. I’ve got some things to do.
She nods once, and I start scribbling again.
Wonna tell me why your clothes were covered in some motherfucker’s blood last night?
The second she reads the words, she jolts up onto her elbows, panic in her eyes as they lock with mine.
“What?” she breathes, but she knows exactly what the fuck I’m talking about.
I raise a brow, staring her down, waiting and watching, but she gives me nothing.
A growl rises in my throat, my frustration biting deep, but I lean over, catching her mouth in a kiss that’s more force than affection, teeth scraping lips.
Then I pull back, ready to walk out, but her hands clamp down on my shoulders, holding me in place.
“I’ll tell you soon, okay?” she whispers, and I pause, searching her eyes like they might give me more than her voice will.
Eventually, I ease back. Yeah, she fucking will. Actually, she doesn’t have a choice.
I grab my leather jacket, sliding it on, then shoot her a wink on my way out. Not because I’m not pissed. But so she knows I’m not done.
Once I’m out of that suffocating trailer, I head straight to Madame’s chamber. She’s the only person around here who might have some fucking answers on all this nightmare or voodoo shit.
She’s into all that mysterious stuff and to be honest, it never even crossed my mind to go to her. Not until now because I seem fucking desperate and Aurelia’s in my life.
As soon as I step into the Cirque, the familiar musty air greets me, but then my phone buzzes and I freeze, confusion creeping in.
Why the fuck is someone calling me? I don’t use my voice. Everyone knows never to call me unless you want a beast breathing heavily down the fucking phone.
I yank the phone from my pocket, my fingers tightening around it as I stare down at the screen. Valen’s name blinks across it, like a red flag and my jaw tightens, anger simmering as I watch the call end on its own, but seconds later, a text pops up.
I feel the bitterness in my mouth, sharp and foul. The bastard hasn’t set foot into Dark Night for years. The last time he came here, he carved through the place with a fucking chainsaw, leaving bodies in his wake. It pissed The Shadows off more than anyone realized. And now? Now, he wants answers. He wants to come to Oddity and demand answers? From me? Fuck off.