Soul Mate Service (boyxboy)

Chapter 29

THIRD PERSON POV

"You need me."

Thaddeus's eyes shot back open, staggered by the commanding resonance of Aria's voice as it echoed throughout the hallowed halls of the Elder's chambers. It was an odd sound, one that exuded a newfound sense of confidence and strength completely unlike anything Thad had ever witnessed out of the tiny man.

"Excuse me?" Elder Laancaster's voice jilted at the very end, revealing a chink in her typically calm and collected demeanor. Aria's words had clearly managed to catch her off guard, destabilizing the foundation of her usual, smug poise.

Aria's soft brown eyes hardened, narrowing into slits as his smoldering gaze sliced straight through the row of Elders still seated at their long table. Although he still remained captive, held tight in the grip of the Enforcers, his renewed presence exuded such an aura of unwavering determination that even they hesitated in their pursuit of tearing him out of the chambers.

"You need me," The small yet uncompromising man repeated his words, low and steady, with a sincerity that demanded everyone's attention. And as he did so, Thaddeus couldn't help the sense of infinite wonder that filled his heavy chest as he gazed adoringly at his inconceivably brave little Soul Mate with a newfound sense of awe.

"And if you kill him, if you ever hurt Thaddeus again..." He paused, lips contorting into a tight line as he struggled to keep his emotions at bay, "Then I will never, ever, give you what you want." His final words hung in the air, heavy with a sense of foreboding, like a noose waiting to be tightened.

The weight of Aria's threat remained palpable as the silence stretched on, broken only by intermittent, ragged breathing as Aria and Thaddeus's hearts beat at a rate of a million miles per minute.

If there was one thing that The Elders were known for, it was making their decisions only once, and never straying from such a decision once it was set in stone. So based on that fact alone, there was very little chance that The Elders would entertain any negotiation that wasn't of their own making, no matter how potent the threat.

So, as the eerie stillness lingered, Aria's delicate muscles pulled taut with tension, trying not to shake, determined not to show a single indication of weakness in the face of such powerful beings as The Elders.

But then, like an unexpected clap of thunder, Elder Laancaster – still seated tall in her seat at the head of the table – broke the silence with a grin so wide that it seemed as if her teeth might fall straight out of her face. The sight of it alone made both men's skin crawl.

"Well, well, well..." She trilled, tapping her long fingernails atop the table once more. The persistent ticking sound that they made Thad want to break them right off of her wrinkly fingers and shank the old bat with them. "Now that you mention it... there may just be an... alternate offer that The Elders would be willing to consider. "

All of the other Elders remained seated throughout her spiel, a stony silence etched into wrinkled faces whose expressions betrayed nothing. The tension within the room thickened to unbelievable heights, a level which even left Thad shifting nervously on the balls of his feet, and Aria's breath catching in his throat as he waited for Elder Laancaster to continue.

Said Elder leaned forward then, beady eyes glimmering with such thinly veiled excitement that it made Aria's blood run just a little bit colder.

"You see, there is something that we require," She drawled out the words, stretching out the syllables as if relishing in the torment that they bestowed. "Something that – as you know – only you can provide us with, Aria." She finished, voice low and honeyed. And, strangely, the fact that she'd called Aria by his given name rather than his Society member number made the smaller man's heart drop like a stone. This woman obviously had an agenda, and Aria couldn't shake the feeling that he was about to be dragged even further into something that was so much larger than himself.