Page 105 of Anywhere

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” I answered.

The corner of Rhys’s lip tugged up as he stepped over the flames of the candle boundary into the pentagram. Following suit, I stepped over the line and felt the power increase inside our protected space. I met him in the middle and held out my hands for Rhys to cut.

“Tonight, we accept da choice dat has been made by da spirits,” Rhys said, as he ran the blade over my left palm. “As da second, I accept my one, and I chose to call Rook Adair mine and my number one.” He dragged the blade over my second palm and then held out the knife for me.

The flames grew brighter as they waved back and forth to music only they could hear, while the fog inched past the candles to wrap around our ankles.

“Tonight, we accept the choice that has been made by the spirts,” I said and pulled the tip of the blade across Rhys’s left palm. “As the number one, I accept my second, and I chose to call Rhys McGregor mine and my number two.” As I drew the line across his right palm, the candles turned black, and the flames that rose into the air glowed an eerie red.

Lifting the blade between us, we mirrored one another’s actions as we moved in and pressed our tongues to the flat edge of the blade. I could feel Rhys’s tongue as we licked the blood off from the base to the tip. The taste was divine on my tongue, and the connection roared like it was a living beast as it swirled around the room. Droplets of blood fell to the floor, sizzling before turning to smoke.

With a flick of my wrist the knife sailed through the air, the sharp tip digging into the wooden bookcase. Holding out my hands we linked our fingers together. The moment our bloodied palms met, we sucked in a sharp breath. The power that had been pulling us together from the moment we laid eyes on one another now pierced our hearts as it travelled through our bodies.

“We are the chosen, and tonight, two become one,” we said in unison over and over as we knelt in the middle of the pentagram. The power was so thick that it made it hard to see the books across the room ripple like a wave.

No commands needed to be given. Rhys lay down on his back, and I followed to rest between his open thighs. We never released our grip on each other’s hands. I squeezed harder, and the mingling blood seeped out the sides of our clenched palms. Rhys’s eyes never left mine as I lined myself up to take what I’d been craving. Our chanting stopped, and it was as though even the power held its breath to witness what was about to happen. Only one thin tendril of golden power remained inside the circle. It felt like a delicate caress, encouraging us to continue as it licked all over our naked bodies.

“I am the shadow, born from the blood of the brothers of shadow and death,” Rhys said.

“I am the death, born from the power of the brothers of shadow and death,” I said.

“We are the chosen, and tonight, two become one,” we said together.

I groaned as I pressed into Rhys in one hard stroke that had him arching off the ground in a silent scream.

“We are one,” I growled.

Elewyen

I wandered my bedchamber and looked at everything there was to look at so many times that I could’ve closed my eyes and found my way around. I was curious about the argument with Rook and Rhys, but I wanted to give them their space. I hadn’t even made a firm decision to stay, let alone engage in their quarrel.

Barry jumped around on the ledge as he looked outside. Smiling, I walked over, unlatched the large window, and pushed it open. He didn’t waste a moment before jumping out and running along the vines of the climbing flowers until he reached the tree. I could hear him chattering up a storm but could no longer see him through the mass of leaves that were starting to change colour. Soon, they would be as vibrant as blood and as bright as the sun before they fluttered to the ground.

I may not want to go speak to Rook and Rhys yet, but I really wanted to do something. I had the itch to explore.

“I’ma needin’ ta get out of dis room,” I mumbled.

As I wandered the halls of the large castle, my mind began to wander. Last night had been mind blowing, and I figured that was only the beginning of what they could show me, but the amazing physical attraction didn’t change the fact that this place didn’t feel like home. What Azula told me may have been inaccurate, but my family was out there. I didn’t know if this place and those who lived here would eventually feel like family.

Strolling down a random hall, I checked out each room with an open door. Most were bedrooms, but a couple of smaller rooms held unique pieces. It was like they put all the extra stuff in the smaller rooms to display pieces they had no room for on the main floors.

Continuing on, I looked into another room and was about to walk on when my brain registered what I was staring at. “What da?”

The soft lanterns on the walls were burning low and casting long shadows on things I didn’t understand. It looked like the dungeon room I was in downstairs, but darker and not dirty. Chains hung from the walls and ceiling with leather cuffs on the end. There was an entire wall with what looked like weapons made from black leather and wood. I poked at the shiny silver objects that seemed to be oversized teardrops in all different sizes and then stared at the shelf that held multiple peens, like Rook’s.

Had they cut them off of people and put them on display? What kind of sick place was this?

I looked around and listened for anyone coming before nervously reaching out to the shelf to poke one of the larger peens. It had a very large head with a strange curve to the thick shaft. It looked like a monster and didn’t feel like Rook’s flesh.

“Demon Fade magic,” I mumbled as I gripped the next one in my hand to take a closer look. I was surprised by the weight of it and how it moved like it was made of something firm and yet not.

“Why is da ting blue? Did dey freeze it and den turn it into dis weird display piece?” Horrified, I put the blue peen-lookalike back on the shelf and continued on around the room.

There was a strange-looking chair that had one of those overly large peens poking up from the seat. I got down on the floor to look under the chair, but there was no person. Once more, I poked at the strange creation. This one was smooth and shiny like a polished rock. The chair had places to lock your wrists and ankles in place, and I swallowed hard at the thought of that creation stuck inside of me while I was trapped to the seat.

“Dis must be man tortures. Naw female in dere right mind would be comin’ up wit a device like dat. It would destroy yer womanhood.”

Even the bed looked like some sort of torture device. Leather straps and chains hung from a metal thing above, and the sheets were a deeper shade of red than my hair and shiny. There was a large cage in the corner where I suspected they put the prisoner before they decided to torture them with the weird items around the room.