These Violent Delights

Chapter 58: Don't Be Afraid

"Babe." You shifted at the irritant, rousing from sleep. "Baaaaabe, wake up."

You groaned. "Shut up."

There was a quiet chuckle. "There you are. Open your eyes, sleepyhead. I brought something for you to eat."

You didn't move; you couldn't imagine eating anything right now. But you felt a hand wave near your face, filling your nostrils with the scent of muja muffins. It made your stomach turn. You abruptly sat up, turned to the side, and retched into the bucket beside your cot.

After you were done, it took you a few moments to collect yourself. You were still in the dress you wore to the cantina, but your knife was gone. Next to you lay a pile of new clothes, your bag, a glass of water, and the now-full bucket of vomit. You heard shuffling in the room and raised your gaze to the man hovering above you. Drox.

He outstretched his hand, smiling apologetically at you. "Here, take these. It will offset the lingering effects of the sedative."

You took in your surroundings, stomach dropping when you realized you were in a reinforced military tent with a steel door equipped with bars. So, a prison cell. You frantically looked up at your ex-boyfriend. "Drox, what the fuck is going on? Why am I here?"

He sighed and bent down to place the medication beside you. When you inched back from him, he looked wounded and raised his hands. "I'm not going to hurt you, babe. Please take the pills. They will help with the nausea."

"What the fuck is going on?"

"You don't remember?"

"I..." you trailed off, closing your eyes as a sharp pain rammed into your skull. You had no choice but to reach for the pills and pop them in your mouth, wracking your brain as to how you got here. You knew you had a conversation with Luke Skywalker, then contacted the First Order and spoke to General Hux...quickly, violently, everything else fell into place. You groaned, putting your head between your legs as the video of Kylo following the prostitutes replayed in your mind, hot tears welling in your eyes as sobs shook your body.

"Hey, don't cry," Drox whispered. You heard leather creasing and fabric shuffling as he squatted in front of you. "We're on Exegol, babe. It's going to be okay. We're together now." When you tilted your face to his, he smiled, lifting a hand to stroke your cheek. "Nothing can stop us from restoring peace to the galaxy, just like we always wanted."

"Do you really think I want to be here with you?" you shot back, flinching away from his touch. "Did I punch you a little too hard on Crait, or are you intentionally making an ass out of yourself?"

Drox dropped his hand. A hardness reached his eyes. "Well, you're here, aren't you? You've at least come to your senses and want to take Ren down again."

"You're kidding, right? You think I came here willingly?"

"Well, the 'troopers said you did. They—"

"Right. That's why Hux drugged me and threw me in this cell." A vicious laugh tore from your lips. "Seven hells, Drox. You're dense."

His nostrils flared as anger blazed across his face. Gaze burning into you, he stood up and backed into the center of the room, speaking with a voice void of warmth. "You can't stop what is going to happen," he said, harshly adding your name. "You're gravely outnumbered, so I suggest joining us. The right side."

Feeling a bit steadier, you sat up straight on your cot, wiped the tears from your face, and calmly clasped your hands in your lap. "I hate to break this to you, but it doesn't matter how many people you think are on your side. You're no match for what you're about to face. And Leia would never let you actually kill her son."

"You're right. She wouldn't." He paused, his brows lifting with exaggerated arrogance. "Good thing she's gone."

Silence hung in the air. You didn't need him to elaborate what he meant by gone. A hoarse croak tore from your throat. "When?"

He shrugged. "Few months ago. Shortly after you left."

You stayed quiet as you processed this—you had a complicated relationship with Leia, but you never expected her to leave this world so suddenly, nor did you want her to pass. But right now, you didn't have the luxury to mourn. You pushed away the pain and nodded. "Okay. Where's Zeven? Is she here?"

He waved an agitated hand. "She and some other noble assholes said our plan was dishonorable, or some stupid shit like that. But that's okay. We don't need them. We have everything we need to kill your beloved Supreme Leader."

You laughed. "If Kylo doesn't kill you first, General Hux and the Order will. He told me himself. The moment Hux gets what he needs from you, he is destroying the Resistance."

"You think we don't know that?" Drox asked, squatting down in front of you again. "We're not as dense as you like to believe. As soon as we use them, we have reinforcements waiting in the shadows that will destroy Hux and his entire faction."

You found the strength to lean off the side of your bed, getting right in his face. "Right, sure you will. And Luke? Kylo? The Knights of Ren and the rest of the First Order? What about them, huh? Are you just going to overlook the fact that he can kill you without even touching you?"

"Oh, babe," he breathed, giving you a condescending shake of his head. "You seem to forget that we have the crystal."

"You're lying, Drox. I know you are. I spoke with Skywalker only moments before Hux kidnapped me. He said he disposed of it, and I believe him."

"You're right. He did. But he couldn't touch it himself, now could he? Good thing General Organa trusted me with disposing of it."

You slowly leaned back, eyes widening. "You kept it for yourself."

"I did. And now, thanks to me, our army has a tool that renders all Force-users powerless. And as soon as we trick them into coming into contact with it, we will be evenly matched."

Face hot, your pulse quickened as you digested his words. Through your panic, an idea seized you by the throat—what if they couldn't identify all Force-users? They couldn't drain your powers if they didn't know you had any, right? And if Luke and Leia were right about your potential, your abilities could turn the tide in Kylo's favor. Trying not to draw attention to your movements, you reached for your bag at the same time you spat out a hot-blooded insult.

"Kylo Ren without access to the Force is still a hundred times more powerful than you," you taunted, giving him a disgusted glower before nodding to the door. "Now, get the fuck away from me. I'm sure it's about time for you to go suck off your new General."

Drox glared at you. Hatred seeped into the lines of his face, distorting the kind features of the man you once loved. "I held out hope that things would work out between us," he retorted, standing up. He stormed over to the door, slid it open, and threw you a venomous look. "But you're dead to me now."

"Happy to hear that." You flipped him off as he held your gaze, but the moment he left, you reached inside your bag to grab the pendant.

You pulled it out by the chain, your body immediately reacting to its proximity. You felt it more now than you ever did, the mere sight of it mesmerizing you as you twirled it in your hands. The longer you stared at it, the more physically impossible it felt to tear your eyes away. But then the door opened again, pulling your attention to the two Stormtroopers waltzing in, and you inconspicuously placed the pendant on your pillow.

You slumped down in your cot, muttering to yourself. "Today is just not my day, is it?"

They didn't say anything. All they did was stride over to you and hover. You crossed your arms and set your irritated eyes on them. "Can I help you, assholes?" The one on the left kicked your foot. You knew they were trying to hurt you, but you didn't even flinch. You raised a single brow. "Well, that was embarrassing for you."

The pair looked at each other, unmoving for a moment before sharing a nod. Without warning, one of them bent down and smacked you across the cheek. Flesh stinging and blood rushing to the site of impact, your mouth opened in surprise as you brought your hand to your face.

You looked up at them and smiled. "Wow. You hit like a little bitch."

With tightly-wound movements, they both started to remove their gloves, sliding them off to fall to the ground. You sat up straight, getting ready for whatever they had planned, but nothing could have prepared you for when they took their helmets off. Both of them were female.

"Seriously? What happened to girls supporting girls, huh? I mean, really, it's—"

They lunged. You were still sluggish from the sedative, but somehow you managed to get on your feet. Truthfully, you got your ass handed to you for the first few moments, but it didn't take long for you to lurch into action. With one behind you, you crouched and ran at the blonde in front of you. You secured her against the door and gripped the side of her head, slamming it back.

Once, twice, a third time—you weren't satisfied until her eyes rolled to the back of her skull, her body going limp against yours. Right as you were about to let go, the other 'trooper grabbed a fistful of your hair. A guttural groan tore from your throat, your hands flying to your scalp as she dragged you away from her friend. Keeping her hand threaded through your hair, she kicked your spine and forced you down to your knees.

You laughed. "Oh, come on, I haven't told you my safe word yet."

"SHUT UP!" She stood behind you with wild eyes and a sneer on her lips, forcing you to look at her. "It's time you paid for what you did, you stupid fucking slut."

You rolled your eyes. "Rude."

Pivoting your weight to balance on the tops of your feet, you flung your body forward in a somersault. Your quick movements allowed you to break free of her grasp, but just as you jumped to your feet, she closed in to choke you. You grabbed her wrist, spinning around so that your back touched her chest, and slammed her backward into the door. She yelped and squirmed as you kept her pinned against the steel, her hands flailing in your face to scratch you. In response, you did what any sane person in your predicament would do. You plopped her thumb in your mouth and tried to bite it off.

She screamed and wailed as you dug your teeth into her flesh, not letting go even when her blood filled your mouth. Your jaw hurt as you used all of your strength to crunch down, and you couldn't tell if the pop you heard was your jaw or the bones in her thumb. But you didn't care either way. You kept the pressure and bit down harder, not easing up even when the door screeched open.

"Hey, what's going on in here?" the Stormtrooper yelled as he pulled you off. You stumbled back and caught your breath, spitting out a wad of flesh and bloody saliva on the floor. Hux came hurrying in, his face twisting into a horrified expression as he glanced around your tent.

"Hello there." You winked, plopping back down on the cot and curling your fist covertly around the pendant. You gestured to the Stormtrooper's thumb on the floor. "Hungry?"

The General looked at the two injured Stormtroopers, then back to you, mortified. "What in the seven fucking hells is going on here?"