Beyond by Katie May

2

Bianaca

Imoved in a daze to my bedroom, room 232.

Heath’s words…

The innate sense of truth in them…

The implications…

I slipped inside my room and shut the door behind me, pressing my forehead against the wood.

What the fuck did I do now? What did I tell everyone? Did I even dare, or would they think I was insane? Was it—

“Took you long enough, princess.”

I jumped, a scream getting lodged in my throat as I spun towards my bed. My hand fumbled with the light switch a second before warm, artificial lighting spilled across my room.

And the handsome man perched on my bed.

Aiden was rifling through my photobook, making himself right at home in my dorm room. My eyes took in his toned and muscular physique and that dark hair, which almost appeared blue in certain lights. The numerous piercings in his face glinted in the harsh lighting, drawing attention to his thick, plush lips. As usual, he wore a skin-tight, black T-shirt and black jeans. His leather and pine scent surrounded me as I stepped closer, willing my heart rate to return to a normal rhythm.

“What are you doing in here?” I demanded, though I didn’t know why I was even surprised. Aiden always found ways to sneak into my dorm room unannounced and definitely uninvited. He was darkness and sin personified, wrath and violence twined together, and I was suddenly reminded of the nine circles Heath had mentioned.

Oh god.

What did I tell him?

Aiden’s dark eyes narrowed, his pierced eyebrow furrowing.

“Tell me the truth, B. Don’t you dare fucking lie to me.”

I rolled my eyes so hard, I was surprised they didn’t get stuck in the back of my head.

Who would dream of ever lying to the esteemed Aiden, the king of the school and one of the self-proclaimed Four Horsemen?

I said that all sarcastically, of course.

But…he was right.

If I planned to escape with him and the others, I needed there to be trust between us. It couldn’t only go one way. I had to give him what I hoped to receive for myself.

I moved towards my closet, my body feeling unbearably heavy, and began to unbutton my shirt. I didn’t care that he was directly behind me, his eyes intense on my shoulder blades. I didn’t care about anything except for the desperate desire to get this damn uniform off of me. I’d burn it if I could.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Aiden’s voice spewed vitriol, but there was a slight hitch to his tone that hadn’t been there prior. Ignoring him, I unbuttoned my shirt the rest of the way and tossed it on the ground. My bra quickly followed, though I kept my back to Aiden.

Grabbing a pajama shirt from the pile of clothes in my wardrobe, I tossed it on and then shoved down my school skirt. Dressed in only an oversized T-shirt and panties, I turned to face Aiden once more.

His eyes… They were molten, laced with fire. Intense and ravenous. They burned a slow and torturous pathway down to the inside of my thighs.

“I asked you a question, princess. What the fuck are you doing?” His voice was rougher than I’d ever heard it before. Raspy, almost.

“Trying to forget this shitty day ever happened,” I responded, crawling into bed, despite him still being perched on the end of it. If it were even possible, his eyes narrowed further until I couldn’t even make out the irises.

“Did you talk to Heath?” he demanded, his hands clenching into fists on his thighs.

I cuddled beneath the covers and brought them up to my chin, my eyelids squeezing shut. “If you’re asking if I fucked him for information, then the answer is yes,” I lied, the retort escaping unbidden. “And let me tell you. The things that man can do with his—”

The blanket was pulled off of me so fast, I squeaked, blinking wildly in surprise.

Aiden hovered on his knees above me, the darkness radiating from his gaze so pronounced and thick that it burned my airways.

“We never wanted you to fuck him.” He spat the word as if it left a sour, pungent taste in his mouth.

A grin unfurled on my lips, dry and sarcastic. “No? I thought that was all I was good for—fucking men for information.”

“Don’t put words in my mouth, princess.” He bared his teeth. “You won’t like what happens.”

“Tell me, Aiden. What will you do?” Harsh laughter escaped me. “What will any of us do? We’re going to die down here.”

At my words, his growl faded, a crease materializing between his eyes. Those dark, dark eyes…

“What did you learn?” He leaned even closer until I swore I could see specks of gold swirling in the twin abysses. But when I blinked, they dissipated, the darkness swallowing the brief glimpse of color once more.

“What didn’t I learn?” I mumbled, trying to tug the blankets back around me.

Aiden growled, the noise low and primitive, and captured my wrists, holding them above my head. His strong body hovered just above mine, his chest brushing against my pebbled nipples. His eyes flickered to my lips briefly, stark hunger etched across his features, before he met my gaze.

“What did you learn, princess?” For the first time since I’d met him, the endearment “princess” didn’t sound like an insult, but something sweeter. Softer. More intimate. It brushed across my skin like the softest feather imaginable, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake.

Whatever Aiden saw in my expression had his own darkening.

“Is it bad?” he demanded.

“I didn’t want to believe it at first,” I whispered, trembling. “But fuck, Aiden, I can’t deny the truth in his words.”

“What. Did. You. Learn?” He placed his mouth directly beside my ear, growling each word until I felt myself squirming with need. Need for him—for a man I hated and desired at the same fucking time. Ignoring the toxic cocktail of emotion, I sought the best words to explain to him what Heath had told me.

And then I decided…

Rip off the metaphorical bandage. He’d bleed—how could he not?—but hopefully, the pain wouldn’t be as prolonged.

So I told him everything. Purgatory. The Nine Circles of Hell. The reapers. The monster.

Everything.

Aiden listened without interrupting, without a single change of emotion, except for the tightening around his eyes. His grip around my wrists gradually loosened until I knew I could pull free if I desired to.

I didn’t.

When I finished speaking, he stared at me for a long, long time, not speaking a single word. I watched in rapt fascination as a myriad of emotions flashed across his face, one after the other in rapid-fire succession. I wasn’t even sure he realized that his mask had broken, that he was baring himself to me.

Disbelief. Confusion. Horror. Begrudging acceptance. And then…

Sorrow. So much fucking sorrow, I feared I would drown in it.

“Aiden…” He rolled off of me, collapsing onto his back. He brought one of his arms over his head, covering his eyes. He was so still, I actually feared something had happened to him, until I saw the rise and fall of his chest, barely perceptible.

He didn’t speak, and I didn’t dare either.

Finally, he whispered, “My sister’s dead.”

I wanted to offer him false promises, things like “Don’t think that.” Or “It’s not true.”

But I couldn’t. Not when I knew in my heart that Josie and her girlfriend had left this world once and for all. Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. This wasn’t my time to grieve—it was his.

Thousands of condolences jumped to the forefront of my mind, but I knew how pointless and shallow they could be. Grieving people didn’t want to hear you say sorry. I didn’t know the girl, so my pain was a mere sliver compared to his. I told him as much.

“I wish I’d gotten to meet her.”

A harsh bark of laughter fell from his lips as he finally dropped his arm, twisting his head to stare at me. His eyes were bright, shiny, glimmering with tears I wasn’t sure he would let fall. Maybe he would later, away from me, but not now. Not then. He held himself to this unattainable standard that seemed to place an emphasis on guarding his emotions. I wanted to tell him it was okay to fall apart, to grieve, to cry, but knew it wasn’t my place.

“She would’ve loved you, you know.” Aiden placed his finger on my bottom lip. “You remind me a lot of her—spunky, too smart for your own good, outspoken. She was…she was too good for this fucking world.”

“If she’s as awesome as you say she is, how did she end up with a brother like you?” I teased, and another surprised noise escaped him. It could’ve been laughter. It could’ve even been a sob.

“My sister…” His body shook. “My sister’s dead.”

“Aiden…”

And then I got exactly what I’d wanted—he fell apart. Sobs racked his body as I held him to me, held the broken pieces together so he could crumble without repercussions. I didn’t speak as I stroked his pitch-black hair, but no words needed to be said. He clung to me desperately, fiercely, his tears wetting the skin of my neck, and all I could do was hold him through the worst of the storm.

I hated him, he hated me, but right then and there, we were as connected as two people could possibly be.

I didn’t know how long we lay in bed, our bodies tangled together, before his sobbing tapered off and his breathing became even in sleep. His arms were wrapped around my waist, our legs crossed together, and his head rested in the hollow of my throat. Sleep didn’t immediately claim me as I gently stroked his back and shoulders, my mind working overtime to understand everything that’d just transpired.

Heath’s words.

Aiden’s breakdown.

Purgatory.

Between.

And worse than that…beyond.

What lay beyond these tunnels and gated walls?

And would we dare find out?