Page 24 of All Your Deadly Truths (The Filthy Duet #2)

Kairhyse

W e’ve been here in Ashfer for a day, and already I can feel the weight of the decision settling in.

The drive took eight days, and with all of us rotating behind the wheel, we were exhausted to the point of collapse.

It makes sense why Sydni and I didn’t sleep—trust is a rare commodity in this group, even if they seem to have Xeraphine’s best interests at heart.

It’s that interest that I can’t seem to wrap my mind around. What does Alaric want with her? From the way he talks, it’s clear he’s interested in my little demon. I’m not insecure, but I am possessive, and I don’t share. The only way she’ll ever touch that Fallen is if she’s killing him.

Nothing has changed. The moment my girl is back in my arms, she’s trapped with me. I’m her only fucking option, and the only way that would change, is if I’m dead.

However, that’s the part that worries me.

Obsession, as we’ve all seen, can drive someone to do irreversible things. I’m not sure what strength or powers Alaric possesses beyond seeing the dead’s last moments, and not knowing has me on edge.

“You’re tense.” Sydni turns off the hair clippers before setting them down on the countertop. “All done. I told you I wouldn’t cut you.”

She moves around me and starts washing her hands.

I’d only chopped my hair above my ears, so I was desperate to get it cleaned up.

I’m grateful for her help, especially since the fade on both sides and the inch or two of hair on top turned out perfect.

I haven’t had short hair in over a hundred years, and while I’ll miss it long, there’s a sense of freedom that comes with it.

Running my fingers through my hair, I muddle it around until it sits that perfect type of messy.

“Thanks.” I stand and dust off my pants. “It isn’t the trimmers I’m worried about, Syd.”

Her lip pops up slightly but she doesn’t hold the smile. “I know, I was teasing.”

Grateful that Alaric graced us with our own room in this hotel, I can speak freely without concerns over one of them listening.

“Each day, I just want to take you and search for her on our own. I’m grateful for the resources Alaric has provided, especially now that I have nothing to my name—no money, no car, just a throwaway phone. It’s appreciated. However, he?—”

“Is going to try something the moment we get Xeraphine,” she finishes for me.

“I know.” Looking at me through the wall-to-wall mirror, her frown deepens.

Her ruby eyes are beginning to lighten, and I know the decline is coming.

She can survive for some time without feeding, but it is going to weigh on her.

However, who am I to be a hypocrite? I also refuse to feed on anyone that isn’t my little demon, so I won’t sit here and force her to do what I won’t.

Shifting the seat away, I step beside her and lean against the counter. “Tell me why, through your eyes. What do you see?”

Letting out a soft hum, she lowers her head and glances at her fingers. I steal a quick look—most of the yellow sparkly nail polish has chipped away, and I can tell she’s been picking at it. Some of the corners are stained with dried blood, lingering in the creases.

“Obsession, maybe. Like a strange ownership. It’s subtle, the comments about feeding on her. Then there’s you. The way he looks at you as if he wants to… kill you.”

I groan. “He hasn’t tried anything, which is strange.”

“Maybe…” She pauses. “Maybe not. I heard him talking with Brice. He made a comment about you being her Mark or something. I don’t… I don’t know what it means.”

“When did he say that?” There is no hesitation in my question. What is a Mark?

“I was standing with Niyla in the lobby when they were checking into their rooms, and I don’t think they knew we were just around the corner. Or, not me, because you walked away and they assumed I would go with you.”

My brows furrow as I glance up into the mirror, remembering that moment in the bathtub.

When her lips turned black after touching the place where one would be claimed.

I figured she must’ve marked me somehow, but neither she nor I ever mentioned it to anyone.

It was never spoken aloud, so how the fuck would he know about that?

My tattoo…

“Syd, did Xera ever tell you about my back tattoo?”

She shakes her head.

“Did she ever tell you about the gates to her lifeforce?”

Releasing a long-winded sigh before responding, she nods. “Yeah, she described it as?—”

“Wait.”

Grabbing the bottom of my shirt, I pull it up over my shoulders, then slip it off my head, tossing it aside. “If you saw it, do you think you’d recognize it”

She laughs and turns from looking at me through the mirror, keeping her eyes locked on mine. “Sure, but that isn’t how it works, Rhyse. We don’t see her gates. Nor would we see each other’s. Why’d you take your shirt off to ask me that?”

Turning my back to her, I cross my arms over my chest.

I remember like it was yesterday when I got this tattoo, and even my artist couldn’t believe how much detail I had put into it.

The wrought iron gates—matte black with dark patina and showing indications of aging—take up my entire back, starting from my hips.

And the pointed arch is just at the base of my neck.

Double gates with a slight inward curve at the top; one is left open, allowing passage. Spiked finials sit along the top edges, with greenery that wraps around the pillars that sandwich the gates together. There is intricate scrollwork and filigree with sharp, angular designs.

There are vines and flowers weaved throughout the bars, all of which are pansies. Black pansies . A flower I associate with my little demon: dark, soft like velvet, and beautiful.

There is a black cat walking through the gate, and when my artist asked why, I remember saying, ‘ Cats run from danger, not toward it.’

The surrounding area is desolate, and it was purposeful that the ground below the gates was dirt, dried and cracking.

“Vayl above, Rhyse… has she seen this?!” She grabs my arm and turns me to face her. “That’s exactly what she said hers looks like.”

“I know, she told me…”

She drops her gaze, looking at the floor for a moment, and then turns from me and runs out of the bathroom. I don’t hesitate to follow her.

“Butterfly, what is it?”

“I never looked anything up about her kind, because she would always tell me not to worry about it.” She pops open the laptop that Brice bought her before we left Eldritch, and begins typing away. “She isn’t here to tell me not to. Give me some time and I’ll look into it.”

“I don’t think that is important right now.”

“It is, Rhyse.” She glares over her laptop at me. “Not only because Alaric commented about the Mark… but because it’s my Phiny. I need to know.”

Groaning, I concede. “Fine…”

“There, started a web crawl. It’ll take some time.” She closes the computer and moves over the bed, plugging it in. “Don’t touch it.”

Rolling my eyes playfully, I nod. “Sure.”

She looks up to me and smiles sweetly. She’s about to open her mouth to say something when I ask, “Syd, how… did you meet Xera?”

A soft pink hue crosses her cheeks. “Oh. I found her on a bridge, just sitting there on the ledge. Thought she was going to jump.” She laughs nervously.

“I see…” I pause, wondering if I should ask what I really want to know.

Fuck it, I told her about my creation, this seems trivial in comparison.

“How does someone like you stay with someone like my little demon?” It’s a genuine question, and while I’m certain they were meant to be together, she’s the complete opposite of Xera.

The edges of her lips pinch inward before she takes a deep breath.

“She gave me the ability to stay the person I am.” She fiddles with the hem of her pajama shirt.

“I was bullied a lot, through high school and right into university. I’d fought with an identity crisis for years, and after losing my twin brother, boy, did I not know who I was. ”

“Oh Gods, Syd?—”

She shakes her head quickly. “I’m okay… The night I met Phiny was the day of his funeral.”

My fist clenches, and I swallow roughly. “Was the bridge your destination?”

I barely see the miniscule nod of her head. “She saved me, even if I’ve never put it that way to her.” A soft whimpering sound comes from her throat. “Although she was mean, like so many to me growing up, I felt oddly safe with her. Even if she was covered in blood…”

“Of course she was.” Fuck , my chest hurts. “How old were you when you met her?”

“Twenty.” So young, way too young to be contemplating suicide like that. Though I can’t fault her for feeling lost. I had brothers, but never a twin, and I’ve heard it’s like losing a part of yourself when one is no longer with you.

A soft sniff comes from her before she rubs her eyes.

“I was always changing who I was for people. Anyone that witnesses how Phiny treats me and thinks it’s her being mean, isn’t seeing us.

She has never told me to change, even if I annoy her.

Sure, she often wonders why I am the way that I am, but she’s never said, ‘Change who you are’ or ‘Be better’ or ‘This isn’t the type of person you should be’ .

I know I’m a lot, but I think it took someone like her to handle me. ”

“You aren’t a lot, butterfly. You’re perfect, just the way you are.”

When her head lifts, her eyes fill with tears. “Thanks…”

I nod, and for a brief moment we settle into the silence. We are both thinking the same thing. That the common factor in our life that is missing is the one that saved us both.

Xera rescued me from a linear life, one where the next day was foreseeable. She gives me unpredictability, and for someone that lives for eternity, I need that.

I need her. It’s without question.

“Also, I’m not staying in here.”

“What?!” I’m about to protest, but she cuts in before I can continue.

“I’m staying with Brice.”

My eyes round, and I swear to Belial they nearly fall out of their sockets. “You have lost your mind.” I swore we just had a nice moment. I didn’t push too hard, did I?

She shakes her head. “No, I haven’t.” Her chest rises, and I can tell it’s hard for her to control her breathing.

We don’t need to breathe, but still, she does, like any normal Mundane would.

“Xeraphine always got what she needed by manipulating her targets. Brice obviously likes me, and I can use that against him?—”

“Stop.” I am across the room, standing beside her as she sits on the bed. “I will not have you using yourself.”

“I’m not going to sleep with him!” I don’t think she’s ever raised her voice at me, except for the time she nearly killed us by swerving us toward a stationary vehicle. “I mean… I will sleep with him, but I won’t have sex!”

“Sydni, no. Xeraphine would?—”

“Be proud of me.” She pulls up her legs, crossing them in front of her. “Tell me, if they took you, do you think she’d hesitate to fuck her way to finding and getting you back? Do you think she’d hesitate to do the same for me?”

My nose twitches, and I refuse to answer that question. Over my dead fucking body .

“She would do anything, kill everything, fuck everyone, to get us back. She’d destroy herself, only to be healed by us. I won’t hesitate to do the same.” The defiance in her eyes as she stares at me catches me so off guard that I laugh lightly.

Xeraphine once told me that Sydni had a resilience that could never be broken. The only thing she envied about her pink-haired best friend was how Sydni could cry unabashedly and still appear as strong as she was before shedding a single tear.

That’s why she won’t feed until we get Xera back. Why she’s spending every second on that computer searching for anything that will keep us safe, and why she’ll use the power she has to get everything she needs.

Just like my girl.

The edge of my lip pulls upward, and I nod. “Okay. You’re right, as always.”

She smiles brightly as I give her cheek a soft pat. “I’m going to go shower. If I don’t see you tonight, I’ll see you in the morning.”

A nod is all I get before I turn my back to her.

She would be so proud of you, Sydni… So fucking proud.