As Tohr stepped out into the hall, he was crazed, incoherent, on the verge of a violent breakdown. Jesus Christ, he had to get out of here, get away from her. And to think he'd called her insane?
He was a fucking madman at the moment.
When he looked up, Lassiter was right in front of him. "Not now - "
The angel hauled back and cocked him so hard, he didn't just see stars; he saw whole fucking galaxies of them.
As he hit the concrete wall behind him, the angel grabbed the front of his shirt and slammed him back again, rattling his molars.
When his vision finally cleared, that pierced face was nothing short of a demon's mask, the features distorted by the kind of anger that required a gravedigger's cleanup.
"You're an asshole," Lassiter barked. "A total fucking asshole."
Tohr tilted to the side and spit out blood. "Was it Maury or Ellen who taught you to judge character."
A long finger was shoved into his face. "Listen to me very carefully, because I'm going to say this only once."
"Wouldn't you rather hit me again? I know I'd get more out of it - "
Lassiter threw him into the wall again. "Shut up. And listen to me. You win."
"Excuse me?"
"You've got what you wanted. Wellsie's condemned for eternity - "
"What the - "
The third slam cut him off. "It's over. Done." He pointed to the closed door of Autumn's room. "You just killed your chance when you ripped her apart."
Tohr lost it, his emotions detonating. "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about - you don't know shit! You haven't had a clue about any of this, not me, not her - not your job! What the fuck have you done here for the last year? Nothing! You've been sitting on your ass watching talk shows while my Wellsie's disappearing! You're a goddamn waste of time!"
"Really. Okay - you're so fucking brilliant, how about this." Lassiter released him and stepped back. "I quit."
"You can't quit - "
Lassiter flashed his middle finger. "I just did."
The angel turned away and stalked down the hall.
"You're fucking quitting! That's great - fucking great! Talk about staying true to someone's character, you selfish son of a bitch!"
All he got was another bird flipped over the shoulder.
With a vicious curse, Tohr made a move to go after the guy, but then stopped himself. Spinning around, he threw out a quick jab, punching the concrete so hard, he felt his knuckles break. And what do you know, the pounding pain in the back of his hand wasn't even close to the agony in his chest.
He was absolutely raw, inside and out.
Taking off in the opposite direction from that angel, he found himself at the heavy steel door that opened into the parking lot. With no clue what he was doing or where he was going, he sent it flying wide on its hinges, and marched out into the chilly air, going to the right, heading up the incline, passing the empty spaces that were demarcated with yellow paint.
He went all the way to the back, to the farthest wall, and sat his ass down on the cold, hard asphalt, his shoulders against the damp concrete.
As he breathed hard, he felt like he was in the goddamn tropics - likely the tail end of the needing's effect on his body: Even though he'd been out like a light from the drugs, he had had plenty of exposure, his balls aching as if he'd put them in a vise, his cock still hard, his joints sore as if he had strained even in the morphine haze.
Gritting his teeth, he sat alone and stared straight ahead, into the darkness.
This was the only safe place for him at the moment.
Probably for a while.
When Layla heard shouting, she poked her head out of the gymnasium to see who was yelling - and immediately ducked back inside. Tohr and Lassiter were having a set-to, and that was not anything she had to get involved with.
She had her own problems.
In spite of Autumn's needing, she had stayed down in the clinic for the night, knowing she had spent some time up at the Sanctuary recently, so there was no reason to worry about her cycle. More to the point, however, she had nowhere else to go. Qhuinn and John were no doubt talking to the king and the Primale at the main house, and soon enough she would be summoned to learn of her fate.
Faced with possible exile - or worse, death for aiding a traitor - she had spent the hours upon hours upon hours walking around the edges of the gym's honey-colored floor, passing the bleachers and the benches, and the entrances into the PT suite, and the doors out into the corridor. And then going back by them all again.
Her anxiety was such that it spooled out tension like a wool spinner, the twisted threads reaching up to encircle her throat and winding down to constrict her gut.
She thought relentlessly about Xcor and his second lieutenant. She had been used by them both - but especially the latter. Xcor hadn't wanted to partake of her vein. He had fought it - and when she had overridden him, there had been deep regret in his eyes because he had known exactly what position he was putting her in. The other soldier had had no such compulsion.
Indeed, she blamed him - whatever fell upon her head, it was his doing. Mayhap she would be reincarnated as a ghost and could haunt him for the rest of his nights... of course, that was assuming she would be put to death. And if she was not, what was she going to do? Surely they would strip her of her duties herein as well as her Chosen status. Where would she go? She had nothing of her own, nothing that had not been provided at the behest of the king or the Primale.
Continuing on her loop, she confronted yet again the emptiness of her breathing days, and wondered what purpose she would serve in the future -
The door opened at the far end, and she stopped.
All four of them had come to find her: The king, the Primale, Qhuinn and John Matthew.
Straightening her spine, she crossed the gym down its middle, holding their eyes. When she got close enough, she curtsied down to the floor and did not wait to be addressed. Court manners were the least of her problems.
"My lord. I am prepared to accept all responsibility - "
"Rise, Chosen." A hand appeared in front of her face. "Rise and be at ease."
As she gasped and looked up, the king's smile was gentle, and he didn't wait for her to respond. Bending to her, he gathered her palm in his and helped her up from her supplication. And when she glanced at the Primale, his eyes seemed impossibly kind.
She just shook her head and addressed Wrath. "My lord, I fed your enemy - "
"Did you know who he was at the time?"
"No, but - "
"Did you believe that you were helping a fallen soldier?"
"Well, yes, but - "
"Have you sought him out again?"
"Absolutely not, but - "
"Did you in fact tell John and Qhuinn where he was when you were leaving town last night."
"Yes, but - "
"Enough with the buts then." The king smiled again and put his hand to her face, brushing her cheek lightly in spite of his blindness. "You've got a big heart, and they knew it. They took advantage of your trust, and used you."
Phury nodded. "I should have told you who you were feeding in the first place, but the war's a messy, nasty business, and I didn't want you to get sucked into it. It never dawned on me that Throe would seek you out - but I shouldn't be surprised. The Band of Bastards is ruthless to the core."
In a rush, she put her free hand up to her mouth, holding in a sob. "I'm so sorry - I swear to the both of you - I had no idea - "
Phury stepped in and drew her against him. "It's okay. Everything's okay.... I don't want you to think about this again."
As she turned her head to the side to rest it upon his heavy pectoral, she knew that wasn't possible. Unwittingly or not, she had betrayed the only family she had, and that wasn't the kind of thing someone could just shrug off - even if her stupidity was forgiven. And these past tense hours, when her fate had been unknown and her loneliness revealed to its fullest extent, were not going to be brushed away, either.
"The only thing I ask," Wrath said, "is that if he contacts you again - if any of them do - you tell us immediately."
She pulled free and had the temerity to reach for the king's dagger hand. As if Wrath knew what she wanted, he gave his palm over to her readily, the great black diamond flashing on his finger.
Bowing her head and placing her lips upon the symbol of the monarchy, she spoke in the Old Language. "With all that I have, and all that I am, I so swear."
As she made the pact with her king, in front of the Primale and two witnesses, an image of Xcor played across her mind's eye. She remembered every detail about his face and his warrior's body -
From out of nowhere, a shot of heat speared through her.
It mattered not, however. Her body might be a traitor; her heart and soul were not.
Straightening, she stared at the king. "Let me help you find him," she heard herself say. "My blood is in his veins. I can - "
Qhuinn cut her off. "Absolutely not. No fucking way - "
She ignored him. "Let me prove to you my fealty."
Wrath shook his head. "You don't have to. You're a female of worth, and we're not endangering your life."
"I agree," the Primale said. "We'll deal with those fighters. They're nothing for you to worry about - and now I want you to take care of yourself. You look exhausted, and you must be starved - go get yourself some food and have a sleep at the mansion."
Wrath nodded. "I'm sorry we took so long to come to you. Beth and I were down in Manhattan having some R and R, and we just arrived back at nightfall."
Layla nodded and agreed with everything else that was said, but only because she was suddenly too exhausted to stay on her feet much longer. Fortunately, the king and the Primale left soon thereafter, and then Qhuinn and John took over, leading her back to the mansion, taking her to the kitchen, and sitting her down at the counter as they popped open refrigerator and pantry doors.
It was sweet of them to want to wait on her, especially given that they didn't know their way around even boiling an egg. The thought of food turned her stomach, however, making her gag.
"No, please," she said, waving away leftovers from First Meal. "Oh... dearest Virgin Scribe... no."
As they fixed themselves plates of turkey and mashed potatoes and some kind of broccoli mix, she tried not to see or smell any of it.
"What's the matter?" Qhuinn said as he slid onto the stool next to her.
"I don't know." She should have been relieved that Wrath and Phury were so forgiving of her transgression. Instead, she was more anxious than ever. "I don't feel right... I want to help. I want to make amends. I - "
John began signing something from over by the microwave - but whatever it was, Qhuinn shook his head and refused to translate.
"What is he saying?" she demanded. When she got no response, she put her hand on the male's arm. "What's he saying, Qhuinn?"
"Nothing. John ain't sayin' no goddamn thing."
The other male didn't appreciate the shutout, but he didn't argue either as he prepared a second plate of food, no doubt for Xhex.
After John excused himself to go feed his shellan, the silence in the kitchen was broken only by the sound of Qhuinn's silverware against his plate.
It was not long before she was ready to jump out of her skin, and to keep from screaming, she began to pace around.
"You really should rest," Qhuinn murmured.
"I can't seem to settle."
"Try to eat something."
"Dearest Virgin Scribe, no. My stomach's a mess - and it's so hot in here."
Qhuinn frowned. "No, it isn't."
Layla just kept walking, faster and faster - and she supposed it was because she was trying to get away from the images in her head: Xcor looking up at her. Xcor taking her vein. Xcor's big body... his massive, warrior body laid out before her and clearly aroused from the taste of her blood -
"What the hell are you thinking about?" Qhuinn asked darkly.
She stopped short. "Nothing. Nothing at all."
Qhuinn shifted on his stool, and then abruptly shoved his half-eaten food away.
"I should leave you," she announced.
"Nah, it's cool. Guess I'm tetchy, too."
As he got up from the counter with his dishes, her eyes traveled down his torso and widened. He was... aroused.
Just as she was.
Remnants of Autumn's needing, clearly -
The heat wave came over her in such a rush, she barely had time to grab onto the granite counter to keep herself standing, and she coudn't respond as she heard Qhuinn shout her name from a distance.
Need gripped her body, fisting her womb, making her buckle under its force.
"Oh... dearest Virgin Scribe..." Between her legs, her sex opened, the blossoming having nothing to do with Xcor or Qhuinn or any outside force.
The arousal came from inside of herself.
Her needing...
It hadn't been enough. The visits to the Sanctuary hadn't been enough to keep her from being caught by Autumn's -
The next surge of yearning threatened to take her to her knees, but Qhuinn was there to catch her before she hit the hard tile. As he dragged her into his arms, she knew she didn't have much time to be rational. And knew the resolution that abruptly came upon her was at once utterly unfair and totally undeniable.
"Service me," she said, cutting off whatever it was he was saying to her. "I know you don't love me, and I know we won't be together afterward, but service me so that I can have something that's mine. So you can have something that's yours."
As the blood drained out of his face and his mismatched eyes bulged, she forged on, talking in fast gasps. "We both have no true family. We're both alone. Service me... service me and change all that. Service me so that we may each have a future that is at least partially our own.... Service me, Qhuinn.... I beg of you... service me...."