38. Elara

Chapter 38

Elara

THE JEWEL

T he aftershocks of pleasure still ripple through me as I sink into Cav's warm, lacerated chest. My body bears the imprint of Wilder, Cav, Axe and Kaspian's touch, a map of sensations I'm still learning to navigate. Even as I catch my breath, it feels like a dream—a dark, twisted fantasy that I never knew I wanted until it happened.

"Quite a sight to behold," Kaspian drawls, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he saunters into the room. His gaze flicks over the three of us, a wicked grin on his lips. "I must say, I'm almost disappointed we missed the main event."

Axe follows close behind, rolling his shoulders as he walks. The atmosphere in the room shifts with the arrival of Kaspian's silky menace and Axe's lethal quiet, but not in the way many would think.

They complete my home.

Cav shifts underneath me, propping up on one elbow to regard Kaspian coolly. "It's not our fault you were late."

I move to cover myself, a sudden surge of self-consciousness washing over me even as I ache from letting these guys do whatever they wanted while I got off each time. But Cav's arm tightens around me, reminding me that I'm all of theirs, now, and have been for a while.

Only Wilder remains still, his eyes closed and unfazed by their entrance while he reclines on the fainting couch.

Axe moves deeper into the room, bypassing Cav and me to settle down next to Wilder. His bulky height dwarfs the other man's lean shape, but their connection is undeniable, a bond formed from years of brotherhood.

"Do you need them to draw you a picture?" Axe's baritone rumbles the question to Kaspian, but his steel gray eyes don't waver from mine, forcing my heart into a wild gallop.

Kaspian eyes me sidelong with a suspicious quirk at the corner of his mouth. "The show may be over, but encores are never off the table."

A blush burns my cheeks, but I don't shrink back from his statement. I am no innocent dove to be coddled and protected—not anymore—and these four men have made sure of that.

As different as they are, each man resonates with a purpose, an unspoken oath to protect me and what we share.

It feels like I've become their hallowed ground, and they're the devils I let dance on it.

And then, just when I sense their collective need to pounce on me again, the sound of bare feet padding on the floors heralds Sasha's arrival.

She appears in the doorway, a tub of ice cream clutched in her hands and her soft curls all frizzed out like she'd stuck her finger in a socket.

"Oh, my sweet baby Jesus," she says, the whites of her eyes obvious as she takes in the sight before her. "I go away for a few hours to drown my sorrows in mint chocolate chip and I return to find..." She pauses, her gaze sweeping over the room. "Well, it looks like some sort of sinful Renaissance painting."

Her faux-scandalized tone has Cav breaking into laughter, his chest shaking beneath me. Wilder cracks an eye open to regard our intruder with lazy amusement before closing it again.

Sasha sidles closer, arranging herself onto one of the plush armchairs as if she's settling in for a movie.

"I think I'm going to need more ice cream," she mutters, staring hard at what's left of her pint.

Kaspian counters with a sly grin. "Ice cream won't be enough to erase this image from your mind."

"And yet," she shoots back, "It's a scene that keeps entering my reality."

She takes another dramatic scoop of ice cream.

Axe pulls off his shirt and then hands it to me. I accept it gratefully, enjoying all too much the warmth of his body heat and the smell of him lingering in the dark green fabric, it's oversized length swallowing my thighs.

Sasha's jaw drops at the sight of Axe's mutilated chest, obvious even through the multiple strips of gauze. "Okay, I definitely need more ice cream and maybe a few shots of vodka."

Wilder snorts at that, not bothering to open his eyes. "Innocent is the last thing you are, Sterling. You helped save us by putting your two boyfriends in a coma."

Sasha points her spoon at Wilder. "Don't make me come over there and do the same to you, pretty boy."

Cav loops his arms around me as I resettle on his lap, his body a shielding presence against my back. "Seriously, Sasha. Are you okay after … everything?"

Sasha looks up. She stares at me, her usual spark of mischief dimmed by the weight of recent events. I can tell she's considering her response carefully, weighing the gravity of what's happened against the instinctive pull to lighten the mood.

A soft sigh escapes her lips. "It's not exactly what I had in mind for a Saturday evening. I mean, I was hoping for maybe a movie night, some popcorn... Casual human sacrifice wasn't really on my agenda."

A tidal pressure enters into the room at her words. Wilder's eyes open, Kaspian's snide expression falls a fraction, and even Cav's grip on me tightens while Axe's mouth thins to an even grimmer level.

Sasha simply meets their gazes head-on.

"But hey," she continues, managing a shrug as if we hadn't just spent the night fighting a murderous cult, as if she hadn't just been chained and forced to watch me almost die. "Upside is, I got a pretty good workout and I'm pretty sure I lost like five pounds from stress alone."

The tension eases slightly at that. Axe huffs out an amused breath.

"We owe you, Sasha," he murmurs.

"Are you okay, El?" she says next.

Sasha's simple question stirs the four men, like they've been reminded that I am, indeed, not just theirs, but also a woman who has faced terrors previously foreign to her.

"I'm more than alright," I reply, reassuring her and myself.

Sasha's gracious nod confirms she understands the pretext under my answer—that this entanglement with these men is my choice.

I linger on each man in turn, drinking in the sight of them.

Alive, safe.

And perhaps this is what it takes to create something real, something that matters.

As if reading my thoughts, Kaspian says, "We've got a lot of work ahead of us. The Court won't fix itself."

Wilder grunts his agreement from his sprawl on the couch.

Axe, watching the exchange with a thoughtful expression, adds his input. "We need to ensure that what happened tonight never happens again."

Cav says, "We stand against an entity that has wielded power in Titan Falls for centuries. Victory won't come easy."

Everyone nods.

Kaspian continues, "We can all agree that the title of Sovereign died with them. If we're to take over, we need a name. Something befitting what we've done and what we'll continue to do."

Wilder chuckles, nudging Axe with his foot. "I didn't realize we were starting a band."

Sasha laughs, a delightful sound that bounces off the walls and softens any of our flashbacks. "Oh my God! Yes! I vote for Sinister Skulls."

"Pass," Cav says almost immediately. Sasha throws him a mock glare.

"Barbarians, then?" she suggests next, which earns an amused snort from Axe.

I'm quiet for a moment, idly circling my thumb on the chair's velvet arm.

"The Regents."

Wilder sits up at my voice. "The Regents?" he repeats questioningly.

"Yes," I say with more confidence as the name takes hold. "As in governance without a monarch." I glance at each stunning, devious face in turn. "Isn't that essentially what you are? Leaders without sovereignty?"

Kaspian gifts me with a rare smile. "It has a certain ring to it."

Cav nods, a deadly glint in his eye. "The Regents. Simple. Powerful."

"Unforgettable," Axe adds, his smile sharp enough to cut.

The name settles over us like a mantle. These men are no longer nameless survivors or rebels. They aren't just ‘the guys' to me anymore, or even the Untouchable Four my sweet, ignorant past-self dubbed them.

They're the nightmare other monsters fear.

I study each of them—Cav, Kaspian, Axe, and Wilder. My Regents. My monsters. My lovers. My family. They sense my stare, and I see everything they've been through in their multi-colored eyes, everything they're capable of.

I've walked through hell with these men. Now, I'm ready to rule it with them.

The Regents aren't the heroes of this story. But they're mine, and I finally feel whole.