Knox's POV:
Rose's voice cut through the sound of the doors slamming against the dank wall, through Rayden's gasp of surprise, through my thundering heartbeat.
"Knox!"
My eyes found Rose in an instant, and upon seeing her held between two dirty Reds, the crippling pain searing through my veins turned to a ferocious anger. I yanked my arms from Phoenix's steady grip, however anger couldn't fix the battered state of my body and I collapsed into a seething pile blood and fury. Rose struggled between the men, her lithe limbs straining against the Reds' brutal strength, I knew she was terrified and it was like another one of Phoenix's blades had wedged itself into my heart.
"It's so lovely of you to join us, Rose," Phoenix purred as she stepped around my crumpled body. She reached for Rose's face and caressed the freckled skin of her cheeks. Phoenix's nails, colored the shade of the darkest blood, trailed into Rose's wild mane then yanked a golden curl roughly. At the sound of Rose's pained yelp I let out a deep growl--one that both warned Phoenix and condemned my weakness--the sound prompted an evil smirk to Phoenix's face. "Oh, you will do perfectly! It's a shame though that such a pretty face has to go to waste."
As Phoenix traced Rose's reddening ears Rayden spoke from his spot near the door, "Nixie, who is this girl?"
"This is the Reapers's thornless, little Rose."
Rose yanked her face from Phoenix's hold and glared at the windowless wall to her right. And that dismissal is when it all began; Phoenix snapped her fingers and in a moment I was thrown in a seat, my hands were tied, and Rose was pinned to one of Phoenix's torture frames. I looked at Rose, the fear for her knotting my stomach, and I knew the instant her blood was spilled the resolve for staying silent would dissolve. It is one thing to be silent when you are the one in danger, it is an entirely different thing to be silent when you are responsible for another's pain. Phoenix knew that.
As she stood before me, devastatingly beautiful, I almost could remember the person she used to be. Spinning to face Rayden, a memory of Phoenix dressed in golden and twirling in the middle of a ballroom flashed across my vision. It was dusty memory, one of those you forget you have until something resurrects it for a few brief moments. "Knox," the vision laughed and the reality growled.
I closed my eyes.
"Tell Rose what's going to happen," Phoenix commanded.
I took a breath.
"Knox," Rose questioned softly.
I opened my eyes.
"They want me to tell them all the gang's secrets, Rose. You know I can't do that. I can't tell them because they would hurt the others: Peony, Galen, Walker, Farley and Lilith, Vanessa. I have to be...I can't talk...Please, forgive me Rose," I whispered brokenly. I felt so terribly guilty, as though I just signed my fate with the demon lord himself, but I couldn't betray the Reapers. Peony hadn't. Besides the Reapers had been my family long before Rose had ever made her way into my life, or at least that's the reasoning I attempted to tell myself.
Phoenix hissed and suddenly the sound of a vicious slap echoed through out the room. My eyes shot up and instantly found Rose's darkening sapphire eyes. A red mark marred her cheek (a nasty bruise was soon to replace it) but the stubborn set in Rose's jaw surprised me. With clenched fist Rose spoke, and even though her voice was soft it filled the whole room, "Don't talk."
Right then I knew that Rose did have thorns, and like a flowering rose she waited for you to find them.
One of Phoenix's guards, a Red with three gold teeth, unfurled a whip and snapped it across Rose's back. I flinched at the sound of yelp, but one look in her eyes told me to remain silent. Again and again Phoenix attempted to prod an answer from us only to get a wordless refusal. Again and again the whip cracked. Through it all Rose's eyes remained on mine, grounding me to a promise.
Rayden's POV:
From the second I saw the Reapers's Rose I could see the resemblance. It was written all over her; in the way her golden mane curled in a wild mess, in the way she held her shoulders straight in the face of danger, in the way defiance danced in the darkness of her blue eyes. There was no way she could be anyone else.
I knew her.
And in knowing her, I realized that Phoenix was nothing but a shadow of the demons she had faced. I also realized that if Phoenix ever realized who Rose's real demon was the girl would be thrown to the wolves and left for dead. So as Phoenix tortured Knox's silent Rose, I bit my fist and slipped out of the room, headed toward the one person that might remember Rose.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alright that's it for this chapter Loves! So I know its been a long while, but updating was completely out of the question recently. I hope this chapter sort of makes up for the wait (I know it's not long, but it's packed full of clues to Rose, Rayden, and Knox's pasts) If you all like it please tell me, hearing from you all encourages me to write more chapters and update sooner! With that said, I'm out!!
P.s- the pic is of Rose, except I see her with much longer and wilder curls (as I'm sure I stressed enough to y'all)
-agirlmadeofstars
YOU ARE READING
Remembering Rose
RomanceGalen Blackwood and his best friends are known throughout London for their bad boy personas. They are somewhat like a renegade gang--they graffiti, hotwire cars, run from the law, and are quite infamous. One night as they boys are running around the...
