Page 53 of Consumed By Fire
“Divide and conquer,” he says my words back to me.
I nod. “Yes. It’s an age-old tactic, and so far, it has worked very well.”
Octane looks deep in thought for a few minutes. Then he says, “So, your king – this Arctic – stopped work on the tunnel and started working with the humans instead?”
“Yes…that’s correct. He closed it off…forbade anyone from going there or entering the tunnels. I had all but forgotten about it. It’s been years. It’s been cordoned off. There are signs telling us to keep out.”
“So, what happened? Who finished the work?”
“I’m not sure who exactly, only that I was shocked to find that it was, in fact, completed and is in use. I stayed over at Igor’s place quite a few times when we were dating. Males would come and go. They had these super-secret meetings. They’d leave in the middle of the night and come back hours later. Sometimes, they’d leave and only come back a day or two later.”
“They were coming here?” Octane says.
“I think so. It had to be. I asked Igor what it was about, but he wouldn’t tell me. He refused. He said that he would tell me everything once we were mated. I didn’t like any of it. We had a couple of big fights about it. He eventually told me that he was going to free our people. He had nasty things to say about Arctic. Called him a pussy for working with the humans and wanting to put an end to the war. He said that the only good Draiger is a dead Draiger. I didn’t like that kind of talk.”
He gives me a half-smile. “What then?”
“He got more and more possessive of me as time went on. He would get nasty, and then he would shower me with gifts and compliments and beg me to mate with him. I’d say no, and he’d get angry, and the whole cycle would start again. I was getting ready to break up with him when he had sex with me without a condom.” I rub a hand over my face. “He did that to trap me. I was so angry with him…with myself for letting it happen.” My voice gets gruff as the emotion rushes through me all over again. “I broke up with him and refused to see him. When I found out I was pregnant, he tried to get me back, but I refused. I told him I wouldn’t keep him from the child, but that he and I were over. In fact, we were over before he did what he did. I only wish I had left him sooner. Truth be told, I was a little afraid. He had a violent temper.”
“Did he hit you? I know you said he didn’t, but now I’m not so sure.” His voice is a deep rasp, and his eyes seem darker.
I shake my head. “No, but I wouldn’t put it past him. As I said, he was very different from the boy I grew up with. One day, soon after that, Titan came to my house. He told me that Igor was dead, that he had gone down to Draig Island. That he had died at the hands of a Draiger. I asked what they were doing on this island, but he wouldn’t tell me anything. All he said was that I would know soon enough. He then told me that he and Igor had talked several times and that he, therefore, knew it was his wish, if anything happened to Igor, that Titan would take care of me and of the baby.”
“His dying wish?” Octane repeats, making a face.
“Yep. So Titan invited me to live at his house. The one he and Igor had shared. They inherited the place from their grandmother some years back when she passed away. He offered me a room and promised that I would be safe and taken care of. It was a tempting offer. You see, I’m a server at the palace. I don’t have any family. I’d become a little estranged from my friends.” I make a face.
“I’m sure. More of Igor’s influence.”
I nod. “Yeah, I can see how he alienated me from everyone. Anyway, I knew there was no way I could work to full term as a server, and I was worried about how I was going to take care of the baby after having him. I still turned Titan down.”
“Good,” Octane growls.
“I decided that I would make another plan. That we would be okay…the baby and me. Those males gave me a bad feeling. I knew they were up to no good. I didn’t want to get caught up in whatever they were up to. Besides, I had some savings. It was enough to prepare for the baby and for me to take off from work for a few months after the baby came. I was relieved that Igor was gone. I knew he would cause trouble for me…for us. It was wrong to think that way, but I couldn’t help it.”
“You weren’t wrong. He sounds like a piece of work. His brother isn’t much better.”
“Titan is a little more levelheaded. He doesn’t have a temper on him like Igor, but he is involved in some shady business. That much I have come to realize. Unfortunately, my circumstances changed, and I ended up having to accept Titan’s offer.”
“What happened?”
“The appropriate question would be, what didn’t happen? It was like my luck changed. My rent went up by thirty percent.”
“What? That can’t be.”
“It happened,” I say. “I tried to move, but none of my applications were accepted. I finally found a place, but they wanted three months’ rent as a deposit, which almost wiped out my savings. At least the rent wasn’t much more than at my previous place. Only the new one was terrible. The building was infested with rats and roaches. It was disgusting. The water that came out of the taps was a rusty color. There was no way I could raise a child there. I had nowhere to go.”
“You realize that Titan was more than likely behind all of what you have just told me?”
My eyes widen, and my mouth falls open. I open and close it a few times, words evading me for a few beats. “No! Surely not? No…it can’t be! Shit!” Realization dawns. “Maybe you’re right. That prick!”
“Of course I am. Titan was behind your rent going up. He was behind your applications being declined.”
“Then someone broke into my apartment while I was at work and stole half of my things. They took most of my clothes. Things that I had started to get together for the baby. They even stole my vacuum cleaner.”
“It was Titan. All of it was him.”
“That bastard!” I growl. “I’m going to kill him. I only got half my deposit back when I was forced to move in with him. I had to accept handouts, which humiliated me.”