Page 4 of Devil’s Night (Vinduthi Captured Mates #7)

SARGON

“ T his didn’t look like this before.” Nicole turned in wonder.

She was right. The dusty room filled with boxes was now a sleek laboratory. Gleaming metal cabinets lined the walls, topped by obscure devices and blinking readouts. A long console dominated the center, bristling with controls and holographic displays.

“This looks like one of Doar’s labs.” I ran a hand along the smooth surface, taking in the cutting-edge tech. “He must have incorporated this space into his experiments.”

Nicole didn’t flinch, eyeing the bizarre setup with open curiosity. For a civilian, she had an impressive lack of fear. “If Doar was conducting shady business, it makes sense he’d need a hidey-hole.” She tapped her lip thoughtfully. “You said people were after him, right? Maybe he rigged this place as an escape route.”

I nodded, keeping one hand near the knife at my hip. “The Federation wasn’t thrilled when they discovered he’d gone rogue. They put a galaxy-wide bounty on him.”

“But if this was meant as a bolt-hole, why didn’t he come here himself?” She shrugged, unfazed by the tale of a wanted criminal. “You know, since he was the mad scientist and all.”

She was not only brave and curious, I realized, but logical.

An important quality in a mate.

What? I shook my head. Maybe my time here alone had done more damage to my mind than I realized.

With effort I returned my focus to the problem before us.

“Good question. You’d think he’d want the safety of his own hideaway.”

Nicole bit her lip, a small crease appearing between her brows. “Well, if he did intend this as a refuge, there has to be an exit. At least back to your timeline.”

I watched her carefully, impressed by the calmness of her logic. But something shifted in her scent, a hint of distress leaking through her composed veneer. She was worried.

The realization struck me like a plasma bolt - I didn’t want her upset. An uncomfortable tightness gripped my chest at the thought of her fear or unhappiness.

Frowning, I shoved the feeling away. Such useless sentiment served no purpose. “When we decipher Doar’s work, I’m sure we’ll find a way to send you home as well.” I gentled my tone, an oddity for me. “To your own place and time.”

She exhaled slowly, giving me a tight nod and straightening her shoulders. “Right. Let’s see what clues this lab can give us.”

I felt a grudging respect as the worried crease vanished, her hazel eyes regaining their keen sparkle. Clever female. She wouldn’t be a hindrance, at least.

I surveyed the lab anew, searching for anything that could unravel Doar’s twisted mind and secure our escape.

Nicole busied herself examining the equipment, occasionally picking up an object to scrutinize it before carefully returning it to its place.

“Over here,” she called out.

I turned to find her standing before a control panel, her fingers hovering over a large red button. Our eyes met and she raised one inquisitive eyebrow. I gave a slight nod, bracing myself.

Nicole pressed the button and immediately holographic screens flickered to life around us, bathing the room in an ethereal blue glow. Line after line of text rapidly scrolled across their surfaces - Doar’s research notes, if I had to guess.

“Can you read this?” Nicole asked, gesturing at the displays.

I stepped closer, squinting at the unfamiliar script. “Yes, but it’s complete gibberish to me. Advanced theoretical physics and higher dimensional mathematics from the look of it.”

She exhaled a frustrated sigh. “I don’t suppose you have a background in temporal anomalies or something?”

I snorted. “Because that’s always useful as a bounty hunter.”

Reaching out, I waved my hand through the projection, cycling through the different files. Inscrutable equations and diagrams flashed by, none of it meaning anything to me.

“Wait!” Nicole gripped my arm, stilling my movements. “Go back, there was something...”

I retraced the last few screens until she gestured for me to stop. A three-dimensional rendering hovered before us - a sleek, compact device with a titanium alloy casing. It featured a glowing slot on one side and an array of precisely labeled buttons.

“That looks like something I saw,” Nicole murmured.

She turned on her heel, gaze roving around the lab until she spotted something on a nearby workbench. Crossing the room, she snatched up what appeared to be the very device depicted in the diagram.

Nicole carried it back, holding it out for me to examine. “This has to be it, right?”

I took the object, turning it over until I noticed a small display screen on one side. A few taps activated it, and text began scrolling across the narrow panel.

“It says ‘Temporal Reset Initiator’,” I read aloud, the words sending an unexpected chill down to my toes. “And there are instructions “

Giving the device a firm shake did nothing, and neither did pressing any of the buttons. Whatever mechanics allowed it to function clearly required a specific procedure.

Nicole leaned in closer, the sweet floral scent of her caressing my senses. “What do the instructions say? Maybe it can get us out of here.”

I angled the screen so she could see, slowly reading through the convoluted text. “It says the Initiator can reset the local timeline by creating a contained singularity that unravels the surrounding spacetime continuum.”

Her hazel eyes went wide. “You’re kidding. A miniature black hole?”

“Essentially, yes.” I frowned down at the deceptively innocuous device. “Though it claims the effect only extends to a limited radius determined by the amount of power channeled into it.”

Nicole worried at her full lower lip, considering. “So in theory, if we activated this thing, it could undo whatever Doar did to trap us here? Send everything back to before his experiment started?”

“Potentially.” I turned the words over carefully. “Though there’s no way to know the extent of the reset. Or what unintended consequences it might have.”

She met my gaze steadily, resolve hardening her features. “At this point, I’m willing to risk it if it’s our best chance of escape.”

My mouth went dry as she held my stare, her delicate human features set in determination. A strange tension crackled, its unseen energy pulling me towards her.

Mentally shaking off, I forced my focus back to the device. “Very well. According to these instructions, we need a release card to stick into this slot.” I turned the device over in my hands, examining it closely.

“Have you seen anything that would fit?” I asked Nicole.

She shook her head, one finger twisting a strand of hair as she thought. “No, nothing like that. Just the initiator device itself.”

We both scanned the lab space, but there was no sign of the required card anywhere amidst the tangle of equipment and displays.

Nicole blew out a frustrated breath. “I guess we’ll have to search the rest of the rooms. Doar could have stashed it anywhere.”

The thought of wandering aimlessly through Fuile’s twisted maze held little appeal, but she was right - we had no other choice if we wanted to find a way out. Nodding tersely, I secured the initiator in a deep cargo pocket and headed for the door.

As I pulled it open, the hallway beyond shimmered and distorted, resolving into an iridescent corridor that shifted with an inner light. Where the stairs leading down should have been was now an arched entryway, the space beyond a disorienting kaleidoscope of bending planes.

“What the hell “ Nicole breathed, coming up beside me to peer out.

The hair on the back of my neck prickled as I studied the pulsing, ever-changing passage. Something about it set my instincts on edge, every sense screaming danger. “This doesn’t look like part of the original house.”

“You think?” she muttered dryly. “More like something out of an acid trip.”

Despite the strangeness, her scent held only mild trepidation rather than outright fear. Good - a useless emotion that would only hinder us. I felt an unexpected flicker of approval.

Stepping out into the corridor, I turned a slow circle, searching for any sign of the stairs or even a solid wall to orient us. But the kaleidoscopic tunnel stretched on endlessly, its planes and angles shifting in a dizzying array of refractions.

A low thrumming noise reverberated through the space, more a vibration felt in the chest than any true sound. The unmistakable hum of power, like the buildup before an energy discharge.

“I don’t like this,” I growled, my grip tightening on the knife hilt as I tensed for combat. “It feels like we’re being herded.”

“Herded?” Nicole’s brows hiked. “By who? Or what?”

I started to respond, but at that moment a tremor shook the hallway, nearly knocking me from my feet. The planes blurred, their geometry warping sickeningly as the hum rose to a bone-rattling pitch.

Then, just as suddenly as it began, everything fell still and silent once more. Except

The corridor had reformed into a completely different configuration, the tunnel branching off into multiple pathways like an intricate maze.

“Okay, that’s not good,” Nicole murmured, shooting me a quick look. “Any ideas?”

My jaw clenched hard enough to grind teeth as I studied the shifting labyrinth stretching out before us. Every battle-honed instinct screamed to turn back, find another way. But we both knew there was no other option.

Letting out a low rumble of frustration, I turned to Nicole. “We’ll have to risk it. Stay close and keep your eyes open.”

She shouldn’t be here. She should never have come here. Because of this damned place, now she was in danger. And everything in my blood screamed at me that she must be protected at all costs.

She met my gaze levelly, giving a sharp nod of understanding. “You got it.”

The tension between us thrummed like a taut wire as we ventured into the maze, the iridescent corridors pulsing around us in a hypnotic display. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched. But by what?

Step by step, the geometry warped and distorted in ways that set my mind reeling. Gravity itself seemed to shift, the floor transitioning to walls and ceilings in a dizzying spiral of fractured dimensions.

I fought to keep my bearings, relying on my other senses to ground me. The dry, metallic tang of ozone filled the air, sharp against my tongue. Nicole’s faint, flowery fragrance was a strangely grounding anchor amidst the madness.

We lapsed into silence as we navigated the twisting corridors, her soft footfalls and the whisper of her breath the only sounds aside from the omnipresent thrum. I found myself acutely aware of her presence just behind me, close enough that the heat of her body prickled along my skin.

Tension tightened my gut, an electric charge sparking unexpected flashes of awareness. The firm curves beneath those deceptively thin Earthly fabrics. The tantalizing glimpses of soft skin at her neckline.

I clenched my jaw harder, struggling against the distracting lure of my body’s baser instincts. There wasn’t time for such nonsense. We needed to focus, stay alert.

Another tremor shuddered through the space, more violent than before. I whirled, one hand shooting out to grasp Nicole’s arm in a steely grip, hauling her against me as the world tilted in sickening arcs.

For an endless heartbeat, we clung together, her slender frame crushed to my chest as the maze collapsed and re-formed around us in a whirl of fractured geometries.

Then everything stilled once more. Silence fell, the oppressive thrum of power fading away to leave only the sound of our mingled breaths.

Nicole lifted her head, tendrils of her auburn hair tickling my jaw. Our gazes collided, a shock of hazel to crimson that sent a jolt arrowing straight to my core.

Heat blazed, a molten awareness that seared away every thought, every instinct except one - the need to claim, to take, to possess. The rest of the universe fell away, narrowing to this single point of scorching need.

Her lips parted on a ragged exhale, and I watched, entranced, as her tongue swept out to moisten them in an unconscious gesture. My gaze caught on the glistening fullness of her mouth, and a bolt of pure, visceral lust punched through me with staggering force.

I wanted - needed - to taste her. To shove her against the nearest surface and ravage her until she screamed my name. Until she branded herself on my soul as indelibly as I knew she would be seared into mine forever.

Clenching my fists until my nails dug into my palms, I pulled myself together.

Had I finally lost my mind after being trapped here for all of these years?