And All Hell Broke Loose (A LIKE HELL collection)

The Last Lover (Part #2)

It had been six hours. Six hours since he'd sent Freddie away. He knew the Dweller was at his beck and call, but for some unexplainable reason, he wanted him to come without being summoned.

Samuel threw down his pen, staring at the pages and pages of names and reports the Senatus had demanded from him. He'd taken dinner in his office, barely registering what he was eating. It didn't matter – it shouldn't matter – but Freddie was late. After dinner, he'd told him to be back. So why hadn't the boy showed?

The minutes slipped by. Samuel prowled around his office, finding things to busy himself with. When the clock struck ten, Samuel ground his fist into his desk in annoyance. Nobody kept the leader of the Ember Depths waiting. He could send a few Inflamers to drag the boy upstairs – even a few passing fifth-ringers would do the trick. But even as the thought crossed his mind, a trickle of doubt shuddered through him. Freddie would be furious if he used brute force to collect him. And Samuel knew the type of evening that lay ahead if Freddie was irritated; the give and take in his bedroom would turn into a night of only giving.

He sighed once, loudly. Then he turned for his office door, and strode out into the corridor that led to the Vent. It had been months since he'd ventured down into the lower levels where the dorms were located. No doubt the Dwellers would gossip. He made a mental note to punish anyone who looked twice at him while he was walking to the first-ringer quarters.

The Vent was nearly empty, and Samuel shut the Ember doors quietly behind himself. The second-ringers that were around quickly fled into the Ash Hall upon glimpsing him, and Samuel felt a rush of contentment. He still terrified the hell out of his Dwellers, even if Freddie wasn't acting like it at this particular moment.

His steps echoed around the staircase as he descended down into the levels. It wasn't long before he turned off for the beginning of the first-ringer dorms. He'd purposely placed Freddie here; Samuel was impatient, and this was the nearest corridor that led to the stairs.

Laughter and chatter rose behind the doors as he passed through. All of the dorm rooms were communal – except one. When the rings were still being hollowed out, he'd had a private room built on each ring. A room for a member of the Ember Circle to keep the Dwellers on their toes. But the Inflamers had rejected the lavish comfort of a room with a private bathroom, and congregated in the lower pit levels instead.

Samuel had offered the room to Freddie, who'd been a lot more appreciative.

He reached the end of the corridor, where the sounds of falling water echoed around the rock walls. People must be bathing together, he realized, and stepped towards the heavy wooden door set into the wall. He didn't want to be down here long. He didn't want the Dwellers thinking they had the privilege of talking to him.

He raised his hand, about to knock on the wood. Then he paused, and rolled his eyes. This was his home – he could come and go as he pleased.

The door swung open at his touch, and Samuel stepped inside, already preparing to drawl a half-hearted apology.

But Freddie was too busy with the girl beneath him to notice.

Samuel stood frozen in the doorway, momentarily dazed. Freddie – his Freddie – was here with-

'Fred!' the girl squealed, suddenly noticing the leader of the Depths in his bedroom. 'It's – it's-'

Freddie swivelled his neck to look back at the doorway. Only a fleeting look of surprise crossed his face before he leaned back, allowing the girl beneath him to yank the duvet over her exposed body.