It takes me almost a full day to calm down. I just keep replaying the scene in my head, walking into Rue’s room and finding her kneeling against the wall, whipping herself with a blood-soaked length of cord. Her back was pink and red, flushed and bleeding.

I knew she was religious, but this… this is something beyond my reckoning. After a good deal of pacing and furiously thinking, I can only come to one conclusion.

Rue has to be deprogrammed like they used to do to cult followers in the 1970s. Her mind has to be made blank so that new information can be stamped there. With a furrowed brow, I spend half a day on the internet, researching the best way to do it.

A little bit of reading reveals that I’ve already laid the groundwork for deprogramming. I’ve removed her from the church’s influence by force. I keep her here, far away from them. I have her sister as leverage against her running back to the convent.

There will need to be two main methods applied from here on out, though. One is the discrediting of the church’s practices and doctrines, along with pointing out the contradictions presented by her faith. Easy enough.

The second will be tougher. The introduction of new ideas, of sinful and lustful behaviors being seen as good things rather than evil… that sounds harder. But it also sounds like a lot more fun, if I’m honest.

I write out a list of sex acts, slowly increasing the amount of participation that will be required of Rue. It’s a little bit fun, imagining her face when I introduce each one to her. God, but that blush of hers is enough to lay me low.

The second list I make is shorter, problematically so. I write down everything I know about Father Derrik and his church. That’s when I realize that I know next to nothing about what their beliefs actually are. Clearly, Rue didn’t teach herself flagellation. She must’ve learned it in the convent.

But what else do they teach their young church members? It almost makes me wish I hadn’t killed Louis, the underling enforcer that Derrik had doing his bidding. He might have been able to tell me more about the Church of the Way and the Light.

I sigh, grabbing my cell phone. I fire off a series of texts to Ari, letting him know to be on the lookout for any signs that Rue’s sister might try to hurt herself like Rue did. Then I ask him to try to find a new source from F’s church, someone who knows all the things that they’ve been taught that are outside the Bible.

That should be enough, shouldn’t it?

Without waiting for a response from Ari, I turn back to my lists. Setting the list of contradictions aside, for now, I turn to the list of sex acts. The very first thing on my list is to watch two people have sex.

Drumming my fingers, I think of how I would like to tackle that one. Attractive and willing people can be found with a single phone call, that isn’t hard. But how should I present it to Rue?

For some reason, having a grandiose dinner in the dining room pops into my head. The dinner would be creamy and rich. Followed up with a very special showing, just for us to watch…

Lips curling upward, I grab my phone and make a few calls. I need a gourmet chef and some waiters. And of course, I’ll need two enticing young lovers, a man and a woman. Let Rue see how things could be for her if she would just relax a little.

First things first. I stride to Rue’s room, finding her curled in a chair, staring out at the waves as they break on the rocks. There is someone so unquiet about how she looks just now, in the seconds before she realizes I’m behind her. Feet up, arms around her knees, her expression unreadable.

When I startle her, she looks at me with such sadness. What is that about?

She quickly blanks her face, not wishing to share with me just now. That’s fair, I suppose.

“We’re having dinner together downstairs, at seven sharp. A chef, a five-course meal, the works. You should shower,” I say, cocking an eyebrow. I cast a glance over her rumpled tee shirt and yoga pant, making a note to have leisure wear taken out of her closet. “You need to shower again. And wear something nice. Something that I would think is elegant. Don’t push me on that.”

She sits up, her back suddenly ramrod straight. Her delicate brows draw down over those baby blue eyes. “Okay…”

Blowing out of her room, I’m gone before she can ask any questions. I stay busy for the next few hours, cleaning myself up and donning a tuxedo. I look fucking sharp enough to kill in a tux, so why the fuck not?

After a flurry of approving menus and meeting the very attractive couple, I’m paying to watch have sex, I find my way to the formal dining room. Large and a darker blue than the rest of the rooms, it isn’t really a room I’ve had many occasions to spend time in. Long, tall windows at one end, with beautiful white wainscoting all around the room. In the middle of one side, a fireplace is already with fresh logs. A dark hardwood table for twelve set up in the middle, although only two places are set at the end near the window.

Two silver candlesticks with elegant black tapers have already been lit, despite the fact that the sun is still setting. I walk down to the end that has been set, admiring the white and gold china. Everything in this house is carefully curated.

I’ll have to remember this place or at least the decorator the next time I find myself in the market. The thought turns my lips up into a smile. Then I remember rather painfully the fact that once I have my revenge on Father Derrik, I have nothing else to live for.

That fact makes me dour. I look at my watch, noting that it is almost seven. Straightening my cuff, I face the giant mirror on the wall across from the fireplace. I look tall, dark, and handsome… if I avoid looking at my face.

My eyes, especially, have a quality that screams I’m damaged! and I’m haunted by my past!

Fuck, I could use a drink. I go over to the bar cart and start pouring myself some whiskey, concentrating on that. Anything to forget this sense of foreboding that hovers about my head like my own personal black cloud.

I chug a couple of fingers of whiskey, willing this sudden anxiousness to disappear.

“Dryas?” Rue calls softly.

Spinning on my heel, I find her at the other end of the room. Funny, I thought I would be overdressed in my tuxedo. But Rue puts me to shame in a long velvet dress with a plunging neckline. It’s exactly the color of her cheeks when she blushes, and it makes her radiant hair and stunning blue eyes look somehow even more exotic.

She steals all the air out of the room, without even trying. Fucking hell, but she is beautiful.

She breezes in like she doesn’t even know that she’s a complete knockout. My cock stiffens as she approaches, biting her lip. “Is this…” She looks down for a moment and blushes. “Am I elegant?”

Her whispered words almost break me. I didn’t mean to be so cruel, it’s just the habit of a lifetime. I stride up to her, suddenly needing to touch her. Wrapping my hands around her waist, I purr down at her.

“My little bird,” I say, my gaze traveling down her body. She shifts and turns bright red, uncomfortable. I ease my grip, not wanting to scare her off before we’ve even begun. “You are elegant, yes. Come, sit.”

I release her waist and take her arm, walking her over to her seat. I pull her chair out, waiting. Those big blue eyes look up at me, her lips parting. But she doesn’t say anything, she just draws her lip between her bottom teeth. She sits.

“Do you want something to drink?” I say, waving my hand at the bar.

Rue shakes her head, folding her hands in her lap. I sit beside her just as the first waiter appears with a wine bottle. He pours us each a glass of a bright red wine, as silently and swiftly as instructed. He retreats, leaving me to pick up my glass.

I raise it, looking at her pointedly. She rushes to pick her glass up, turning her expectant gaze to me.

“To the first time,” I say, giving her a knowing glance. As expected, her blush rises once more. “May we have many, many more reasons to toast.”

We clink our glasses together, taking that first sip. I picked this bottle of Beaujolais out myself, the cherry and licorice flavors calling to me. She takes a tiny sip, then puts her glass down. I take another measured sip, eyeing her.

“What’s wrong with the wine?” I ask, arching a brow.

Her eyebrows rise a little. “Nothing. It’s just… you know, I don’t really… drink.”

My gaze narrows on her face. “Just because you haven’t done something doesn’t mean you don’t do it. Take another sip.”

“That’s really alright—”

I slam down my glass so forcefully that the waiter comes running in, checking to make sure we’re okay. Motioning to the waiter, I beckon for the first course. “Let’s get this thing started rather than wasting our time bickering.”

I sit back and watch her as she navigates her way through the courses. First bread and cheeses, then a French onion soup. We are served beef bourguignon and a delicate endive salad, followed by a chocolate soufflé.

Through the whole thing, Rue is mostly quiet. The sun sets, the candles seem to burn brighter. I try to engage her in my talk, but it seems like after my outburst, there is little that will provoke conversation with her. It’s a funny thing, but I find myself regretting losing my temper so vocally.

With the upcoming show supposedly starting on my command, I sit back with another glass of wine. Looking at Rue, I purse my lips.

“Forgive me for earlier,” I say, reaching out to touch her hand.

She starts, having been somewhere else entirely. “What?”

I cock my head. “I lost my temper. That’s what you are upset about, is it not?”

Her watery smile is indulgent. “I’d forgotten if we’re being honest.”

“Then what distracts you? Because usually, you find my company more riveting,” I point out dryly.

She flushes, pink staining her cheeks. “I’m sorry. Really, everything is lovely. It’s just…” She catches her lip between her teeth for a moment. “I’ve been trying to work out the riddle of the Rebel King.”

My eyebrows arch. “Who?”

“It’s something that I overheard Father Derrik and Prince Henrick talking about. They said I was the heir to the Rebel King. That’s—” She pauses, her lips twisting like she just tasted something sour. “That’s why Prince Henrick wanted me. Because I’m related to this man, whoever he is.”

I sip my wine and sit back, thinking. “That is interesting, to say the least.”

She ducks her head, nodding. “I keep coming back to it, trying to piece together the puzzle.”

Favoring Rue with a considering glance, I set my glass down. “I want you to watch something with me. If I promise to look into this king of yours, will you try to set the matter aside for tonight?”

Her look of surprise makes me laugh. “You would do that?”

“If you will watch with me? Yes, I would.”

Her cheeks flush again. “Alright.”

One corner of my mouth lifts in a smirk. I call out to the waiter.

“Waiter? Clear away the dishes and bring them in.”

I move my chair close to hers and wait for the magic to happen.