Reylo: These Violent Delights

Chapter 50: Tell Me I'm Yours

WARNING: Forced kiss.

—

Kylo felt the exact moment Rey slipped into her dreamscape.

Finding her was easy; all he had to do was tap into the dark, polarizing energy from the kyber crystal that lingered on her from five days ago when he was able to step into her physical plane. While he was initially livid that Luke and his mother had tried to weaponize the pendant, right now, he was grateful for its existence. He didn't know how he'd find her without it, seeing as he could no longer sense her near the diamond necklace he embedded with his Force signature. But now, all Kylo had to do was take a deep breath and wait for the clouds. For the blue sky, the birds, and the lapping of the lake...

"Kylo?"

Upon opening his eyes, he found himself standing on the slight slope of grass in front of the lake. Right in front of him was Rey as she peered up at him from the shore. His pulse thumped at the sight of her. At his Kitten. His girl. She looked much better than the first time he saw her, when he had to travel through waves of muck just to find her. She even looked strong and healthy, with dewy skin and bright eyes, draped in unfamiliar clothing as she watched him with a sad yet anticipatory expression.

Kylo swallowed. His first instinct was to go to her, to hold her, but his pride got in the way. "I came here," he spat, tone dripping with accusal as he gestured to the lake. "I came to Vader's Retreat. Your happy place. I waited for you for three days." His jaw flexed as he looked her up and down, shaking his head in suppressed disappointment. "You never came."

Rey frowned, looking away as she pulled her arms to her chest. "Kylo..."

"Why didn't you come?" he demanded, taking powerful steps out of the grass to meet her on the shore. "I told you it would be just us. Not my knights. Not the Order. Just us. Just a conversation."

"Like the last time you wanted to talk?" she shot back, pinning her defiant glare at him as the wind picked up, howling through the trees. "When the conversation turned into Force-fucking me in the Resistance bunker and thoroughly screwing with my head even more than before?"

Kylo sucked on the inside of his cheek, returning her obstinate stare. "You didn't seem to mind when I made you scream my name."

Rey held his gaze before looking away, shaking her head in anger as she expelled a short exhale. "You're unbelievable."

"No. I am running out of patience," he asserted, closing the space between them. She tried to walk past him, but he stepped in her way, towering over her. "I'm done waiting, Rey. You will tell me where you are. You will stop running."

Lifting a brow and putting her hands on her hips, she looked up at him as incredulity twitched on her lips. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"Then hear this—no," she said with clear, bitter enunciation. "Fuck no, Kylo. I'm not coming back to you until I'm ready, and the harder you try to control me, the faster I will run."

As she moved to walk away, something fierce came over him. Red hot and burning, it boiled his blood, pumping unforgiving possession through his veins. He needed to have her, and he would have her. Now. With rash, swift movements, he latched his hand out to curl his fingers around her arm, spinning her around. Mine, mine, mine, he chanted in his mind, drowning out the sound of her aggravated yelps as he tugged her body to his. With forceful hands, he grabbed her face and kissed her.

Their embrace was as sour as it was short. "Stop that," Rey snapped after pushing him away. She wiped her mouth as she stepped back from him, her cheeks burning with a delicious warmth. "I told you—"

Kylo grabbed her again, snatching her by the wrist to bring her into him. He claimed her mouth with his, swallowing her groan as their bodies collided, sparking an uncontrollable need that lit his cells on fire. He moved quickly, fighting to keep his touches tender as he brought his calloused hands to her face, cradling her cheeks and sucking on her bottom lip.

Mine, mine, mine, he obsessed as his tongue entered Rey's mouth. When she didn't push him away, Kylo's heart hammered in his chest, threatening to burst through his sternum. He felt better now. No more pain, no more agony. He could breathe. He felt whole. She did that for him. So sweet, so intoxicating, he never wanted to let her go, never wanted to be apart from her ever again. But their time in her dreamscape was limited, and his desperation drove him to pull back.

"Tell me I'm yours," he rasped, just a low, throaty sound as their faces hovered only inches apart. "Say it, Kitten. Say it."

Panting, Rey's eyes darted back and forth. "Kylo, I can't."

"Yes, yes, you can," he insisted, gripping her shoulders and slipping down her arms. "Please."

Her head swung from side to side, frantic. "No, I can't. Not if that means giving up my freedom and working for the First—"

"Fuck the Order," he raged, encircling her wrists in his grasp. He held onto her for dear life. "Fuck them all. Just swear fealty to me. That's all I need from you."

"Since when?"

"Since right now. Say you're mine, Rey. Do it. Do it for me. That's all I need to hear."

Something crossed her face that he hadn't seen in a long time. Fear. "Kylo...are you on Exegol right now?" she asked, carefully twisting free from his grasp. She stepped back, rubbing at her wrist as she assessed him with guarded eyes. "Is the power getting to your head? Why are you acting like this?" A bleak chuckle burst through his lips, and Rey took a timid step back, her fear amplifying between them. "What could possibly be funny right now?"

"You." A smirk still on his lips, Kylo advanced with confident strides, making her stumble back. "How adorable you are, thinking I need the influence of Exegol to need you this badly. I don't. I never have. But if it meant being inside of you again, I would travel across the galaxy to slaughter all four thousand soldiers guarding the Citadel right now." He hungrily looked her up and down, sucking in a tight exhale through his nose before expelling it through a tense jaw. "Slaughter."

"Kylo, w-wait," Rey stuttered over her words as she nervously glanced behind her, trying to watch her step as she walked backward. "Please stop, you're—"

"What? You don't want me anymore?" he taunted as he backed her off the shore and into the meadow of trees. "Do you want Vicrul instead? Will that make you come back? Is that what you need? Fine—you can have him. You can have all of them, just like you wanted. But at the end of the night, you're in my bed. You're beside me."

Rey's mouth dropped. "Kylo, do you hear yourself right now? This isn't like you. I, I—" She looked behind her to avoid smashing into one of the many trees, but she overlooked the fallen branch that snagged her ankle. It sent her tumbling back, and in her fluid dreamscape, her body moved faster than usual. But so did Kylo's. He swooped in, jamming his hand between a tree and the back of her head to break her fall.

"Back off," she said tersely, but her protest didn't hold any weight, only dissolved in the hot and heavy air between them."I had it."

"And now I have you," he purred, dropping the pitch of his voice. Tilting his head to the side and leaning down, Kylo moved to stroke her cheek with the back of his hand. "Say it, babygirl. Tell me what I need to hear. Tell me what I always tell you."

The tension was thick, palpable as he hovered over Rey with one hand above her head, the other lingering on the back of her neck. Their chests bumped with each swell of oxygen, and yet, she didn't push him away or try to flee, her body buzzing with the desire only he knew how to quench. Mine, mine, mine. He dipped his head to kiss her again, but she squirmed out from beneath him and slipped away.

Kylo turned his stiff body toward hers, watching her withdraw from him with a hardened gaze. "Why do you insist on torturing me?"

"I'm not trying to. I just, I don't want this," Rey said, voice wavering. "I don't want you like this."

Nostrils flaring, the Supreme Leader pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek to stop himself from speaking too rashly. "Fine," he eventually said with a muted rage. "You don't want me? Fine. But an opportunity to change the galaxy...what about that?"

Her brows pulled together. "What are you talking about?

"I'm talking about fighting on the right side of the war, Kitten," he said lightly, approaching her. He tried to hide how deep it cut when she stepped back. "Being an Empress doesn't just mean wearing a crown. You will have power, real power. You could sit beside me on the Supreme Council, serving as a representative for people just like you."

Rey gawked at him. "Do you hear what you're saying? You want to put someone on a First Order Council who hates the First Order?"

"Why not? You will represent people that need representation. Who better than to take advice from someone who has actually faced adversities?" he continued, shaking his head in a show of confusion. "Why wouldn't you want that? If you pledge loyalty to me, if you take the title of my Empress, the entire galaxy will open up to you. You have the opportunity to make a difference."

It took Rey a moment to respond, still eyeing him with mistrust. "How do I know you're not just saying that to get me back?"

Kylo had to work very hard to keep the edge out of his tone. "Because I have never lied to you."

She was quiet as they held each other's gazes, and for the sweetest of moments, the Supreme Leader thought she had come to her senses. But his heart shattered when she frowned. "No, Kylo. You're still not thinking straight. There's no way you would actually want me to rule with you as an equal. I would challenge everything you said every single day—"

"Good!" he exclaimed, with so much crazed fervor, it made her jump. "That is why you're valuable to me, Rey. I want you to challenge me. I want you to make me better. A better man, a better ruler." Suppressing his impassioned desperation, Kylo pressed his lips together and outstretched his hand. "Please, come home. It's what's best for you. For me. For the greater good."

The Supreme Leader thought she would respond well to his bid for benevolence. But it did the exact opposite. "I just turned down Organa's pleas for the exact same thing," came her steely response, raising her chin. "Both of you put too much faith in me. I am a criminal. A bad person. I have no right fucking with the greater good."

Biting back the sting of rejection, Kylo stiffly lowered his hand by his side, speaking with a flat voice. "My mother asked you to join the Resistance again."

Silence. Her dreamscape suddenly darkened, and in Rey's hesitation, concern settled across her face. "Not...exactly."

Like a crack of lightning, anxiety tore through him. "Something's wrong. What is it? Did someone hurt you?" he rasped, taking a small step closer. He was desperate to close the space between them, but he didn't want to risk scaring her off. It fucking killed him. When she wouldn't make eye contact, his unease curdled into fury. "Was it Drox? Did he hurt you?"

Rey let out a dejected exhale. "No, Kylo. No one hurt me. It's just..." she trailed off, biting her bottom lip. She met his gaze, and the sky deepened, the wind picking up as she spoke in a hushed tone. "You know my necklace they returned to me? The one you said was a beacon or something dangerous?" Kylo nodded, and she looked down, frowning as she tugged at the sleeves of her shirt. "Well, I confronted Leia about it. She said that's not what it was, but instead, it's, it's...."

As gray clouds roiled above them, releasing an onslaught of rain, Kylo took an impatient step closer. "It's?"

Her fearful, timid gaze finally met his burning one. "She said it's a vessel for Force powers. My Force powers that Luke Skywalker stole from me when I was a little girl."

Kylo jolted his head back, his spine extending. Nothing could have prepared him for the words that just came out of her mouth. "Your...Force powers."

She batted away the teardrops that stuck to her lashes. "Yes."

"My mother said you had Force powers?" She nodded. He blinked. "How? Why? What?"

As though she could no longer hold the weight of it on her own, the rest came pouring out of Rey like a rapid torrent. "She said the crystal was Palpatine's creation and that my mother was wearing the pendant when I was conceived, so the power transferred to me. And something about Luke thinking that you and I would bring destruction to the galaxy, so that's why he did what he did, I think. But I don't know how or when exactly, but it happened after that summer on Coruscant, and fuck, I don't know, I felt like I was going to pass out, so I don't remember everything she said, and I know I sound crazy but please Kylo tell me this is all just a joke, or a manipulation tactic or something."

Rey sucked down a breath after she was done, looking at him with apprehensive expectation. But Kylo said nothing as he stared at her, his expression utterly blank while he tried to process the copious amounts of astounding information she had just given him. He had to remind himself to breathe as he waited for the Force to move through him, to show him a sign that all of these were lies his mother and Skywalker fed Rey in order to manipulate them. But it never came.

"Kylo?" she said, a bit desperately. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm..." He swallowed, slowly turning away from her to walk back toward the shore. "I'm thinking."

Her hurried footsteps echoed behind him, splashing in puddles as rain dumped from the sky. "Thinking what?"

The Supreme Leader didn't respond. Only waited for an indication that what he was hearing was false. But with each passing step he took in her dreamscape, the more positive his body became that this was real. The hairs on his neck rose, and a powerful thrumming pounded in his veins as a horrible realization burrowed into his gut.

How did I not see this? How did I not feel it? Failure. I'm a failure. Heir apparent to Vader, son of darkness...not powerful enough to sense my prisoner has been Force-sensitive all along. His head spun. He felt like he was going to be sick.

"Hello? Kylo?" Rey's panicked voice fought to snap him back to the present. "Can you tell me what's going on, please? I...I know this sounds insane, but when she first told me, I felt something...something that was telling me it was real." The laugh she released to convince herself only made the rain beat down on them harder. "But that can't be true, right?"

Stopping at the edge of the lake, Kylo abruptly turned to face her. "Where is the crystal now?"

Her throat constricted as she swallowed, her face suddenly wary. "At the Resistance base."

Kylo took a calm, composed step closer. "Which is?"

She took a step back. "I'm not telling you that."

He said her name like a warning. "Rey. Where is," he started, taking a predatory step toward her, "their base?"

"I'm not telling you that," she shot back, eyes shining with defiance. "Just like you wouldn't tell me what's going on with the Order the last time I saw you."

He gave an irritated, impatient jerk of his head. "That's different, that's—"

"No, it's not," she said, a hard edge to her voice as the wind began screaming through the trees. "I may not identify with them anymore, but I won't let you go kill them all!"

"I will kill every last one of them if it means getting back that crystal. Getting back what belongs to you," he seethed, his hand darting out to grip her arm. He tugged her against his chest, glaring down at her from the tip of her nose. "Just as youbelong to me."

"Let me go!" Rey yelled over a fierce clap of thunder, trying to yank free. "Let me the fuck—"

Bang. The ground shook, and with it, the escalation of the storm enveloped them. The earth groaned beneath them, the lake began sloshing with violent heaves, and the birds squawked and cawed as the raindrops bitterly stung their flesh. Then came the blindingly bright light that ate away at everything around them, making Rey scream as she tried to hold onto him. He panicked, trying to keep her with him, but it was too late. She slipped through his fingertips like water.

At first, Kylo thought she was waking up, but as her dreamscape morphed and mutated all around him, he could feel her. Wherever she was, she was still in a deep, restful sleep, which meant this wasn't happening because her dream world was collapsing. Instead, he realized his physical body had reached its limit, the rigor of the last two weeks finally taking its toll, and he had fallen asleep while still astral projecting into Rey's dreamscape—a very dangerous plight. But there was nothing he could do to stop it. He had made his bed, and now, he finally had to sleep in it.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, he panicked as he began slipping down. Not into the ground, no, the ground slanted with him as though he were on a tilting axis. He slid down and down until he rotated and fell through the air, eventually landing back on the dirt with a thump.

"Fuck," he spat, grimacing in pain. He laid there for a moment, sulking in misery, before stiffly rolling on his side to climb to his feet. A pit opened up in his stomach as he looked around at the darker, more sinister version of Rey's happy place he now found himself in.

It was still Vader's Retreat, but an unsettling echo of it, as though it were a mirrored image or it had been turned upside down. The gentle slope of the hill no longer had vibrant wildflowers, instead blanketed with hot embers and soot, and the trees from the meadow had shriveled into grotesque, twisted stumps. The green grass was now charred and littered with the carcasses of birds, the same birds that always chirped their warm welcome to Kylo, and the wind screeched as though it were alive and in agony.

And as that howling wind carried dark matter that clung to his clothes and face like a parasite, the world turned dark. The Supreme Leader looked up and winced. The cloudy sky was no longer just sunless. It was black. As though the entire dreamscape had been dipped in a vat of viscous tar, and the muck falling from the sky was the residual fallout. It was thick and gross and foul, and worst of all, it destroyed his visibility and attempt to find a way out.

"Great. Just fucking great," Kylo retorted under his breath, hoisting his hood over his head. He put one foot in front of the other—to where, he didn't know. He only knew he had to go. But the longer he walked, the more impossible the trek became. The wind battered him with wet gunk that bogged him down, exhausting him as he trudged along the shore. He tried to change his course amidst the slimy water engulfing his boots, but it seemed to follow him, reach for him every time he moved, as though the lake had claws.

He grabbed for his lightsaber but came back empty-handed—it hadn't transferred with him in the astral plane. He tensed when the lake began to gurgle and bubble as though a hungry beast lurked right below its surface, and when a streak of red lightning split across the sky, he realized it wasn't even a lake anymore. It was now a sinkhole full of black, gritty oil, with long, lanky arms spearing through the top of the surface, stretching toward him. Kylo stumbled back and cursed. Then, the chanting began.

He whipped his head in the direction of the demonic hymn, his eyes immediately finding the temple atop the hill. Oozing the same sludge that bled from the sky, the edges of the decaying pyramid glowed amongst its dreary backdrop, beckoning him closer. Kylo complied, the undead moaning and belching as he tore away from the pit of oil and braced himself for a grueling walk up the charred hill. But the moment he began his ascent, he felt something more potent than he ever had before.

Darth Vader's Force signature.

The Supreme Leader scaled the hill quickly, his ancestor's energy coaxing him to cross the open field that led to the temple. It called to him, filled him with an urgency he felt in his bones as he took two steps at a time to climb the mossy, decaying stairs. As he approached the dark, eerie entrance, anticipation churned in his stomach at the thought of actually seeing his grandfather, but when he walked through, Kylo was transported to another reality entirely.

He blinked, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the luxurious, well-lit corridor he now found himself in. He moved forward cautiously, taking in the sights of the intricate, arched architecture as his soiled boots left traces of mud on the plush carpet. Wherever he was wasn't familiar, but the air traffic flying by the windows indicated he was in an expensive high-rise apartment in a busy city. It was clean and safe and elegant here—no more darkness, no more chanting. Just soft voices coming from the other room.

Kylo followed his grandfather's Force signature until the corridor led him to a living area with angular sofas, glass tables, and a large balcony. It was then that he found the source of the chatter. Leaning against the doorframe of the terrace, his grandfather was talking to somebody outside. But it wasn't a projection of Darth Vader like Kylo expected. It was Anakin Skywalker, with his dark brown robes, long, wavy hair, and his Jedi lightsaber clipped to his belt. Kylo moved to approach him, but when he caught a glimpse of who was on the balcony, he immediately froze.

It was Padme Amidala. Queen of Naboo and Anakin's wife. Kylo's grandmother.

His heart leapt to his throat. She looked beautiful, far more beautiful than holophotos could ever capture, as she gently brushed her hair and watched the air traffic whizz by their apartment. Everything about her exuded royalty—her posture, her voice, the way she carried herself in her long, silver gown. And when she turned to set her smitten gaze on Anakin, the silky fabric of her dress clinging to the bump of her belly, the love Kylo felt radiating from her was unlike anything he had ever felt before. So pure yet strong, it punched him in the stomach, as did the next words that came out of her mouth.

"Ani, I want to have our baby back home on Naboo," she said, gently cupping the life inside her. Kylo's gut twisted further at the sight of her, this perfect vision of a glowing mother-to-be beaming with pride. "We can go to the lake country where no one will know... where we can be safe."

"I will always keep you safe, Padme," Anakin said as he pushed himself off the doorframe to walk to her. Kylo stepped forward, taking his grandfather's place at the entrance of the balcony to watch the two lovers embrace. "You and our child."

As Anakin looked down to place his hands on her stomach, Padme tilted her face down to intertwine her fingers with his. "Do you promise me?"

Leaning in to place his forehead against hers, Anakin whispered, "I promise you."

Then came the darkness. It was abrupt, it was absolute, and it swallowed everything around him as mourning bells echoed and vibrated inside his head. Suspended in an infinite void of blackness, the only thing that kept Kylo calm was the presence of Vader's energy.

"Grandfather," he said, his voice bouncing back to him a thousand times, "where are you?"

Something latched onto his ankle, pulling him so fast and so far, Kylo was certain that he would never return.