Chapter 21
Risk led us to another part of Spector I’d never seen before. Rows of apartments lined the halls where, apparently, the guards lived. I felt eyes on us as we traveled, and when we stopped in front of a door at the end of the long hallway, Risk opened it with a carefree whistle and then motioned for us to go inside.
It was a small apartment, similar to my dorm room at Thibault. There was a small kitchenette in the corner, a sitting area, and a large king-sized bed in the very middle. I wasn’t impressed with the nice living quarters. Crow once said that all of Spector was a cage, and now more than ever, I believed him.
The moment the door shut behind us, Risk ripped me from Tomb’s strong hold and crushed me to his own chest. “You stupid woman, what the fuck were you thinking?” he scolded while carrying me to a nearby couch. The emotional whiplash was almost as bad as the jerking pain my body felt with every jostle.
“Are you kidding me right now?” I hissed in response as Crow and Tomb stalked after him, their muscles rippling with the urge to fight.
“Who the fuck are you?” Tomb growled, clenching his fists and looking like he was about to go full statue again.
Risk ignored both of us though and placed me on the couch, staring me down with obvious displeasure. “Take your clothes off, Motley. I need to look at your wounds.”
“Like hell you are,” Crow replied, though his voice was worn and ragged with exhaustion.
Risk rolled his eyes and started removing his tie. Once it was discarded on the floor, he unbuttoned his collar and flashed the scarlet mark of my shame for my mates to see. The pain in my shoulder and leg were forgotten. I was too busy writhing in the excruciating reality that I’d been used by this demon and cheapened the mating mark by bestowing one on him.
Crow’s and Tomb’s eyes widened, and they exchanged a look. My cheeks burned in shame.
“Why does he have a mark, Motley?” Tomb asked patiently. His faith in me made the pain even worse. Even though the answer was obvious, he wanted to hear it from my lips. He was giving me the benefit of the doubt even though I didn’t deserve it.
“My spider made him her mate,” I choked out, like the words had turned to burning cinders in my throat. “He tricked me. I thought he wanted me too, but he just wanted immortality so he could work with Spector,” I replied while slumping my shoulders. Saying the reality of what Risk had done made me sick to my stomach. I was so tired of being used and so overwhelmed by his motivations. I felt jaded in the worst possible way.
“He did what?” Tomb asked before slapping down a rock hard hand on Risk’s shoulder. Ever the careless demon, Risk simply rolled his eyes at the threat and spun around to face my gargoyle mate. Tomb was vibrating with rage. His protectiveness made every muscle in his body flex in anticipation.
If I weren’t bleeding out and in burning pain, I would’ve wanted to jump his bones.
“You going to punch me? Let’s get this territorial shit show over with so I can help our mate,” Risk huffed out while unclasping the buttons on each wrist of his dress shirt and rolling them up.
Our mate? Our mate? What the fuck was that supposed to mean? He couldn’t just play both sides of the relic coin whenever it suited him.
Tomb didn’t respond with a witty retort, nor did he wait for Risk to finish undressing. He reared his onyx fist back and landed a harsh punch on the traitor’s jaw. Risk’s head whipped backwards at the sheer force of Tomb’s hit, and his eyes widened at the shock of it.
Crow sighed, like he was too exhausted to actually deal with this, but he walked up to Tomb’s side and held his fists up, prepared to join in and support his friend anyway.
Risk rubbed his jaw, and I probably enjoyed the blooming bruise on his face a little more than I should’ve. “Happy now?” he asked boredly. “Got that out of your system?”
“Not until you’re dead, motherfucker,” Tomb growled.
“Good thing I can’t die then, hmm?” Risk replied, making a fresh wave of pain radiate across my chest.
Tomb was not amused by Risk’s careless attitude. My gargoyle sent another fist flying, this time with one made of solid stone, hitting Risk directly in the gut. The blow had him bent over with a wheeze, but when he straightened back up, Risk was smirking. “Fuck, you can pack a punch, gargoyle. I’ll give you one more because I’m feeling generous.”
The risk demon’s eyes glittered with excitement. He looked like he was enjoying this far too much, but Tomb was panting, his body blinking back and forth from black stone to sweat-coated skin. Crow’s shoulders were steaming with sputters of shadows, tired feathers drifting onto the floor. They were too worn out for this shit, and I hadn’t attacked a regiment of Spector guards just to let one fake mate taunt them into exhausting themselves even more.
“Stop. Don’t antagonize them,” I said, forcing myself to sit up with a grimace. “What do you want, Risk? You used me. You got to become indestructible like you wanted. Can’t we just call this what it is and be done?” I asked as fresh tears filled my eyes.
It was all too much. Watching my mates being tortured. The deception. Spector’s plans. I just wanted to rest and hold my mates—my real mates.
Risk looked over at me, his black brows arching up. “For hell’s sake, are you crying?” he asked, looking surprised. “Who the fuck made you cry?”
I glared at him. “Don’t mock me,” I croaked.
“Tell me who made you cry and
