Chapter 56
Lirael
I was halfway out of my chair when Sebastian reappeared.
The timing was too perfect to be coincidence—of course it was. He emerged from the direction of the restrooms with Celeste at his side, and the moment his eyes found me rising from the table, his expression shifted into something that might have been amusement if it weren't so predatory.
"Leaving so soon?" His voice carried across the restaurant, pleasant and mild, but I heard the steel underneath. "And here I thought we were having such a lovely time."
I froze, one hand still braced against the table's edge, caught between sitting and standing like an animal that had just realized it was already in the trap. Damian's hand shot out to grip my wrist—a warning, or maybe an anchor.
"Restroom," I managed, forcing my voice into something approximating casual. "Just needed to—"
"Of course." Sebastian guided Celeste back to our table with one hand at the small of her back, proprietary and possessive. "Though I have to say, Ms. Elena, you look rather pale. Are you feeling unwell?"
Every instinct screamed at me to run, to bolt for the elevator and damn the consequences. But Celeste's face stopped me cold—she looked worse than when they'd left, her eyes downcast, her shoulders curved inward in a posture of absolute submission that I recognized with sick familiarity.
Whatever had happened in that restroom, it had reinforced every lesson she'd already learned too well about what it meant to be Sebastian's property.
"I'm fine," I said, lowering myself back into my chair with deliberate care. My legs felt like water, but I kept my movements smooth, controlled. "Just a bit warm in here."
"Mmm." Sebastian settled into his seat, but instead of allowing Celeste to sit, he positioned her beside his chair with a gentle hand on her shoulder. The gesture looked almost affectionate, but I saw how her body tensed at the touch, how carefully she arranged herself to remain perfectly still.
Standing. Like a piece of furniture. Like a pet waiting for its master's next command.
I caught Damian's eye across the table and saw my own horror reflected there. He'd noticed it too—the shift in her demeanor, the way she held herself now, the tremor in her hands that she couldn't quite suppress.
I went absolutely rigid. Beside me, I heard Damian's breath catch, saw his hand tighten around his knife hard enough to make the blade tremble.
Sebastian inhaled slowly, his eyes never leaving mine, then released the hair with deliberate care. "Strange," he murmured, his voice low and intimate. "You smell familiar, Ms. Elena. The shampoo you use—it's the same brand as my pet's."
My heart was a war drum against my ribs, but I kept my expression mildly curious even as cold sweat began to bead along my spine. "Is it? Well, there are only so many luxury brands in Ark City. Coincidences happen."
"Do they?" He leaned back in his chair, still watching me with that unsettling intensity that made me feel like a specimen under glass. "I've never been a great believer in coincidence. I prefer... patterns. Connections." His thumb stroked absently along Celeste's arm, and she flinched almost imperceptibly. "Things that seem random but reveal themselves to be anything but, once you know what you're looking for."
"Sometimes a shared shampoo is just a shared shampoo," I said evenly, though my pulse was hammering so hard I was certain he could hear it.
"Perhaps." But his smile suggested he didn't believe that for a second.
The silence that followed was suffocating. I could hear the clink of silverware from nearby tables, the murmur of conversation, the soft classical music playing through hidden speakers, but it all felt distant, muffled, like I was underwater and drowning.
I was preparing to make another excuse to leave—bathroom, phone call, sudden illness, anything—when Sebastian pushed back from the table abruptly.
"You know what?" The movement made Celeste startle, a full-body flinch that she tried and failed to suppress. "This is boring. I didn't come here to sit around making small talk over overpriced food."
He pulled Celeste to her feet with casual authority, keeping her close to his side like a favored possession. "There's a private entertainment room downstairs. I've had it reserved all week—pool table, dartboard, shooting simulator. Much more interesting than this." His gaze swept across Damian and me, lingering on my face. "Why don't we continue our lunch there? Make an afternoon of it."
"We have other commitments," Damian said immediately, his voice tight.
"Do you?" Sebastian's tone remained light, but something dangerous flickered in his eyes—a flash of gold that was there and gone in an instant. "That's unfortunate. I was really hoping to get to know your date better, Damian. It's so rare to see you with anyone, especially someone so..." His gaze raked over me with deliberate slowness. "Intriguing."
"We appreciate the offer," I began, already half-rising from my chair again, "but we really should—"
"I particularly want to play darts." Sebastian's hand moved to Celeste's shoulder, his fingers tightening just enough to make her breath hitch audibly. "I have this special variation I've been wanting to try. You see, instead of a traditional target..." He smiled down at Celeste, and my blood ran cold. "I use my pet as the bullseye. It's quite thrilling, actually. Tests your precision, your control." His eyes found mine again, and the hunger in them was unmistakable. "Your willingness to take risks."
The words hit me like a physical blow. I sank back into my chair, my legs suddenly unable to support my weight.
"You can't be serious," Damian said, his voice tight with barely controlled fury.
"Can't I?" Sebastian's expression remained pleasant, but there was steel underneath now, cold and unyielding. "She's mine, Damian. My property. I can use her however I see fit." He glanced around the restaurant, at the other diners who were studiously avoiding looking our way, at the servers who had suddenly found urgent business elsewhere. "Or have you forgotten how our world works?"
I saw the moment Damian realized we were trapped—not by physical force, but by the same twisted rules that had kept me collared and leashed, that had let Sebastian claim me as compensation for a broken bottle and scattered flowers. In the world of the Triad, of Alphas and their possessions, Sebastian had every right to do whatever he wanted with what belonged to him.
And everyone here knew it.
"Sebastian." Damian's voice was low, dangerous, vibrating with barely suppressed violence. "Don't do this."
"Don't do what? Invite my brother and his companion to enjoy some entertainment?" Sebastian's smile widened, showing too many teeth. "Or don't exercise my rights over my own property? You're not going to lecture me about morality, are you? That would be rather hypocritical, given your own... acquisitions over the years."
Damian's jaw clenched so hard I heard his teeth grind, but he said nothing. Because there was nothing to say—nothing that wouldn't make things worse, nothing that wouldn't put all of us in more danger.
I looked at Celeste, saw the terror in her eyes, the way she was trembling despite her rigid posture. She knew what was coming.
She was standing there because of me. Because I'd asked her to take my place, to wear my face, to become a target for Sebastian's obsession. And now he was going to use her as a literal target, and she couldn't even scream, couldn't even beg, because she'd learned that resistance only made the punishment worse.
The decision crystallized with sudden, terrible clarity.
"It sounds interesting," I heard myself say, my voice cutting across Damian's building protest. "I'll come."
Damian's head whipped toward me, his eyes wide with disbelief and fury. "Lirael—"
"Elena," I corrected softly, holding his gaze. Trust me, I tried to convey with my eyes. I know what I'm doing.
I didn't, not really. But I knew that if we walked away now, Celeste would pay the price for my cowardice. And I'd spent too many years being the one who paid to let someone else take that burden.
Sebastian's expression shifted, satisfaction blooming across his features like blood in water. "Wonderful. I'm so glad you're being reasonable, Ms. Elena." He extended his free hand in an exaggerated gesture of invitation. "Shall we?"