Page 12 of Pain Run Rampant

“What—who…” Frederick’s brows furrow, and he glances at me. “Rey, who is this? I don’t recognize him from Laconia.”

Invictis saunters around Frederick and places himself near me. “No,” he muses, blue gaze twinkling, “I don’t suppose you would recognize me. That’s all right, you’ve always seemed a bit slow on the understanding. Here’s a hint: I am much closer to Rey than you will ever be.” Unless I’m mistaken, the asshole sounds incredibly smug when he says it, and when he says it, he even puts a hand on my back.

Oh, my God. He’s posturing. Invictis is posturing, having a testosterone contest with Frederick. I cannot roll my eyes hard enough at how stupid this all is… and at how awkward they’re both making this.

“What?” That word is about all Frederick can seem to say, and he finally looks at me instead of Invictis. His gaze does drop to the hand Invictis placed on my lower back, but only for a moment. “I… I guess I… misread things. I should go.”

Invictis quips, “Yes, run along. You’re not needed here, Frederick.” The way he says his name makes it sound like an insult.

Frederick starts to leave, but I can’t let him go like this, thinking that… that Invictis and I are together or something. We’re not. We won’t ever be, no matter how tempting his body and face might be. The things he’s done are unforgivable, and I hate him for all of it.

But Frederick is nice and he deserves more, so before he can step around us to leave, I move away from Invictis and that damned hand on my back to stop him. “Wait,” I say, pleading as I put a hand on his chest. “It’s not what it looks like.”

Wow. Never thought I’d say that cheesy as fuck line.

“You don’t have to explain anything to me,” Frederick says. “I thought—I assumed—”

I glance at Invictis and find he’s grinning so hard he’s flashing his teeth. Or showing his fangs like an animal would. Seeing the smug expression on his face makes it clear to me: I need to tell Frederick the truth, because fuck that guy.

“I, um… haven’t been completely honest with you or anyone else,” I start, slow in pulling my hand off Frederick’s chest. “After the battle, when I said I defeated Invictis, everyone assumed I killed him, but that’s not exactly true.”

As I talk, Frederick keeps glancing between me and Invictis. I don’t know if he’s putting it together, if he’s finally noticingthe matching golden tattoo on the man’s arm and wrist, or if he’s still wrestling with envious thoughts. Either way, he says nothing.

“I could only stop him by binding him to me again, all of him this time,” I say in a hurry, the words tumbling out of me before I can think better of them. “Frederick, this—” I gesture to the tall asshole behind me. “—is Invictis.”

“Oh.” That’s all Frederick says for a minute, and the tension is palpable in the air of the hut as he takes in Invictis in a new light. “Oh.”

Behind me, Invictis mutters, “I would kill you if she’d let me. I find you terribly annoying, and I abhor your affection for Rey. I find it disgusting.”

Frederick blinks, and then he turns his attention back to me. “That’s… nice. Very nice. Um, do you think I could speak with you privately, Rey? Without the, um, ancient weapon looming over us telling me how he wants to kill me?”

“Don’t take it personally. I’d kill everyone if I could. It’s what I do.” Invictis grins before he gives us a mock bow. “But I can sense an order is coming, and for now I am forced to listen to Rey and her every whim. It’s most unfortunate.”

I glare at him as he retreats back into his bedroom, and a mere second passes before Frederick grabs me and hauls me outside, putting more distance between us and Invictis.

Frederick releases me once we stand under the sun, out in the bright light of the early morning. I can tell by the look on his face he’s not thrilled, and that’s exactly why I didn’t want to tell him.

“You should have told the conclave,” he says. “You should have told me! Everyone in Laconia has the right to know that the reason they’ve been stuck inside those walls is now living just down the road!” He actually raises his voice; he’s understandably upset, and I can’t be mad at him for that.

“I know,” I whisper. “I just… I didn’t know how.”

“We could’ve been researching on how to, I don’t know, take it apart again.” Frederick shakes his head and runs both hands through his brown hair, messing up its length. And then, he does something strange: he chuckles.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” he says. “Nothing’s funny. Now I understand why you keep referring to Invictis as a he.” Even though he’s upset, he can’t hide the jealous tones in his voice.

Softly, I say, “He can’t hurt anyone. I won’t let him.”

“That thing is a monster, responsible for the deaths of countless—and what about the madness that thing brings with it? What if you lose your mind because of this?” Frederick shakes his head again, as if the thought of me losing my mind is one of the most painful things he can think of.

“He won’t make me crazy. I’m not like the other empresses.”

“Because you’re from a different world?”

“Because I’ve always had a piece of him in me,” I say, and when I say it I hear him suck in a hard breath, like I physically hit him with the words. “When my mom, Gladus, and Morimento tore him apart and trapped him into three soul gems, a fourth piece of him went inside me. My mom was pregnant when they trapped him.”

Frederick’s face scrunches as he thinks. “Empress Krotas was pregnant with you at that moment? You’ve always had a piece of the weapon inside you… of course. Otherwise you would’ve lost your mind sooner, when you first came here. You must’ve been strong, even in the womb, to be able to adopt a piece of Invictis and overcome it.”

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