Page 8 of Cut Her Strings (Fractured Puppets #1)

Chapter 7

The Host

The Host

T he Host smiled to himself at Raven’s words: “What are we supposed to do now?”

Wasn’t that the question, though? He reached up, unbuttoning his shirt, loosening his tie, and yanking it aggressively away from the collar firmly pressed into his neck. The one advantage he had from all of this was that he simply had to watch . Usually, watching was manageable, and he would pretend the people below him were lifeless puppets that were simply doing their master’s bidding. This year wouldn’t be so easy.

“Don’t try us. Stick to the script,” a voice in his ear bit out.

Of course, they had noticed. He wasn’t exactly subtle.

The door across from where he was sitting, opened. A tall, beautiful woman appeared with a child at her side, and he froze.

“It won’t happen again,” he promised. The door closed, and they were gone from sight. His desire to relax vanished, and he rebuttoned his shirt, tightened his tie, and turned to the screens. He would be more careful, but for the first time in years, something inside him pulsated to life.

Hope .

Raven

I couldn’t sleep. After dinner, we all moved to our respective numbered rooms, each with its own ensuite bathroom. I tried a hot shower, counting sheep, doing math, and anything I could think of to push me into the lull of unconsciousness.

Being this close to Jayce was reverting me back to when I first woke up alone from my coma. A disheveled, confused, and depressed mess .

On the outside of this Game, when I felt this way, I would drown myself into oblivion and then pass out to the most recent image of Jayce’s face.

After several hours, I got up and left my room.

This pseudo apartment resembled the one I grew up in. It had a living room surrounded by bedroom doors, a short hallway behind it leading to the door our food came from, and a small kitchen with a stocked fridge on the other side.

I walked to the door with the number 58 on it. Before I could even knock, Jayce was yanking it open.

“I didn’t think you would be able to sleep, but I wanted to give you space until you were ready,” Jayce murmured softly.

He pulled me to his chest, enveloping me in his familiar scent. His presence provided me a memorable feeling of safety. I had missed it.

“Come in?” He spoke the words into my hair, inhaling me.

I nodded my head against Jayce and allowed him to gently lead me into his room, locking the door behind us.

“You know I had dreamed of us being reunited? That your death was a hoax, and your sister was going to tell me as much?” Jayce murmured.

He settled onto the end of the bed, tugging me until I was standing between his thighs, looking directly into his eyes. They held more misery in them than I thought possible.

“Never did I think this would be how we were reunited,” he said with a wry smile, and his eyes seemed to go anywhere but towards mine. “I never stopped loving you. I know that may be hard to believe, but I didn’t.” He shook his head as if to clear it out. “When you are ready, I want to know it all.” His hands traced the scars that covered my wrists and arms, and his gaze followed the path.

I shuddered at Jayce’s ministrations along my arms, enjoying his calloused fingers stroking some of my most painful memories. Those scars nearly broke me. “I had years to be resentful, but honestly? I don’t blame you. Jayce, you did what you thought was right. You tried to protect us. You protected me the entire time we lived in that Hell. I rarely witnessed the monstrosities that controlled that Government facility. That was because of you. I may have been hurt after, but I would not change any of that. I’m not sure if we will ever be the same, but you will always hold a piece of my heart.” I ended my emotional rant as he pushed his cushioned lips to mine. I allowed myself to fall into Jayce for just a few moments. I enjoyed his taste, the familiarity, his essence. A plethora of emotions washed through me that I had long since buried before I jerked back. “That doesn’t mean we’re okay; it’s never going to be the same as before.”

I turned my eyes pointedly to the camera above his bed.

“I understand,” he despondently agreed. Shifting himself further up on the bed, he lifted the covers next to him. “Sleep with me? I promise to be a gentleman, but I'm afraid if I don’t see you for too long, I'll wake up, and this will all have been a dream.”

“A dream?” I gave a sardonic laugh.

“I know, but this is the happiest I have been in years,” Jayce admitted with a barely audible breath.

Believing his sincerity, I climbed into bed next to him. “I want you to know this means nothing and that I am going to have to do what I need to for us to survive this.” I traced a finger over the scars on my left wrist. “I am not the same sweet girl you fell in love with.”

“That’s where you’re wrong; you will always be my sweet Raven, even if you’re not mine alone. And I will always be yours.” He pulled my back flush against him, spooning me, and draped the blanket over us both. “I know I failed you before, but this time I won't, I will keep you safe.”

I wanted to believe him, but I knew better than to rely on anyone else. I buried myself in his embrace and allowed myself this comfort. I had been entirely alone for years. Tears fell silently down my cheeks and onto him. I let out years of pain and agony in one night. That is all that I would grant myself. Tomorrow, I would go back to who I had become—a product of my environment, of my work in the Retrieval Faction—a shadow .

Jayce may have loved me as the sweet girl I once was, but how would he feel about the broken woman I became?