Jane's POV
"He's here," Rafael says.
"Any last words?" I ask him, and he snorts.
"I am not going to die," he tells me. "I am just going to leave. I don't have to worry about nothing," he grins.
"Jeez. I wasn't talking about death. You sure have so many ideas," I say, annoyed.
"Well, just in case... If I have annoyed you or anything, please know it wasn't personal," he beams at me.
Maybe just because he was the one in power, he felt so easy to talk about my impending death. It's the weak who are scared, wronged and pushed to death.
"Where is she?" Professor Hank's voice circles the mansion.
"The love of your life has arrived, Jane," he smirks. His tone is callous as he steps in the light. The small room holds space for the three of us.
"Never thought, you, of all, would help me with this," he looks at Rafael.
"I am not. I am just telling you the truth. I have seen the soul escape. It's not here. She is useless," he tells Professor Hank. Something about him looked so disgusting.
"How do I know that you are not lying?" Hank asks, moving closer to me. His filthy fingers touch my looks, and I slapped his hand away.
"Stay away from me," I threaten him and he scoffs.
"You can check for yourself. I don't mind. I just have to tell you that if you kill her, you can't get a hold of Vanya's soul even then," Rafael tells him.
"And, now, a lowlife like you will tell me how things get done?" He raises a brow at Rafael.
"Well, not in those many words," Rafael smiles. "Lady Versailles would know regardless. What do you think about that?"
"Versailles only cares for Vanya. She won't mind if I kill a few people. Especially her," he lifts my chin, and our eyes meet.
To think I found this guy enchanting... Maybe, I was too blind.
"How would you like that if I let Lady Versailles know that you let Vanya escape?" Rafael chimes in.
"But I didn't do that," he narrows his gaze at Rafael, who was already on his feet now. He leaned onto the wall. Releasing a soft chuckle, Rafael circled him.
"If you kill her and still don't get Vanya's soul, Versailles would be so disheartened. She'd think you are still in love with her. And then, all the lies that you have told her about Corin Sanchez will be all for naught," Rafael speaks with ease.
"You scoundrel-"
"Keep your voice down, Lord Theodore," Rafael bites down. "Don't you know that you are surrounded by my people?" He smiles sinsiterly.
"Why are you doing this?" Hank aka Theodore asks Rafael.
"Why are you doing this?" Rafael drags me by my arm, getting me on my feet.
"Oh, you know why," he tells Rafael.
"You don't wish to save your marriage. And you do not wish to save Vanya. You only want to kill her," he wraps a solitary arm around me.
Tsk.
A chuckle escaped Theodore.
"You are too wise to be a clergyman's son. No wonder Versailles likes you too much. But do you think you've already figured it out?"
"Is the measly Incubus, in love? With a mortal girl, nonetheless," Theodore mocked.
"I don't understand the first thing about love. Love is something that needs emotions. I don't feel a thing. Especially about her," Rafael gritted his teeth.
"Then why are you being so kind about it? It's not in your nature to care for those who are to die. Not once have you opposed openly, or in private how degrading it felt to kill people in leisure and all of a sudden, you think you are being generous?" Theodore mocked.
"The opinions you hold of me aren't mine to live up to, Lord Theodore. If you are to kill the pawns in your long game, you would like to know why. Or, you are setting up new enemies for yourself. She...deserves to live," Rafael tells him.
I gasped. Something about this seemed too intimate. It seemed very different from what I had felt in the last few hours.
"Give a silk to a pest, and he thinks he is worthy of calling himself a King," Theodore smirks.
"Are you interested in fucking her?" He interrogates, but Rafael doesn't reply.
"If you let me go, I won't ever speak of this to anyone again," I tell Theodore, looking him in the eye.
"Oh Jane! My naive Jane..."
"Keep my name out of your fucking mouth," I gritted.
"Always so angsty. Now, would you let me check if Vanya's soul within her, or do I have to kill you first?" He questions Rafael.
Slowly, he reatracts his arms. Then nudges me forward.
"Do not hurt her," he presses.
"Very well," Theodore smirks, as I walk a few steps towards him.
"New clothes? Glad you like them..." He grazes my arm.
"I do not like them," my fists curl up on my sides. His scent is too strong. It makes me grow nauseous.
"Very well then. I will get rid of them," he pulls me in, and unbuttons the shirt.
"Don't-" I plead.
"Well, should've just told the truth before," he sneers. His fingers wrap themselves around my throat. I gasped for air.
"Please-" I cried.
"You think you are so important, always. So much in your head... Hmm?" His tongue darts out as he takes on my mouth.
I struggle to push him away. Tears gather on the corner of my eyes.
"When I'll kill you, even your so called family won't be able to find your dead body," he grits his teeth, leans over and whispers in my ear.
"I know you no longer have Vanya's soul in your body. But that vermin over there, is in love with your pathetic self.
And just to get back at him, I would of course, kill you," he chuckles, biting my earlobe.
Just then, when I least expected it, Theodore growls against my ear. Tears run down his eyes and his grip around my throat loosens.
"Run," Rafael tells me, as I stand there frozen.
"JANE! RUN!" He screams, as I watch the bloodied dagger in Rafael's hands. "PLEASE," he begged and I realised that something had definitely changed here.