House of Blood and Beasts

17. A Gesture of Kindness

The artwork above is not mine.

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Ruhn was once again lounging on his bed, smoking a joint of mirthroot. A half empty bottle of whiskey sat on his nightstand and "Tooth and Nail" was thumping through his headphones. He'd given Sarai's suggestion a try a few days ago and added it to his playlist within the first few seconds of the song.

Usually when he followed this routine, he was trying to relax. Today, he was trying to keep himself from remembering Demelza. Their search of the Witch's office had yielded nothing, and Ruhn couldn't help but feel like her fate had partially been his fault. After all, he was the one who gave her the sample, and he couldn't think of another reason why she would've been killed.

Ruhn grabbed the whiskey and took another draught, then turned his music up louder. He'd texted Sarai shortly after leaving Demelza's office last night, but she never answered. When he checked his phone this morning, there was still no word from her.

He'd sent a selfie and said, Flynn pulled out the waterworks when I told him you said he didn't have a chance. It wasn't true, of course. He was just hoping for some sort of snarky remark from her to show Flynn later. But now, four hours after sending that message, Sarai still hadn't responded.

Maybe she decided to sleep in this morning, Ruhn thought. He let smoke roll out of his mouth and closed his eyes. I like sleeping in after a rough night of dealing with Aux idiots too.

The song switched and Ruhn began bobbing his head to the beat. He propped up one leg and clasped his hands atop his stomach, breathing a contented sigh. He felt surprisingly good right now. Maybe he'd be able to return to Demelza's office later and do another sweep.

Ruhn groaned as footsteps pounded on the stairs. Flynn crashed into his room, panting for breath. "Have you heard from Sarai today?" He asked.

"No."

"Get up."

"Why?" Ruhn shifted his face towards Flynn.

"She's on TV."

He sat up, furrowing his brows. "What?"

Flynn grabbed his arm and Ruhn bit back a hiss of pain. He stumbled out of bed and managed to drop his headphones before Flynn pulled him out of the room. They practically slid down the stairs and reached the living room. Declan was leaning against the couch, his jaw clenched and amber eyes simmering with anger.

"Fucking sadists," he spat, turning away from the television screen.

"Who? What are you talking about?" Ruhn demanded.

Flynn turned him towards the TV and Ruhn stiffened. The news broadcast showed a central square in Moonwood, located in the Wolves Den specifically. Sarai was standing on a raised dais with three people behind her. Ruhn recognized Sabine Fendyr and Rafe Fenix. He guessed the third male was the Lucas who Sarai had mentioned.

Anger hardened in his gut as he watched different emotions flicker across Sarai's face. Her cheeks were red and her eyes shone abnormally bright. The news broadcast had censored her bare chest, but that hardly reduced the indignity of the situation. She was surrounded by a crowd after all. A crowd who was there in person, not watching through a screen.

A hollow smirk appeared on Sarai's lips as she called, "What do you think of my tits, Crescent City?" Lucas let the whip fly and Sarai's body jerked at the contact.

Ruhn crossed his arms, digging his nails into his biceps. He didn't even flinch when pain spasmed through his burnt flesh. He watched the whip strike again and again, counting every blow. "Did they say why?" He growled.