9. Elara

Chapter 9

Elara

I pace the hallway, boots thudding on the marble, my bones clanging with each step.

Cav's bedroom door creaks open, and Axe emerges, his storm-gray eyes finding mine, turbulent and clouded. Kaspian and Wilder trail him, faces grim, Kaspian wincing as he adjusts his injured shoulder.

It took mere minutes for Cav to surrender to the pain medication and fall asleep. I slipped out of his unconscious arm-lock with more flexibility than I thought I possessed, Wilder promising to explain everything after we made Cav comfortable.

I thought my mother shooting Kaspian was bad. Now, after tending to Cav and pulling away the thick bandages on his chest to reveal that … that horror …

I rush to them, questions spilling out. "Is he going to be all right? What did they do to him?"

Axe drapes a muscular arm across my shoulders, pulling me close while maneuvering me away from Cav's room, no doubt sensing my urge to lock Kaspian in there with Cav to keep both of them from further death-defying injuries. "He'll heal, Elara."

Axe's assurance rings hollow. I twist under his arm to stare at Cav's door, fighting the impulse to charge in and demand answers. The fever, hallucinations about a curse—Cav needs more than ointment and pills.

I glance at Kaspian, but his jaw only clenches, refusing to meet my stare.

"We need to get you both to a hospital," I insist, my voice rising with each word. "Whatever they did to Cav, it's beyond our ability to treat. And you, Kaspian—can we really trust how Rossi treated you after what happened?"

For that reason, Sasha stayed behind with Mom after we both verified with the EMTs of the private ambulance who they were associated with, confirmed where they were going, and forced them to link our phones so we could track their movements. Sasha climbed into the ambulance with my mother the minute Axe muttered into Kaspian's ear, and Kaspian— Kaspian —turned pale.

I'd spent enough time desperately trying to read my mother's lips while she silently chanted, worried that she might be planning to hurt herself, that I read Axe as saying, Cav's getting worse.

It didn't take me long to convince them to take me, considering both were reluctant to let me go after the Vultures recently tried to take me away.

Now, Axe tenses into living stone. Wilder vocalizes Axe's concern, asking Kaspian in a low, menacing undertone, "Explain what went on with you and Elara. I didn't press you in front of Cav and politely refrained from interrogating you the instant you smuggled Elara in, but Kasp, you vanished after the blood ritual."

Blood ritual? My mind instantly flashes back to the angry slashes across Cav's chest. Sigils carved into his flesh, carrying some terrible meaning.

Kaspian dismisses Wilder's questions with a weary shake of his head.

He says to me, eyes hooded and bleak, "Hospitals are too risky."

I start to argue, but Axe interrupts. "Trust us, Elara. We handle this regularly."

His arm constricts around me, meant to comfort but only stoking my frustration. I shrug him off and plant myself in their path, halting our progress.

"This isn't right. Look at what's being done to you. It's not worth it." I shake my head, thoughts churning and tears building. "Maverick's fate was undeserved, and Cav's is no better. Look what your leaders inflicted on him." I point behind them with a shaking, furious finger, indicating where we just came. " Look! "

Seconds tick by. They don't move.

Kaspian shifts his weight and flinches, the motion jarring his shoulder.

Axe's jaw flexes, a muscle jumping beneath his stubbled skin. He glances at the others, communicating in their private language.

That just enrages me further. "I am a part of this. My Anderton bloodline gave you a piece of the ruby, so don't you dare use your secret society eye language in front of me?—"

Wilder steps closer, hands raised. "Elara, we can't risk?—"

"I don't care about the risk!" The words rip from my throat, echoing in the vast hall. "Cav's hurt. Badly. And so are you, Kaspian, because of my mother." I bark out a heartbroken laugh. "My fragile, emotionally wounded mother shot you. This is what it's come to. No, it's all because of this fucking jewel . Because of the Sovereigns."

Kaspian sighs, raking a hand through his hair. "We don't have a choice. You may be an Anderton, but you don't have a clue about the Court."

"Then do me a favor and enlighten me," I snap.

Behind Cav's door, a crash sounds, followed by a strangled cry.

Surprise twists into concern when I recognize the voice as Cav's. I lunge into the space between Axe and Wilder to race back to the room, but Axe intercepts me, his large frame blocking the way.

"Let me through," I demand, straining against his hold. "You said he'd be knocked out. That Cav would rest."

It was the only way they could convince me to leave him.

Kaspian interjects, "You don't want to see him like this."

Another roar rips through the air, raw and agonized. It tears at my heart, my very soul. I thrash in Axe's grip, desperate to reach Cav and somehow ease his suffering.

Wilder shoulders past us and disappears into the room, the door slamming shut behind him. I sag against Axe, tears building as Cav's shouting grows more tormented, more inhuman, with each passing second.

"What have they done to him?" I ask brokenly.

Kaspian's gaze darkens, his hand tightening into a fist. He says in a tone edged with hunger, "If they've crushed him beyond repair, I'll tear them apart myself and happily suffer the consequences."

The violence frightens me, but I understand the sentiment. Ever since I've learned about the Sovereigns, I've entertained similar thoughts.

"Come on," Axe says, moving me along with little effort. "There's nothing more we can do here. We'll wait for Wilder in the kitchen."

I somehow let him guide me down the hallway as Cav's howls chase us. Each one pierces me, a blade twisting in my gut. But these guys have been with each other for years. Wilder would know what to do to calm him.

"I'm tainted! It's inside me now. The curse melts my bones, tars my blood. You can't stop it. YOU CAN'T STOP IT!"

Wilder's deep, soothing voice follows the screams.

The kitchen is as cold, sterile, and dim as last time, as if these boys can't stand the light. All stainless steel and marble, hard and imposing.

Axe deposits me in a chair at the island, then moves to the fridge.

He stands with his arm slung over the fridge door, blinking rapidly. He gives a rough jerk of his head with a furrowed brow, mumbling something close to, "I'm getting her food," before his confusion clears, and he glances over.

"You want anything?" he asks, his voice gruff.

I shake my head, not trusting myself to speak. My hands tremble where they rest on the cool countertop. Kaspian comes in and collapses onto a stool with a groan, his face ashen. He fumbles in his pocket and withdraws an orange pill bottle, shaking out two capsules. He tosses them back dry.

"What are those?" I ask.

"Antibiotics. Painkillers." He shrugs with his good shoulder. "Whatever Rossi gave me."

"And you trust them?" I ask again. "After what he tried to do?"

Kaspian levels me with a look. "No. But I don't have much choice, do I?"

Their private chef silently walks through the doors, setting down green tea, before he disappears from wherever he came from. I stare down at it, not seeing hot tea, but steaming guilt.

I forced Rossi on Kaspian, asked for the Vultures' help when I knew full well they're the enemy. And it's not just college fraternity level dislike. The animosity between these two groups runs deeper, closer to warring factions who deal in death than campus rivalries.

"I didn't have a choice," I say more to myself than to Kaspian. "It was either that or call the police and get my mother arrested, or do nothing and let you die."

Kaspian arches a brow in a way where he clearly expected me to choose the latter.

"Mom doesn't deserve to go to jail for protecting me from you, and I would never leave you to die," I clip out, then pick up the teacup. The porcelain is so delicate, with painted purple irises. So different from the brute force currently surrounding me.

Axe sets a glass of water in front of Kaspian, then leans against the counter, crossing his arms. "We need to talk about what happened with the Sovereigns. The blood ritual. And then we can go over what you did to cause Elara's mother to point a gun and actually shoot you."

Axe's tone indicates Kaspian is substantially better at avoiding targeted bullets than what he demonstrated today.

He's right. I focus on Kaspian with a little more concern. What made him so distracted that he couldn't use his expertise to disarm my mom in time?

Me?

Kaspian's nostrils flare. He glances at me, something indecipherable cracking through the winter in his eyes, before looking away. "Not now."

"Then when?" Axe pushes off the counter, muscles under his thin T-shirt clenching. "Cav is in there screaming his fucking lungs out, carved up like a Christmas ham. You've got a hole in your shoulder. And Elara's caught in the middle of all this shit."

I flinch at his rare, harsh words and their honesty.

Kaspian must notice, too, because he sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face. "Then you fucking explain it to her."

Kaspian drops his hand from his face and regards his brother-in-arms. At Axe's lowered brows, a deliberate shading of emotion.

Kaspian realizes it at the same time I do: Axe goes quiet because he can't recall everything.

"The ritual Cav went through was to bind us to the jewel," Kaspian says finally, his voice flat. "It's meant to make us into... controllable weapons for the Sovereigns to use, or that's what we've figured, ever since they started on Axe. They want something, or someone, to possess us."

Horror floods me. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You saw what they did to him!" Kaspian slams his fist on the counter, making me jump. "It may sound ridiculous. It's fucking deluded. But the Sovereigns believe it. They believe this ruby has magical properties going all the way back to Sarah Anderton."

I take in a quivering breath. "Do you all really think we're searching for a supernatural ruby with powers?"

"Fuck, no. Axe, Wilder and I—we know there's no such thing." A muscle ticks in Kaspian's jaw. "But Cav..."

Axe lifts his chin, his features sharpening as he latches on to Kaspian's story and is able to continue it. "The Sovereigns believe that the Heart possesses dark properties that can grant them immense power and control over others. They intend to harness this supposed magic to strengthen their hold on the Cimmerian Court and extend their influence beyond our secret society."

I fold my hands over the sides of the teacup, seeking warmth. Needing it. "The blood ritual Cav went through, it's just the beginning, isn't it?"

Axe gives a solemn nod.

Kaspian adds, "It was punishment, too. Binding him to the Heart will make him find it faster. That's what the Sovereigns believe. And he endured it. Cav didn't say a word about the half you gave us. He kept it safe."

The tea I was about to swallow gets caught in my throat. "And Cav seriously believes the Sovereigns succeeded?"

"They took him young," Kaspian says in lieu of an answer. "The Nightshades have been part of the Court since its inception. Cav's father wanted him involved as soon as he knew he was having a boy. They took him and tore at him, piece by piece, until he was nothing more than a vessel. They forced him to endure trials that would break lesser men."

The small sips of tea I managed burn in my stomach, then reaches up as if to burn my heart, too. "How... how did he survive?"

Kaspian's smile returns, but this time, it's tinged with a fierce pride. It's a strange, foreign expression for a man who is proud of so little and only invokes duty. "Because he's a relentless fucker. Even now, he fights. His belief in the ruby's curse—your ancestor's curse—is a burden he may never fully escape, but one we'll help him bear."

I'd gotten it so wrong. Blaming them for Maverick's death, confronting them when they refused to help me and demanding they put Maverick first—put my grief first—when all the while, they are a group of men who shoulder the worst in humanity and want nothing more than to help each other.

They have no obligation to me. They never have. Yet…

Kaspian came to my aid at Farrow Manor tonight the second he understood why Cav endured the Sovereigns' punishment. They were to keep half the Heart, and me , safe.

The thought of having these men's loyalty, as brutal and vicious as they are, makes my belly flip in concerning ways.

I don't want to change them and turn them into moral men. I want these caged animals to fight by my side, fangs and scars and all.

Axe speaks, drawing me out of my stark revelation, "The Sovereigns plan to use the ruby in a final ritual that they believe will give them abilities. Their ultimate goal is to create a legion of unwavering followers who will blindly obey their commands. This current batch of initiates is just the start. They're undergoing trials, tasks, and skill training that are vastly different from how we were brought up the ranks."

As Axe trails off with tight brows, Kaspian continues without missing a beat, "They're willing to go to any lengths to acquire the ruby. Tonight was just a flex."

"This is insane," I whisper. "This is the real world, not a supernatural realm where witches and curses exist."

I gesture around dramatically as if to prove the non-existence of magic through the air alone.

Neither of them need to argue. Cav's unhinged screams filtering down the hall say it all.

Whether or not it's real doesn't matter.

I squeeze my eyes shut as fresh tears threaten. He sounds just like my mother when she's at her worst. This can't be happening.

The kitchen door bangs open and Wilder strides in. Sweat dots his brow and blood stains his hands. My stomach heaves at the sight.

"How is he?" Axe asks.

"Let's just say the sleeping pills didn't take."

He goes to the sink and starts scrubbing his hands, the water running pink.

Then Cav screams again, an inhuman roar that sends ice down my spine. "Carve out the poisoned flesh, seal the curse! The Sovereigns are in my head! Kill me, let me die before they ? —"

I'm out of my seat before I realize it, teacup tipping over and splashing across the counter, porcelain shattering. I run for the door.

Kaspian lunges to block me, but I dodge him in his less-than-invincible state. I race down the hall, my heart a wild drum in my chest, and wrench open Cav's door, stumble to a stop, then freeze.

Cav writhes on the bed, his body arching grotesquely as he roars, clawing at his chest. The bandages are soaked through, more red than white, his skin stretched taut over straining bulges of muscle. His eyes roll wildly, unseeing. Lost in a purgatory I've only just begun to imagine.

"Oh god, Cav," I choke out.

I start forward, reaching for him, desperate to soothe, to help, to do something. But then his head snaps toward me, and he snarls, baring bloodstained teeth. I recoil with a scream caught in my throat.

" You think you can save me? You have no idea what I've done or what I'm capable of. The curse won't let me go, and it's hungry. For you. For your Anderton blood. " His mouth splits into a twisted mockery of a smile. " Can I tear off your wings, little butterfly? "

That's not Cav. It can't be. Whatever the Sovereigns did to his mind ... it's not my Cav in that bed anymore.

It's a demon wearing his skin.

The instinct to give in and run, flee from this nightmarish scene, is all too real, but my feet remain rooted to the spot. Behind me, I hear the thundering footsteps of Axe, Wilder, and Kaspian.

Cav arches off the bed with a howl, blood spraying from his lips. His nails gouge into his chest, tearing at the bandages, ripping into his own flesh. " Carve it out! "

Wilder swears and dives forward, grabbing Cav's wrists and pinning them to the mattress. Kaspian takes the other side of the bed until they're both focusing restraining him. Cav bucks and contorts beneath them, inhuman strength fueled by madness.

"Help us hold him!" Wilder shouts at Axe over his shoulder.

Axe surges forward, taking Cav's flailing legs. They wrestle Cav down, sweat pouring down their faces as they strain against his manic thrashing.

"Cav!" Kaspian snarls, pulling out of his sling and using both arms to hold down one of Cav's, heedless of any pain it might cause his shoulder, the stitches it will tear. "Remember what we've said. What we say to each other when it gets too much. The Court isn't our destiny. It is not our death. There is no curse. You're hurt, the Sovereigns fucked you up, but you are fine. There is no dark magic. Nothing holding your mind. Just us. Your brothers, and Elara."

I hover, hands pressed to my mouth, tears streaming down my cheeks.

Cav's face whips toward me, his eyes seeking mine. For a moment, just a split second, I swear I see a flicker of recognition. A glimmer of the man who so furiously claimed me in this very room, succumbing to that rare emotion of his, the one that binds, the one that parts the black clouds of his life and finds the sky.

And I know what to do.

With trembling fingers, I untie my cloak. The boys are too occupied restraining Cav to notice me undressing behind them. I unbutton my pants and peel off my shirt, my bra and underwear with a light whoosh of sound.

Wilder glances up sharply as if scenting my nakedness. His pupils dilate at the sight of me, with my hair flowing past my shoulders and curling under my breasts.

I start forward. He doesn't stop me.

Movement in his periphery draws Axe's attention, too. He looks at me with a mixture of awe and protectiveness, his arms bunching with corded muscle as he grips Cav's thrashing legs. Yet he only watches me as I move toward them.

Kaspian's focus is on Cav, trying to get him to calm down. But it's like as soon as I get too close, his head snaps up, and his snake-green eyes center on me.

There's no hesitation in my step at their targeted, heated attention, and I crawl onto the bed next to Cav, feeling the cold, sweat, and blood-soaked sheets against my bare knees, and then slide on top of Cav to straddle him.

"Careful, beastie," Kaspian warns.

I run my shaking fingers over Cav's bloody cheekbones. He's now watching me carefully, his teeth poised to snap. Leashing my own terror, I try to reclaim his attention.

Slowly, so slowly, I lean down and press my lips to his bloodstained mouth, tasting the saltiness of his sweat and the metallic tang of his ichor. Cav stiffens, and then something shifts ... his arms relax against Wilder and Kaspian just a fraction. His body goes slack for one sweet moment before he bucks again, but there's less violence in it this time. Less anger.

And it's mainly in his hips, directly below my parted folds.

Kaspian meets my gaze over Cav's twitching form and nods once—sharp enough that I understand that he's curious enough to allow me to tread carefully. I reach down and grasp Cav's hand in mine while Wilder holds his wrist, pressing our palms together. My heart hammers out a rhythm only heard by him now.

"Breathe with me," I say against his ear as I match his shallow breaths with mine.

Cav's hips arch again, his cock twitching under me. Only a single sheet separates us from each other.

Kaspian moves to capture his arm again, but I stop him with a hooded look before turning my focus back on Cav.

"Look at me," I murmur to Cav, my chest rising and falling with his.

Cav struggles for a moment before his gaze clashes with mine, a battle of wills. His hand flexes under my palm in a desperate plea, breaking my heart and turning me on all at once.

Wilder rumbles low in his throat, his gaze rapacious as he takes in the scene.

"Fuck," he mutters under his breath. "I want her, too."

"Get in line," Kaspian murmurs, his eyes as vulturine as Wilder's.

A rush of warmth drenches my pussy at the sight of the three of them staring at me like I'm better than dinner. Like I'm the whole damned five-course meal.

I can't see Axe, but I sense his utter stillness behind me, and have no doubt where his attention lingers while he gets a perfect view of my backside.

Boldly, I reach down and stroke along the length of Cav's cock, another form of soothing, of complete and utter distraction from agony.

"Feel me," I breathe.

Cav's bloodied, chapped lips part, his mouth finally relaxing.

Wilder grabs my hair roughly and yanks my head back, forcing our eyes to meet. His grip on my hair is painful, but it only adds to the growing ache between my legs.

"Fuck her, Cav," he says through clenched teeth without taking his eyes off me. "Fuck her until you come back to us."

Cav doesn't need further instruction. He thrusts into me slowly, letting his hips choose the rhythm as he moves in and out.

The feel of him filling me up makes me moan softly.

"Yes," I whisper, arching my back slightly to take all of him.

Axe's hands press against my ass cheeks as he watches Cav fuck me from behind. I can feel the heat emanating from him, making my pussy clench around Cav's cock even tighter.

In response, Cav picks up the pace, slamming into me harder and deeper with each thrust.

"She's so tight," Cav groans between breaths, his hips moving steadily as he takes control of our connection.

"That's the first logical thing you've said all night," Kaspian says, his tone wicked with sexual approval.

Kaspian's mere voice, velvet and grit and arrogance, soaks my pussy further.

Wilder keeps his grip on the back of my head, holding my gaze captive as Cav's movements grow furious.

Suddenly, Axe grabs both my hips and pushes down roughly, forcing Cav deeper.

Kaspian watches us intently from the other side of the bed, his eyes shrouded with lust as he runs a hand through his usually well-groomed hair.

"She's ours, Cav," Kaspian says. My pussy clenches around Cav's cock in response. "Your only curse is that you have to share her with us, because I'm not fucking letting you have her all to yourself."

With Axe now in control of my hips and Cav's arms free, Cav threads his fingers around the back of my neck, pulling on it gently as he drives himself deeper. His rhythm matches Axe's guidance, making every stroke feel like an electrical current coursing through the three of us.

Kaspian leans closer, his presence adding another level of excitement to the mix. He runs a finger lightly down my cheek before capturing my lower lip under his thumb. It's enough to send sparks flying through every nerve ending in my body.

"You like that?" he asks.

I nod as much as Wilder's hold on my scalp allows, unable to find the words to express how completely overwhelmed I am by these four men.

Even now, they take care of me.

Wilder's grip on my hair tightens as he angles my head back, exposing the column of my throat, the motion dragging Kaspian's thumb until my lip pops free from it. Wilder's teeth graze my pulse point, sending shivers cascading under my skin.

"You're doing so good, sweetwitch," he growls. "Taking Cav's cock to save him."

The slap of skin against skin echoes obscenely in the room, mingling with Cav's and my pants and moans.

Cav's gorgeous blue eyes, once wild and unfocused, now bore into my bouncing breasts with a searing intensity. The madness recedes, replaced by a primal hunger that has my pussy fluttering.

He rasps, his voice hoarse and strained, "I ... I need..."

"I know," I say on a current of breath.

Wilder releases his hold on me, and I lean down to capture Cav's lips in a blood-soaked kiss. I pour everything into it—my worry, my desperation, my stubbornness to convince him that we make the only magic in this world.

As if spurred on by my nips and sucks, Cav's hips snap up with renewed vigor. He fucks into me with abandon, chasing his release.

"Come for me, Cav," I plead against his mouth. "Come back to me."

With a guttural roar, Cav slams into me one final time. His cock pulses as he spills himself deep inside me.

I cry out as my own orgasm crashes through, my walls spasming around Cav's twitching length. Spots dance across my vision.

As the last of the tremors subside, I want to collapse onto Cav's chest but know I can't. I sag sideways, caught by Wilder and settled against his hard chest.

Cav follows my movement, clear-eyed but weary. "Hello, butterfly."

Tears prick at my eyes as relief floods through me. I glance up at Kaspian, Wilder, and Axe, noting the same sentiment reflected in their expressions.

Wilder says above my head with an amused tone, "I don't know whether to call you sweetwitch or curse-breaker, now."

I did it. I brought Cav out of his madness, an ability I thought I didn't possess. A sob of relief escapes me.

I'm not a failure. I can still save someone.

Wilder tightens our hug. Kaspian's cool, weighted study shifts away from me as if he's actually offering a sliver of decency while I collect myself, and Axe stands stoic, a thousand buried thoughts behind his gaze.

The fugue of an orgasm ends too quickly.

With Cav's fresh torture and the Heart split, if tonight proves anything, it's that we'll have to fight like hell to keep our half of it.

But for now, at this moment, I let myself bask in this small victory over the Sovereigns.

They'll soon learn that you don't come between a girl and her men.