Chapter 48: Evening meeting

Victor's steps were sharp against the marble, each stride a blade through the tension winding tighter in his chest. The heat of Elias's body still clung to his hands, the taste of him still on his tongue, sweet and dangerous as the faint burn on Victor's jaw where Elias's fingers had dug in.

He didn't slow. If he did, he'd turn back. And that, he clenched his jaw, would only make the ache worse.

By the time the double doors to the outer corridor slammed shut behind him, his composure was in tatters. The air outside was cooler and harsher, but it didn't bleed off the frustration coiling in his gut. He ripped the gloves from his hands, tossing them onto the seat of the waiting car with more force than necessary before sliding in and raking a hand through his hair.

Ashwin followed close, closing the door behind them. The engine hummed to life, the vehicle pulling away from the manor in silence.

Victor stared out the window, jaw set, one hand braced against his knee as if anchoring himself in place. His mind was still in that room, the scent of imperial irises thick enough to choke him, Elias's soft gasp against his lips, the way the omega had arched into his touch without even realizing. They'd been a breath away. A heartbeat.

And then a knock on the door ruined it.

Victor's teeth ground together, the sound low in his throat, closer to a growl than a sigh. His fingers flexed on his knee, imagining for a fleeting, vicious second how it would've felt to finish what he'd started. To see how far Elias would let him go before that sharp, shaking voice broke again.

"Victor," Ashwin said quietly from the seat beside him, his tone cautious, as though sensing the storm brewing under Victor's stillness. "You needed to hear this in person."

Victor turned his head slowly, eyes narrowing, the crimson still lingering faintly in their depths. "It better be worth interrupting me."

Ashwin swallowed but didn't flinch. He opened the folder in his lap, papers shifting with the movement of the car. "It is. Ruoxi is safe. She made contact this morning."

Victor's fingers stilled mid‑drum against his knee. His gaze sharpened, the restless frustration cooling to something far more focused. "Safe?"

"She's waiting for you," Ashwin continued, his voice steadying now that the words were out. "She said there's… a lot to discuss. She doesn't trust anyone."

Victor leaned back into the leather seat, eyes closing for a fraction of a second. Relief, sharp and unexpected, cut through the haze of arousal and anger he'd carried out of that room. Ruoxi, reaching out, changed the board entirely.

He exhaled slowly, reopening his eyes, though the tension didn't fade. It only shifted, layered over the image of Elias sitting there, breathless, marked.

"Then take me to her," Victor said, voice low, threaded with command. "But Ashwin…" he turned his head, gaze slicing like a blade. "…if anyone interrupts me like that again, they'd better be dying in my arms or they'll wish they were. Do you understand?"

Ashwin nodded once, quick and sharp. "Understood."

Victor's eyes slid back to the window, the city lights bleeding into shadow as the car sped onward. Somewhere behind him, Elias would still be sitting in that armchair, touching the mark Victor had left, a mark he would see every time he closed his eyes until he got him alone again.

'We're not finished,' he thought, his lips curving in a dark, private smile. And this time, no one would interrupt.

—

The car slowed as they turned off the main road, the tires crunching over gravel. Victor's gaze had fixed on the dark outline of the old safehouse long before the headlights caught it, stone walls half-hidden by overgrown ivy, lantern light spilling from a single window.

The vehicle rolled to a stop. Victor stepped out into the night air, the chill biting at his still‑warm skin. He straightened his coat, every line of him sharp despite the residual heat of Elias still ghosting over his senses.

The door opened before he could reach it.

Ruoxi stood in the threshold, framed by the dim interior light. Her black hair was pulled back loosely, strands slipping to catch the glow, and her dark blue eyes widened as they swept over him.

"Victor," she breathed, voice catching in that rare way that told him she hadn't expected to see him in person. She stepped forward quickly, but the moment she closed the distance, her expression shifted, shock giving way to something sharper.

Her gaze flicked down, tracking the faint, pulsing lines at the edge of his collar, the subtle strain in his stance. "You're walking," she said, quiet but incredulous. Then, sharper, urgent: "Victor, are you insane? You'll burn that body out…"

"I'm fine." He cut her off softly, steady but firm, crimson eyes meeting hers without flinching. He let her see that he meant it.

"You're not…"

"Ruoxi." His tone lowered, even. "I'm stable. For now."

She stopped, lips parting, but confusion and worry warred in her eyes. "How?" she asked, her voice softer now, almost disbelieving. "The doctors said it would take months before you could…"

Victor exhaled slowly, the corner of his mouth tilting just slightly, though the smile never reached his eyes. "Someone helped me."

Her brow furrowed. "Who?"

A memory flickered hot and sharp behind his eyes, Elias's hands on his face, the taste of him, and the scent of imperial irises thick in the air. The sting of leaving that room behind.

Victor's gaze slid past Ruoxi as though he could still feel that fragile heartbeat pressed against his chest, still hear Elias's breath stutter when power threaded between them.

"Your sweet roommate," he said finally, his voice low and deliberate as he stepped through the threshold of the safehouse.

Ruoxi froze mid‑step. "Elias?" she asked, confusion flashing in her dark blue eyes. "What does he have to do with…" Her breath hitched, and the realization struck hard enough to make her voice sharpen. "Did they touch him? Those rotten bastards…"

Victor stopped in the narrow entryway and turned, crimson eyes catching the lamplight. "They tried," he said evenly. "Voicemails using your voice… and a clone."

Her hands curled into fists. "A clone?"

"Of your phone," Victor continued, stepping further in, shedding his coat with deliberate calm. "Elias believed it. He thought he was protecting you. He wanted to hand it over to Samael Numen himself."

Ruoxi went pale, her lips parting as the name sank in. "Samael…" Her voice faltered. "Victor, that's…he's…"

"I know exactly who he is." The edge in Victor's tone could have cut glass, his jaw flexed, and the faint glow beneath his skin flared once before steadying. "The main traitor we've been hunting in the dark."

Ruoxi's expression broke, shock, anger, a flash of grief, but Victor didn't give her time to speak. He stepped closer, the air shifting with him, his presence filling the space like a tide.

"I intercepted Elias before he could reach him," Victor said quietly. "Because I knew he was someone you cared about. That was all." His voice lowered further, rough at the edges now, as though confessing something that had burned too long inside him. "But when I saw him… I realized I'd found something I've been searching for for the last two hundred years."

Ruoxi's breath caught, her dark blue eyes widening. "Victor…"

"He shouldn't exist," Victor murmured, half to himself, crimson gaze drifting as memory threaded through him. "Not like that. Not with that resonance. And yet…" He exhaled, almost a laugh, but soft and disbelieving. "He does."

Ruoxi took a slow step toward him, studying him as though afraid he might fracture where he stood. "Victor… what are you saying?"

He looked at her then, and the weight in his eyes was nothing she'd seen before, sharp and raw, threaded with longing and something far older than either of them.

"I'm saying," Victor whispered, "that Elias is not just someone dear to you. He's my soulmate."