Dark Need by Clarissa Wild

Chapter 40

April

It takesme days to get to the House, but I don’t stop along the way unless necessary. I don’t even care about the speed limit because I know I’m running out of time. All I know is that I need to get there in time.

Before Soren is hurt.

He didn’t complete his mission, and the metal is off … which means Tobias will not be happy. And I don’t want Soren to be punished because of me.

Even if he did all those bad things, he did them because he had no choice.

And when he finally did decide to do something of his own volition, he did it knowing it would cost him everything… just for me.

And it makes my heart swell with a warmth I can’t describe.

This man has changed something about me that I simply can’t ignore, and I have to find him to know the truth.

So I hurry to the gates of the House, not giving a shit about the consequences as I slam the gates. There’s no doorbell or a guard in sight.

Still, somehow, a voice emanates from a box hanging from the fence.

“Who are you?”

I show my face to the camera. “April. One of the girls who was kept here. I need to talk to Soren.”

The voice goes quiet, and the box is turned off. For a second there, I wonder if they’re just going to ignore me and pretend I’m not there. But then the doors to the giant mansion up ahead open, and my heart beats faster and faster.

Why? Because none other than Tobias himself comes walking toward me.

I swallow away the nerves, not wanting to show a single ounce of weakness to this monster of a man. Now that Eli is gone, he rules this place, and he seems like a far more vicious man than Eli was. Or maybe he feels like he has to carry the weight of both their failures.

He approaches the fence with two guards accompanying him, but I don’t back down.

“I’m—”

“I heard you the first time,” he replies. “How did you find this place?”

I think about my answer for a second. “I remembered the way back.”

I can’t tell him the truth and risk exposing Amelia and Eli. He was adamant on that.

Tobias narrows his eyes. “Right … Give me one good reason not to take you back inside and punish you for leaving.”

I steel myself. “Eli gave the order to bring me back. Soren defied it. That does not make me a sinner. I did nothing wrong.” I swallow back the nerves. “I just want to talk to Soren. After all the things you people did to me, you owe me that.”

He sucks in a breath and says, “All right. Say I agree. What then? What do you hope to achieve by talking to him?”

“I just need to see … see if …” I fight off the blush on my cheeks. “If he’s okay.”

“You care about him?” He scoffs and then chuckles. “The iron beast made someone care?” The laugh turns more ominous. “I can’t believe it.”

“Look, I know he didn’t commit to his job, but please don’t punish him.” I clench the bars of the fence. “It was my fault. I put him up to it.”

He frowns and steps closer to the gate, so close that it strikes fear in my heart. “And you dare to come here anyway?” He’s so close now he could almost grab me straight through the fence and pin me right where he wants me. He could drag me straight back into the house if he wanted to. The thought alone makes me shiver, but I can’t let it sway me.

“I could put you back in that room right where you belong,” he hisses. “After what you did to Soren, it’s what you deserve.”

My eyes widen. Soren must’ve told him. “So he’s here?”

Tobias’s eyes flicker with rage. “That’s all you care about?”

“No, I care about the other women who were kept here too, the women you discarded,” I reply.

“That was not my choice,” he says, slamming his fist against the fence.

Seems I’ve hit a nerve. “Where were they taken?”

“If I know Eli, back to where they came from,” he retorts.

I frown. “Where?”

“Home,” he spits. “To the people who sent them to us.”

I narrow my eyes. “So I was the only one who wasn’t allowed to go back home.”

He makes a face. “Seems that way …”

It sounds like they’re having a struggle between them, and I don’t want to get involved. Even though I care about what happened to the women, I have to remember why I came here. And if they got home, maybe they’re okay.

“I need to know where Soren is.”

Tobias stares at me, chewing on the inside of his cheeks, nostrils flaring. “Give me one good reason I should tell you any of this.”

I look Tobias right in the eyes. “If you don’t let me go and tell me where he is, Soren will never forgive you. And I think you know exactly what he’s capable of.”

A moment of silence follows, which feels like it lasts an eternity.

Then he sucks in a breath. “He’s not here.”

My lungs suck in a breath, but the oxygen is stuck in my throat as it clamps up.

He’s not … at the House?

“What? Why not?” I mutter.

“I dismissed him after his betrayal. He will have to face his own people now.”

Tobias turns around and walks off.

“Wait!” I yell, jerking the fence. “Tell me where he is! If I don’t, I won’t be able to tell him what I feel.”

He doesn’t stop walking even though I start slamming my hands against the bars. I won’t let him get away like that. I have to find Soren. I have to … find my way back to him.

“Fine.” Suddenly, Tobias spins on his heels and chucks a piece of crumbled-up paper in my direction. “Have at it. If you care at all, you will stay away.”

It lands near the fence, out of reach, but I shove myself up close and pry with one hand between the bars, desperate to reach the paper on the ground like a beggar looking for scraps. But I don’t care how pathetic it makes me look.

When I finally manage to grab the paper, I whisk it away before Tobias can come back and snatch it away from me. He’s still there, waiting, and he glares at me with a mischievous look in his eyes. A small smirk forms on his lips as he watches me unravel the paper in front of him. I only briefly look away to find an address scribbled on the paper.

He throws me one final glance. “Don’t get yourself killed.”

I pause at that ominous warning as well as the dangerous look on his face. Only when he finally turns and walks back to the House can I breathe again.

I don’t hesitate one second before I get up and run.

Away from the House, away from Tobias.

Even though what awaits me out there will probably be way, way worse than anything he could ever have in store for me.

Because after what we did, he may have discarded Soren, but I will never, ever turn my back on someone I care about.

And if this decision makes me commit an actual sin, then so be it.

* * *

Soren

The boat swaysfrom side to side, nausea making it hard to breathe. But I keep myself grounded by staring at the water ahead. I’ve always felt more comfortable on my jet ski, though I probably won’t ever be able to do that again. Life at the House had its benefits, with electrical gadgets, copious amounts of food, a warm bed, and a lavish lifestyle. Nothing but dirt, trees, and rocks are out here, and the people who inhabit these islands live as close to nature as possible. It’s the complete opposite of what I was used to all these years … but it definitely reminds me of where I came from.

The place I used to call home.

A large island looms in the distance, smoke rising from the thick woods, signaling the people that another boat is arriving. Boats rarely arrive, if ever, on the island. They only carry supplies … or those who have returned after their duties are completed to reap the rewards of their service.

But I am not one of those men.

My stomach churns, and I lean over the edge of the boat, my body feeling heavier and heavier the closer we get.

“I’m surprised you wanna go there,” the guide who owns this boat suddenly says with an accent that reminds me of a long time ago. “Not a lot of people wanna visit that island. If ever. Bunch of hippies there, practicing some occult magic shit.”

I just grumble and look ahead as the boat comes near the shore.

“Well, not that it matters. As long as I get paid,” he muses. “But I’m not returning to pick you up, just so you know. So good luck out there.”

The boat reaches the docks, and he secures the rope to make sure the boat doesn’t go anywhere as I step off. My stomach is glad I’m on land, but my mind … My mind knows I’m not going to get a warm welcome.

I swallow as I step off the pier and onto the soil of the island I was birthed on.

The island I used to call my home.

My teeth grate as I tear my eyes away from the boat and peer up at the trees beyond. Several heads peek out from the forest line, the people not daring to step closer. Not until the boat is gone and I’m all alone.

The guy doesn’t wait long and immediately unhooks the rope, waving me goodbye before setting off again. I don’t wave back. Instead, I focus on what lies ahead. On the punishment that awaits me when the Elder finds out what I have done.

Two men step out from the shadows of the forest. They peer around to secure the area before more of them appear from the woods, all headed toward me. I don’t even flinch even though my heart begins to race as they approach me in their signature underpants, no shirt, bodies covered in tattoos.

One of them stands in front of me, his knives on full display, his eyes glinting with a kind of temper that I recognize from staring in the mirror. It’s the kind of look that says he won’t back down from a fight should there be one. But I know better than to pick a fight with the people who raised me.

So I lower my head in honor and then turn to show them my back. Slowly, I peel away my shirt from bottom to top, tearing it over my head to reveal the tattoos on my back that were so painstakingly applied by the tattooists on this island. A privilege bestowed only to those who serve and belong.

And when I turn around again, the guy lowers his knife and tucks it back into his pocket.

“Arvid, protector of the island,” he says with a sullen voice.

“Soren,” I reply.

Protector.

A skilled warrior who will do anything to protect the island from invaders and uninvited guests. They are picked from the best of the best trainees, specifically appointed by the wisest Elder.

His eyes are no longer volatile but questioning as he furrows his brows.

“Did you complete your mission?”

I avert my eyes in shame. “I failed.”

Arvid sucks in a breath through his nose and glances at the others that accompanied him. “C’mon. They’re waiting for you.”

They? As in … the Elders?

“Did they know I was coming?” I ask as we walk across the beach and head straight into the forest.

“Of course,” Arvid replies. “The Elders received a notice by a letter from your Owner stating you had failed your duty.”

Fuck.

I’d forgotten mail arrives quicker than people. And of course Tobias would let them know ahead of time that I was coming back.

I grumble and follow Arvid deep into the heart of the forest, where I know only one thing awaits me.

Punishment.

But I am not afraid of pain.

I am only afraid of losing what I value the most … honor.

But it was fucking worth it seeing April’s smile.