Page 2 of The Order: Rise of the New Empire

“She was my sweet Dove. Innocent and pure like the bird, unscathed by our brutal society," he continues, Fallan's exact explanation for my nickname now spilling free from Elyon's mouth.

Little Dove.

Dovey.

Dove.

All names so very distant from Forest.

But that's the point.

"I'm not Dove," I whisper, my nerves unbearable.

"To me?" Elyon questions, staying eye level with my figure as he holds my chin up. "Not in the slightest. Initially, after you killed her, I had assumed ripping your body limb from limbwould have been euphoric. That is until I took a deeper dive into your little blood samples Jonah was able to obtain for me," he smiles, the name of the doctor who had treated me my first few weeks here clinging to me.

"W- What the hell are you talking about?" I question, slapping his hand away from my face and getting a firm grip on his front. My body leans into his seemingly less frail figure.

Wait... he's using-

"Deception?" Elyon questions, his mouth curling into a nasty smile. "Took you long enough to figure that one out."

Feeling his hand slam into my chest, the headache, coupled with the strength of his Hold, forces me across the floor. My body skids across the weathered wood, splinters dragging across my skin. Unable to take a full breath, my lungs gasp for air frantically, my mind buzzing with what feels like one of the largest adrenaline highs of my life. Stuck in place, my back stays plastered to the floor, my eyes shifting to the man's figure walking towards me with careful steps.

As if each step melts away another layer of facade, the feeble old man who held me close fades away, replaced by the silver-haired image of a man comparable to my father's age. Like ice melting from the heat of a flame, his image is entirely new, youth and power flooding his features, new uncertainty shaking my core.

"Fallan-"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Forest Flower," he mocks, the nickname sending chills down my spine.

His voice.

Pain circulates my already throbbing head.

His voice is not the one who should be saying that name.

"You'd be right," he snaps, slamming his foot down on my wrist, his hand clamping over my mouth before I have the time to process screaming. "Xavier was much better at pickingout nicknames for you. I mean, calling you my dead daughter's name?" Elyon questions, the images in my mind becoming clearer with each passing second, taking inklings of my life force with it. "How fucking pathetic could Fallan be?"

Solidifying the images within my mind, the name Dove becomes clear.

Dove.

Fallan's Dove.

Fallan's lover.

Feeling my heart break in every possible way, a violent sob exits my throat. The gag trapped in my throat finally comes to fruition. Snapping his hand back, I release the sputter, watching the blood drip from my mouth. The pain from the hazy memories is killing me from the inside out.

"God, that's got to be hurting lover boy in the cells," Elyon smiles. "And to think, I already have my men giving him a wonderful birthday treat, with some new scars to go with it."

Thinking of Xavier, his hard eyes suddenly become that much lighter. His off-putting demeanor is now a source of calm in my mind. Running my mental hand through the connection Fallan and I share, the validity it carries falters, something foreign in the way it has been formed. Gravitating toward the pull I share with Xavier, it's as if I am seeing our connection for the first time. Every staggered breath entering my lungs fuels the fire burning between us.

"Fallan, he-"

"Fucked you with the intent to kill you?" Elyon questions. "You must be one hell of a woman for him to look past the decapitation of his lover to share a bed with you."

Once more feeling the twang of pain that comes with each revelation, I cough up again. Elyon's knee stays positioned on my chest, the weight of his large figure making it that much harder to breathe.

"I suppose it's unfair for me to have you in this position and feel as if I have an upper hand. All those false memories bleeding together with reality, your bind to me urging your mind to reject the truths, forcing your body into submission. I'm sure this is all a lot for you. Given Fallan's relation to my hot-headed daughter and the realization that your fiancé is suffering in this very compound-"

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