Page 56 of Rifted Hearts
“The phantom who tried to kill me told me so.” Remi had been so busy wallowing in guilt that he hadn’t recognized the truth when it had been flashed into his mind.
The phantom’s imprisonment was the secret to the drakones’ ability to expand and contract their riftland.
It was a neat trick—slowly drain the life from beings with the same object that kept them prisoner. Maybe this new Riftworld tech could be expanded to species other than the phantoms. Remi’s lie about the drakones using it against their hellhound enemies had more truth to it than he had known. And the hellhounds weren’t the only clan the drakones might come after.
The Colony could be next.
“I don’t think for a minute Rhys would hesitate to torture and confine my family the same way he and your clan did to the phantoms.” Remi was quite sure of that.
“The phantoms are dangerous.” Kaveh sounded defensive now. “As you pointed out, one came close to killing you and three of your clan’s enforcers. The base is an entire ecosystem, and the phantoms have plenty of natural prey inside there.”
“They did until you began to expand your riftland.” Remi now understood the basics of the technology, and the images and emotions the phantom had thrown at him fit into a disturbing picture. “As your territory grew bigger, theirs grew smaller. They starved, stopped reproducing, and eventually began eating one another. If the control object hadn’t been taken, letting them loose, eventually all of them would have died. Then your clan would need to imprison another ‘dangerous species’ to take their place. That’s what your control object does. It gained power every time the phantoms were forced to eat one of their own kind to survive.”
Kaveh drew in his breath. “That’s a serious accusation.” He hesitated then continued. “I’ll admit I don’t know much about how the control object altered the rift boundary, but Ican’t believe the matriarch and my clan would be part of something like that.”
“Then they’re conning you the same way I did.” Remi felt awful saying it, and the hurt in Kaveh’s eyes was enough to make him feel ill.
It didn’t matter. Kaveh hated Remi now and always would, and whatever emotions Remi felt toward him needed to be stamped out. He wanted this to be over and for Kaveh to leave him in his little prison of a cabin. Then he could be miserable and guilty alone, and tomorrow, he would go back to Boston.
Remi had discovered the drakones’ secret, for the all the good it did. It wasn’t like he could do anything about the control object and the awful threat it posed. All he could do was run back to Father, like the pathetic half-human loser he was.
He reached for something else to say to drive Kaveh away. “Why don’t you go check on Kat? Maybe if the bracelet changes, he’ll get over his crush on Lyall.”
Kaveh straightened, as if deciding there was no point in talking to Remi anymore, and walked toward the door. He patted his coat pocket as he did. It was a movement Remi had seen before, a semi-conscious tic. Kaveh needed to assure himself the gold amulet that would tell him when he had met his Matchmaker-approved true love was still there.
“Remi.” Kaveh stopped before he reached the door, and his voice was cold and frightening. “Give it back to me. Now.”
“You think I stole the Matchmaker bracelet?” Remi was incredulous and furious.
Granted, he could have lifted the object easily—he had great pickpocketing skills—but why would he have bothered? The amulet was only a tool to make it easier for thedrakones to identify the Matchmaker’s choice. If he stole it, nothing would change. Kat would still be the only person Kaveh was meant to be with, and since the vet would never force anyone to marry him, he would have to settle for making sure Kat was safe.
Lucky Kat. Even though he had rejected Kaveh before the vet had even proposed, he would still have someone powerful and kind to make sure he was okay.
Remi stood and held up his hands. He was still covered in the skintight living leathers, the creature’s flattened body hugging every curve of muscle, every angle of his body. “I don’t have it, but by all means feel me up a few times to make sure. You seemed to enjoy that earlier.”
That was petty and cruel, but Kaveh thinking Remi was even a worse person than he actually was hurt. A lot.
Kaveh turned to face him, his face darkening with anger. Remi should have been terrified he had pushed things too far. The man had several excellent reasons to beat him senseless or kill him, and Remi shouldn’t have given him yet another one.
He was too angry at himself to care.
“What’s on your wrist?” Kaveh’s tone changed, from fury to something that sounded like fear.
Remi glanced at the familiar watch he wore and tapped the face of it in irritation. “It’s my Rolex. Which, just so you know, I bought with money I earned and didn’t steal.”
Kaveh’s face paled. He took a few quick strides forward and grabbed Remi’s left hand, holding it up so the light from the shroom lamps glinted off the gold timepiece.
It looked exactly like Remi’s Rolex—except it was gold, not platinum.
And it was here, instead of in his brownstone in Boston where he had left it.
Remi snatched his hand away from Kaveh and fumbled at the clasp. No, this couldn’t be happening. He had already lied to Kaveh, betrayed his trust, and put the vet’s best friend in danger.
The Matchmaker couldn’t have picked him for Kaveh as the final part of a cruel joke.
He managed to get it off his wrist, noticing the added detail of paired griffins on either side of the watch face. That and the type of metal were the only differences from his real Rolex. Apparently, the fucking Matchmaker had a sense of humor.
“Take it.” He shoved it at Kaveh. “I don’t want it. This isn’t my fault. Everything else is. But not this.”
