Page 25 of A Harmony of Procellarum

“Is that an invitation?” he drawls, his voice lowering an octave and sending shivers down my spine.

“No!” I retort and roll my eyes, hoping he doesn’t see the quickening of my breathing and the red I know is coating my cheeks.

I hurry into the bathroom and shut the door, wishing again that there was a lock. Hopefully, he’s too tired from all his murdering to bother with me and he’ll fall asleep before I even get out.

I turn the water to scalding, hoping it burns the lust right out of me. All of this must be stemming from what Squall and I did last night, and I’m still riding the high of the dream as well. The dream was fuzzy in certain places, but I could’ve sworn I was running my fingers along locs instead of straight hair.

With a curse, I step into the spray and gasp at the temperature. The heat of the water hits my skin like cinders from a bonfire, burning away the thoughts of Torrent and his forked tongue. I turn my face into it, letting the water hit my scorching cheeks and I massage my fingers into my scalp. I could try to scrub the thoughts from my mind, but I’m literally forced to stay inside a small box with the man, making pretending he doesn’t exist difficult.

I grab for the soap when a large hand wraps around my wrist and spins me in place. A scream dies on my lips as I look into two inky pools of black, the color boiling with heat.

“Don’t do that,” hetsks. “Don’t wash me away.”

“What?” I whisper hoarsely as I try to yank my arm from his grip.

“My seed, Tiny.” He smiles as his tongue brushes along his bottom lip. “I put it inside you earlier as you slept and called out for my man.”

“You’re lying,” I gasp and sharply pull away from him, only to be snapped back into his body and feeling his cock hard and pulsing on my lower stomach. My pussy throbs in answer, making more cum slip out of me.

“Why would I lie?” His statement gives me pause because this is Torrent. Why would he lie?

“Get off me.” I struggle against him as he grins down at me, clearly amused by my torment. “Don’t touch me!”

He quickly releases me and steps back, the sudden loss of his body throwing off my balance. I try to right myself but only end up slipping on the tile under my feet. My body crashes into him and his hand grabs the back of my head as he slams his mouth onto mine. I should be fighting this, hating every second, but instead my mouth opens eagerly under his as he backs us into the spray.

I thought kissing Torrent would be like kissing a snake, but it’s not at all. It’s sensual, all-consuming and thorough. He leaves no part of my mouth untouched, branding himself inside of me. My mind falls blank and I let myself feel as he slips his hard cock between my thighs. I literally purr into his mouth at the feel of him when he wrenches his lips off mine.

“You fucking whore!” He throws himself off me and backs away as I stumble back against the wall, the cold tile pulling me from my need-filled haze. “This is what I mean. You stripping bitches will fuck anything, given the chance.” Then he turns and storms from the small shower stall, grabbing his discarded boxers along the way.

Shame and guilt pool inside of me as I slide down the wall and land on my ass with a sob. I really am a whore.

SQUALL

Torrent’s back disappears inside the building as my phone rings. It’s been two hours since I got to spend time with Tiny, and I’m craving more. She cracked open a bit of the trauma I packed away at the age of twelve and forced me to see where it began. With my mother.

I pull my phone from my sweater pocket, its relentless ringing setting my teeth to grind. Raiden’s name blinks from the screen and I exhale a breath before answering.

“Hey.” I lean back in the seat. “What’s up?”

“There’s been another one.” He sounds tired but alarmed.

“He’s been gone since late last night and just came back,” I inform him. “It’s Torrent doing Luciphia’s bidding. I told you he is the Vanquisher.”

“The Vanquisher doesn’t hunt Magistrates,” he counters. “Nor do they tie up the spouse to watch the torture.”

“Tell me that doesn’t sound like Torrent’s brand of killing,” I groan. “Why would she kill the members of the Order?”

“It’s been done before,” Raiden tells me. “When a new Luciphia comes into power, she can decide who lives to serve her and who is sacrificed and replaced, but she does it herself, not the Vanquisher. She is meant to use their sacrifices for herself.”

“We can’t begin to tell Shereen’s motives. What would make the former coveted Vanquisher kill the Luciphia? And why is she now killing all her loyal Magistrates?” I run a hand down my face, wishing this would just all be over. I’m tired of running from one organization to another. My entire life’s achievements have been celebrated with a thread of fear woven through them. I’ve reached my max capacity, and this whole situation with Tiny is tipping me over the edge.

“I had heard stories from Kenny about the previous Luciphia. The Magistrates we sacrificed on my birthday were some of her most loyal friends. She killed so they would be in the Order… Her Order. She traveled the world in her private jet and it took two weeks, but by the end, she had the blood of twelve people on her hands.” He takes a deep breath, then continues, “Kenny told me she ate every one of their hearts.”

“Ate them?” That’s not how it’s supposed to be.

“Yeah, every one. I always feared her even though we never met her. Something told me she was more evil than anything we experienced in that home.” I want to tell him he didn’t experience much, that his abuse barely cast a shadow over what Haynes and Victor endured. Even me in some cases, but I can’t say it. We all suffered, and Raiden suffered with us.

“Shereen hasn’t left this building, not while I’ve been here,” I inform him. “She’s not out there eating the hearts of the Magistrates. Torrent is doing her dirty work for her. Did Edward say anything about replacements?”

---