Page 37

Harlow

Monday Evening

Third Floor Common Room

T he hallway stretched out in front of us, dark and riddled in shadows. My nerves were so shot and the meds did nothing to keep the shadows at bay. The dark hallucinations seeped from the walls and poured out at our feet, filling the space and raising my anxiety to new heights.

“Fucking hallucinations,” I bit out. “This is the worst fucking time.”

It didn’t help that I felt awful for leaving despite how adamantly against it Monty was.

We had no choice.

He was probably still destroying the floor.

“I’ve got you, Harlow,” Roman promised beside me as his hand slid into mine. He had a large katana in his hand that Drake had handed over, and I had Hel’s dagger. I had no reservations about using it and knew we wouldn’t get out of this one without coating them each in the blood of demons.

Hopefully Vane’s blood as well.

“This is strange. Why does it go so far before anything pops up?” Roman said. My attention was already caught on the paintings hanging in the hall. When I stopped, he was forced to as well.

“Look. They’re exactly a room’s length apart,” I said. Moving to the middle one that would be the same placement as my room, I shifted the painting to the side and felt bile rise in my throat as I looked through the small peephole it revealed. “The clock, Roman. This is the exact place the clock hangs on the wall in there. It’s a hidden peephole.”

“What?” he asked, going to the painting where Drake’s room would be and ripped it down.

He pressed his face to the wall and cursed.

“He’s been watching us,” I whispered as I looked in. He had a perfect view of my entire room. We were in a psych ward; I had no illusions I had much privacy. But inside our rooms should have been an exception.

We already had windows on our doors, why this?

Did he watch us fuck? Seen us as we melted down or cried? How often did he sit here and stare at us in our most vulnerable moments?

“He’s sick,” Roman said, voice hard. “Come on, we have to keep going.”

Stepping away, I let the painting fall back in place. When we finished, I’d be covering up every fucking one of these. Was there a reason he had placed Roman and Hiro, me, and Drake all on this wall?

Finally the hallway ended on a door. My knuckles ached at the grip I had on the base of the dagger as Roman shoved the door open and stepped inside.

“This is like an apartment,” I said as I glanced around at the strange living space. It had a bed, a kitchenette, normal furniture, everything an apartment would have.

Windows showcased the grounds below, though it faced away from the courtyard which was likely why he got away with hiding here for so long.

The windows on the opposite wall also had dark paintings hanging over them, blocking out the world beyond.

“Kol said Nurse Drew was freaking out as he went in. I wonder if she’s been in here with him,” Roman mused before we both grimaced at the thought.

“You think they’re together?” I asked. “No, she looked horrified when I mentioned what he did to us all.”

“Or jealous,” he countered. “I’ve always thought it odd how much she drank the fucking Kool-Aid around here.”

“I’m going to believe otherwise.” I laughed but it held no humor. “She has been cold since he went into hiding.”

We separated and explored but I felt Roman’s eyes on me every few minutes.

“Journals,” he noted near a small bookshelf and desk. “We should throw these in something and take them back out with us.”

“Agreed,” I said as I opened a door. A wall of mixed scents hit me and my stomach rolled. “He has a nest.”

“What?” Roman asked as he hurried over, pulling me gently aside to peek inside. It was no bigger than a walk-in closet. A mattress was thrown on the floor and covered in dirty blankets and pillows.

It wasn’t a real nest. Not one made by or for an omega. It lacked warmth and coziness.

I’d never gotten a nest. Grandma thought it was useless and on the streets, I didn’t have a choice. Now, at Dark Haven, I was on suppressors and wasn’t given the chance to get anything I really wanted for one.

Maybe someday.

This wasn’t the time for wishing. We both knew that Vane was indulging in things he had no right to.

“Sick fuck,” I bit out, shoving Roman aside and slamming the door closed. “We’re killing him.”

“That was already the plan,” my mate agreed, giving my shoulder a squeeze before we both forced ourselves to keep going.

The kitchen was standard, so was the side table. Finally, I pulled open a wardrobe, shocked to not find clothes, but monitors.

“Roman.”

There were eight small monitors, each focused on a different part of Dark Haven. The top row was the four corners of the building taking in every inch of the grounds. Meaning he was likely directing the demons where to strike.

On the bottom, the first was the women’s shower room on the third floor. My stuff was still in there from this evening since I didn’t have to hand it back over like before.

Rules had gone out the window completely.

My stomach churned, knowing he watched us shower, saw me fuck my men, there was nowhere he wasn’t watching.

The second was a better view of my room. It was likely in the light fixture so there was no corner I could have hidden from him.

Not only did he violate my body, he was repeating the process every fucking day without my knowledge.

The third was the common room. Right now I could see Monty, Kol, and Drake all arguing. Drake’s hands flew wildly as he ranted back at the other two.

The fourth and final camera was the courtyard. Or it had been. The moment I glanced, it changed, shifting to a hallway inside, then a few minutes later to another. He had every inch of Dark Haven at his fingertips.

Vane wasn’t hiding, he was controlling this building without even having to leave his little lair.

But why was he so focused on me?

“You were important to them,” Roman answered the question I hadn’t even realized I asked out loud. “They’ve said that all along. He kept an eye on you so he knew when and how to strike. To bring you down, listen in, to know what we were planning.”

He tapped a pair of headphones and sure enough, as I shifted the jack to the common-room monitor, I could hear their argument rising.

“This is your fault!” Ivar yelled. “Trusting her was not what she needed. Being alive is far more important!”

“She would have gone anyway,” Kol growled. “She’s stubborn, independent, and she is holding herself responsible if something goes south here.”

“I won’t lose her to that fucking trash,” Drake added in as if he were in his own conversation. “I’ll kill him myself if I have to.”

“You’re right,” I said, taking them off. Roman didn’t respond, and I gasped as I turned, taking in Vane holding him with a knife to his throat.

A small trickle of blood already trailed down his throat. My eyes tracked the red river, a deadly calm resting over me at the sight.

I wouldn’t be losing him today.

“You’ve finally figured it out, I see.” Vane taunted. The only satisfaction here was that the man looked tortured. His eyes were lined in dark circles, hair shaggy and ragged, even his clothes hung off him like he’d recently lost weight. He was a mess.

“You look like shit,” I said with a laugh. Even as I feigned calm, my eyes never left the knife that close to my man’s windpipe. “Let him go, Vane. This is between us.”

“Us, Hel, demons, gargoyles,” he mused. “Fate.” He shifted the knife away and twirled it around at the last word before putting it back in place.

He was bold, and reckless.

“What do you know about ‘fate?’” I snorted. “We’re fucking human.”

“I know that Hel saw your future. This is all because of that vision,” he said, loosening his grip again. Roman shifted and he was holding him tight again.

“You know as little as I do.” I realized at his vague words. “Just another pawn. You know she’s already phasing you out of the mix, right?”

“I’m too important,” he said with a dismissive laugh.

I shook my head, refusing to believe that for a second. If he was, would he be hiding and falling apart? The answer was absolutely not.

“No, you’re probably the one with the smallest amount of use. Who is directing your demons now, Vane?” I raised an eyebrow and waited.

How I was being this cocky and confident was beyond me, I felt like I was going to puke and cry at the same fucking time.

Hallucinations danced in my peripheral. Not just shadows, but figures. They felt different now, thanks to the demons. No cold accompanied them, no heaviness to the air, just figures and smoke my brain conjured.

“Me,” he said but the way his voice wavered wasn’t at all convincing. Vane was losing his grasp on reality and right now, his calm. I’d have to act fast if I wanted to save Roman.

Wait. Hiro. I could see the shift happening, the way his head lolled to the side, digging the blade deeper before he startled and Vane gripped him again.

Why Roman left me, left him to come out to this, I had no clue.

“No, you’re not. Is it the adviser or the warden?” I mused, tapping my chin as I pretended to think it over. “Or maybe Hel, herself?”

“I said it was me!” he thundered, slamming Hiro to the wall behind him. I couldn’t react, couldn’t move forward and help.

I should have known Hiro wasn’t down. He gripped the katana in his hand and pulled himself up from the ground as quietly as possible. I kept my gaze off of him, distracting Vane as he stepped forward.

He froze just as I thought he was going to strike. I knew a flashback when I saw one, but I’d diverted attention too long and Vane turned. I had to move fast, and I knew if I didn’t do something, it’d be lost.

“Is it Ivar?” I asked. The name of my personal monster had him turning back, face distorted in a true snarl. His yellow teeth bared and I couldn’t help but laugh at the reaction.

“That demon lost control of his troops and you think he has any power over me?!” he bellowed. “He thinks he is important. Ivar is nothing! Hel doesn’t even want him to know what she’s shared with me. I’m taking his place in Helheim!”

He jabbed a thumb angrily at his chest.

“You’re a human,” I argued. “You wouldn’t survive there. Unless you want me to send you there now?” I teased as I held up my dagger, letting it glint in the harsh lighting of the room.

He chuckled humorlessly at my threat. The man clearly had fallen down a rabbit hole of delusions. Hel was using him and had from the start.

If he was truly as powerful and important as he claimed, he wouldn’t be hiding from us specifically.

Hiro’s foot hit something behind him and Vane turned, laughing as Hiro held his katana out with a shaking hand.

He was no real threat. Not right now.

But I was.

That was my chance and I took it, striking him right in the back with every bit of strength I had.

My memories flooded back as his screams filled the air.

His hands on my skin, the monitors, the corpses, the things he’d done and the harm he’d caused.

I pulled the dagger free and struck again and again, not caring blood soaked me, ignoring the pain in my muscles, instead just taking the life this man didn’t deserve.

“Hiro!” My sharp words had him moving again. He came back to his senses with a gasp as I stepped back.

I saw the change happen. His wide eyes narrowed into slits, his muscles tightening and his grip stark white against the hilt of his blade.

Then he struck. The honed blade cut through flesh and muscle, severing part of Vane’s neck in the process so it hung sickeningly to the side.

Bile rose in my throat as blood bubbled out of every single wound we had inflicted, but Hiro wasn’t done, either.

The pained gurgles of blood had died out the moment he struck his neck, the blade cut straight through the bone, meaning he had no way to survive this. His head was barely connected to his body as he cut over and over again. It was gruesome but Hiro was unaffected by the mess he was creating.

“Fuck you for taking something more from me!” Hiro yelled, voice breaking with emotion. “I was broken already and you pushed me even further with no remorse. Took my body that wasn’t yours to take!”

Each word was punctuated by another hack at the man, huge gashes forming in his skin each time.

I didn’t disturb him. We looked like we’d lived through a massacre, both wearing the blood of our biggest enemy.

But I felt free, and so did Hiro. We took back our power.

Vane was gone. Our monster was slain.

He couldn’t touch me again. He no longer could throw me into a cell and torture me for days on end.

Now he couldn’t keep any of us out, Dark Haven was ours to reclaim. There was nowhere safe here for his demons.

Hiro was crying now, his sobs and breaths so short I knew he was on the border of a panic attack.

“Hiro!” My sharp words had him letting his arm fall to his side, katana still in his hand and dripping with blood. We were both on the edge of shock, and I had to get us out of here. “Come on. It’s done. Let’s go find the ward and let our men inside.”

He nodded but didn’t speak.

When I started to move, he followed, not once looking back at the mutilated body we’d left bleeding out on the floor.

Monty could burn it.

We needed to deal with the sigil first. It should have been our first step but it would have left us vulnerable to Vane’s attacks.

Just outside of Vane’s apartment was a switch. I flicked it up and the hall filled with light.

It was still dark, painted black and ominous. We made our way back to the door we’d entered.

Above the doorway was the sigil we couldn’t see before, three in fact.

“Can you reach it with your sword?” I asked Hiro as I paused.

I expected him not to answer, too lost in his head, but he nodded and hacked away at the sigils, breaking the barrier completely.

At the sound, Drake was there waiting for us, mouth hanging open in horror at the sight of Hiro and I covered in blood and tissue.

“What the fuck?” Drake’s words were full of worry and both of our weapons clattered to the ground as he called for the others.

My mind blanked as I was swept into Kol’s arms, his wings wrapping protectively around me despite Monty’s protests.

It was out of character for Kol to show actual affection and not just lust, but it felt amazing enclosed in his arms.

It showed just how much he’d already changed. He let me do this mission, knowing I had to be the one to do it, but still worried under the surface. I was understanding him more and more.

The longer he held me, the longer I lost composure. I couldn’t speak to tell them anything as my body shook violently and my teeth clattered too hard to say much.

He sent relief and pride through the bond but it barely registered against my numb mind.

“They’re in shock,” Drake declared. “We have to warm them up.”

“Give her here,” Monty growled, forcing Kol to give me up. I was too far gone to notice where we were heading.

My vision blacked out, then came back as I was under the hot spray of a shower. I sputtered a little but fell back under the exhaustion again. My body ached and my mind was swimming.

There was no regret.

But there was horror.

I’d slaughtered a man.

Even if he deserved it, I took his life.

He wasn’t a demon from Helheim who was trying to kill me, he was a human.

“He’s dead.”

My words filled the space, but I couldn’t understand their answers as I blacked out again, this time not fighting it as I slipped into unconsciousness.