Page 40 of Conquered

“Naughty girl,” he admonishes, nipping my neck, finally letting me go and taking a step back.

“Don’t worry, Loki baby. I’ll sort that out later,” I turn to face him, then wink. “But now, I need to pee.”

He laughs, but I don't miss the fever in those fiery beryl eyes of his. I remember seeing a posh set of mobile toilets on the way in, so I head in that direction.

Once I’m finished, I wash up and step out of the portacabin, only to be confronted by Amber and her smiling crew of merry cuntbandits. The Molly does not improve her appearance at all. In fact, it makes her look a little like a gargoyle, all twisted and snarly. They all look ridiculous in their jean shorts and Birkenstocks. It’s a fucking party, guys!Twats.

“I hear they still haven’t caught your mom’s killer,” she snidely says, my heart stopping at the statement. “That must really suck...” she continues, but I don’t hear anything else as I am assaulted by memories of red rivers flooding my mind, the crimson shining like the brightest rubies.

“W–what…?” I stammer out, my vision flickering between the bloody scene I came home to that day and the glittering party round me. Sweat breaks out all across my body, cooling in the chilly night breeze, and I start to shiver uncontrollably.

I stumble away from the group, my feet tangling as I try to run away from the memories. My eyes alight onto a silver dish, held by an ethereal nymph, my focus drawn to the little red pills lying atop it.

Oblivion.

Before I know what I’m doing, my hand has taken a pill, popping it into my mouth, and swallowing it dry. I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that soon it will go away again. The rivers ofblood, the pain, and heartache will all disappear again. At least for a little while.

Suddenly, a strong hand grips my upper arm painfully, turning me until I’m looking into blazing grey eyes.

“What did you just do?” Ash roars, shaking me.

“Ow!” I shout back at him, wriggling. “You’re hurting me, Ash!” I try to struggle, but it’s futile. His grip is too strong.

“I should put you over my fucking knee and spank you like a naughty child!” he growls back, causing more than a few sets of students to turn towards us, quickly looking away when he bares his teeth at them. He points a finger right in my face.

“I told you to only take one. Why did you take another?!”

He’s shaking, and as I look deeper, I can see a flash of panic in his wide eyes, his hands trembling and breath coming in pants.

“Fucking cuntmuffin said…” I start, stopping and shaking my head, as the memories try to push through what’s left of my high again.

He looks over me, which is really fucking easy given how tall the guy is. What he sees, which I assume is Amber and her crew, makes the skin around his eyes and mouth tighten, and his grip turns even more painful. His gaze comes back to me, still fuming with that edge of fear.

“What did she say?” he asks, voice deadly and cutting.

“She…she mentioned my mum and…” I can’t finish the sentence, begging him with my gaze not to make me. The grey softens slightly, and I see a sorrow so deep that my breath hitches.

“You can't escape it forever, Lilly,” he tells me, his grip on my arm loosening a little, his other hand coming up to stroke the side of my face. “You’ll have to face your grief sooner or later, Princess. We all do.”

I briefly wonder what grief he’s had to face, but before I can think any more about it, Loki comes storming over, shoving Ash so hard that he has no choice but to let go of me.

“Take your fucking hands off her!” Loki snarls, his nostrils flared and the vein in his neck pulsing. I never imagined he’d get so angry over me.

Ash gets right back in his face, chest jutted out and eyes hard as flint, sneering back at him. They remind me of two male lions, all ferocious danger and about to tear each other apart. Before it can descend into violence, Jax and Kai rush up to the pair, Jax using his bulk to get in between them.

“Cool it, guys,” he growls, pushing them farther apart, a hand on each torso. There’s quite a crowd gathered round us now, all desperate to taste blood.

Loki and Ash stare at each other for another moment before Ash leans over, saying something to Loki, whose head immediately snaps in my direction, his brow wrinkled as he takes me in from head to toe.

Loki walks towards me, reaching out and pulling me close, wrapping his strong arms round me. I inhale deeply, feeling his pounding heart as I breathe in his warm vanilla scent, taking the comfort it gives me.

“Let’s get you back to the dorm,” he murmurs in my ear, kissing the top of my head softly.

Tucking me under his arm, he leads me away. As we pass Ash, I look up to see Jax with his hand on Ash’s shoulder, saying something to him in low tones with Kai close on his other side. Ash meets my gaze, and the desperate sorrow is there, alongside a drowning grief that matches my own.

CHAPTER EIGHT

LILLY