16. Oria

When Demitri showed up in my room, I immediately thought Tay had betrayed me. When they mentioned Mother, I didn't know what to believe. Why would Mother send them? Was it because she knew there was a breach in our defenses?

Why then would Demitri put his hands on me and tell me I owed him for having to come back. I shivered from the awful slimy feeling that lingered as I stared at him on the floor.

"What does that mean, Sunshine?" Gray asked.

All this uncertainty was making me very anxious. I had no idea of who I could trust, even the obvious person would be my mother, but why would she send Demitri out of all people? She would have sent Tay unless… she knew what we had been doing.

My breath quickened as I feared the decision I had to make. So many possibilities raced through my mind that all of them sounded plausible, but then they all sounded wrong.

"Ria? Ria! Ria!?"

One of the twins yelled, but I couldn't get out of my head. Fear was holding me captive as any decision just made me feel even more trapped. I was useless, naive, and weak. Everything Mother had told me was true. I was not made for the outside world. I would never be enough. I needed her.

"Sunshine."

I was enveloped in warmth, easing my chaotic mind.

"Breathe, Blondie."

I took a shuddering breath.

"Give me another one."

I listened again until I was breathing normally, and two bodies were pressed up against me. Gray and Soren. Two vampires. One who hated me and one who was sweet to me. Two sides of a coin. Men who could kill me in an instant, but chose to comfort me instead. I didn't know how I felt about that, but I was grateful for their kindness.

"Thank you." I mumbled against someone"s chest.

My hands were splayed against a very firm chest as another was pressed up against my back. It should have been awkward, but I found myself wanting to be closer to them.

"Are you ok?" I didn't know which twin had asked.

"I think so," I said sheepishly.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," I said truthfully, wondering what their intentions were and that I didn't need to be showing my cards just yet… even though they felt safe.

One of them sighed harshly, getting up and leaving the room, immediately making me miss his warmth and the sense of security I had felt.

"I'm sorry," I said, pushing him away, but he held on tight.

"Don't be, I know I'm the last person you can trust, but I promise I won't hurt you or let anyone hurt you." His voice was full of conviction and I knew for sure it was Gray.

"That's what everyone says," I whispered.

A pang of sadness hit me, it was so strong and came out of nowhere that I don't know if it was mine or possibly Gray's. I pulled away slightly looking up at him. The twins were so gorgeous. It made me extremely self-conscious especially when he was so close to me, holding me like I was someone who mattered to him.

"Don't be sad for me," I said, testing my theory.

"Have those men hurt you before?"

Anger replaced the sadness, and it was so fierce, it almost felt like my own.

"No, they haven't," I said, wondering if Demitri was still in my room.

"Who hurt you?" His voice held a lethal edge that made me shiver.

"Does it matter?" Gray looked toward my door before looking back at me with controlled anger.

Goddess, he was hot when he was angry.

"With you, Sunshine, it will always matter," he said, pulling me in for another hug that put me at ease but made me want more.

It felt so good to be in his arms. He felt safe.

"Thank you for stepping in," I said, trying to think of anything that would make him stay a little longer.

"You're welcome," he said, pulling away.

Disappointment hit me instantly as I tried to hide it.

Meow.

Loki climbed into my lap pushing his head against my boobs.

"Hey there, bud," I scratched behind his ear as he meowed again. "He's hungry, would you mind feeding him? Unless…"

I held up my hand that was still cuffed to a chain.

"As much as I want to release you, I need to speak to Soren first," he said, getting up and holding his hand out for me.

I pursed my lips in disappointment.

"I'm sorry. He needs to release you, or I need to find the incantation to release you," he said looking guilty. "I'll feed Catzilla and grab you something to eat."

I tried not to blame him for my predicament, but I was irritated that I was confined to my room and chained to the wall.

"Thank you," I said, walking to my window to see dusk settling over the tower.

"Come on Catzilla," he called out to Loki who hissed at the name.

I kept my face impassive even though I liked the name. Loki stayed in the middle of the room, staring at me.

"Go, bud. I know you're starving," I said.

He cocked his head at me and I swear he was debating if he should go or just starve. When he walked to the door, I smiled. My little Catzilla was never one to miss a meal.

Gray broughtme several meals before I grew impatient of being stuck in my room. He always gave me his, "he was working on it" excuse, but how long was it going to take for his brother to quit being an asshole? But one meal time, Gray came in with blood splattered on his neck.

"I hope that's hot sauce," I said, pointing at his neck.

"Hot sauce?" he asked confused, setting down my tray of food before wiping his neck and seeing the red on his hand.

"Blood?" I raised my brow at him. "Are you and Soren getting into fights?"

He clenched his jaw, he was indecisive.

"No, no fights between us," he said, not offering up more.

I glared at him hoping he would give me more information, but he was being silent.

"Then, what is taking so long?" I snapped. "I can't leave this place, so it"s not like I could go anywhere."

My anger got the best of me.

"What do you mean?"

Fuck this; if he wasn't going to tell me shit, then I wasn't going to tell him shit either. I looked out my window into the night, ignoring him.

He sighed before sitting on the edge of the bed. The interrogation was about to start and as much as I liked Gray, I wasn't ready to tell them everything for fear that they would use me like everyone else.

"We've been interrogating Demitri," he said softly. "Soren is worried more people are going to come and we want to be prepared. He hasn"t given up a lot of information, but he did say something that piqued our interest."

My heart pounded faster, my hands grew clammy and I dreaded what he was going to say next. My anonymity was ruined and once they knew I was the source of Oria, who knows what Soren would do.

"That he's been picking up vials of Oria from here for about fifty years," he said, as I felt his gaze. "He also admitted to coming on his own because he felt entitled to receive more than he's been getting."

Relief coursed through me that Tay didn't send them. His betrayal hurt worse than Mother's. As much as I would like to believe Mother loved me and would do anything to protect me, I'm pretty sure she would sacrifice me to save herself.

"Demitri has always been loud about what he's owed. He's never liked his captain and since Merrick despises him, Tay has had to deal with him," I said, looking at Gray.

"So, is my assumption correct if I say Tay is a pirate like Merrick?" Gray pushed the tray to me.

"Yes," I confirmed wanting to eat, but not eating on principle.

"Merrick is a good friend of mine, and I can't say that I've met Tay, but I do know that Merrick is very particular about who he keeps around," he said, getting comfortable on my bed. "Can Tay be trusted?"

My immediate answer was yes, but now I was hesitant.

Don't trust anyone. Not even me.

I shivered from the memory of just a few months ago looking up into Gray's emerald gaze.

"I don't know," I said, grabbing the sandwich he made me, to give my hands something to do.

"Did he hurt you?" Gray's lethal voice gave me shivers.

"No, he's never hurt me," I said. "Tay has made this place bearable. He's given me music and books."

He nodded, but his face had a sour expression like he didn't like what I had just told him.

"Do you like music, Sunshine?"

"I love music. Tay just gave me a rectangular device that plays music on it, and I can also read on it," I said, getting up from my bed to grab the device from the charger.

"Does your phone work here?" He sat up, sounding excited as I brought the phone to him.

"Yeah, I can play things on it," I said, handing it over to him.

"Oh, you don't have service," he said in disappointment, lacing his tone.

"What's service?" I looked over his shoulder to the device, seeing him quickly going through several boxes moving through the device with ease.

"He gave this to you?" ignoring my service question.

"Uh yeah, my birthday is soon, so this was my present, since I'm stuck here," I said, hating that I just spilled my secrets for him like I had no filter.

"Does it have movies on it?" He pressed a few buttons on it.

"Movies on the phone?" I didn't know how you could put them on the phone.

Didn't you need a projector for that?

"Yeah, or a streaming service," he said, still toying with the phone.

What was a streaming service?

"You're confusing me," I said, trying to lean over to see what he was doing. "What service, how can a movie be on that device and what is a streaming service?"

He looked up at me with wide eyes. "You really have no connection to the outside world?"

I shook my head, feeling my cheeks heat up. "I know a few things from books and magazines."

"Service is so you can use the phone to make calls or use the internet," he said, but I made a face when he said internet, not understanding what he meant. "You don't know what the internet is either?"

I shook my head again, making him smirk.

"When was the last time you left this mountain range?"

I pursed my lips together to keep my emotions at bay. "Seventy-five years."

"Sunshine, how old are you turning?" He looked thoughtful as I felt his curiosity.

"I can't tell you," I said, worrying again.

It was only a matter of time before Gray used me like everyone else. He must have seen something in my eyes for him not to question me again.

"I know you don't believe me, but I would never hurt you," he sighed. "I can't imagine you being left here for that long. It must be a lonely existence, and no one should have to suffer through that."

My throat grew tight and my nostrils flared from trying to keep my tears at bay, but the emotion was overwhelming. A few tears escaped as I turned away. Gray took the sandwich out of my hand, placing it on the tray before picking it up and setting it somewhere else. I wiped my tears that wouldn't stop falling.

A soft song started to play when I turned towards Gray, who climbed onto the bed with me. He pulled me into his firm chest, laying us down as the first word of the song was sung.

My cheek laid against his firm pec, resting my arm against his abs. He ran his hand through my hair, comforting me. More tears ran down my cheeks, reveling in his comforting embrace. I didn't realize how I needed this desperately and I didn"t know how to thank him for this small piece of comfort. It was a gift.

We laid down as the song talked about kissing in cars, movies and sitting close to each other. It talked about everything I wanted to experience and more. Gray sang the last part of the song softly, easing my broken heart and giving me so much. It was a moment of normalcy that I was starved for. It would have been better if I hadn't been chained in my room, but it was a memory I would cherish forever. We listened to song after song with Gray softly singing, easing my burden of loneliness.