Olivia pushed to sit with shaking arms. The strength drained from her limbs.
“Just fucking kill us and get it over with.” She staggered to her feet and stood swaying. Then, her gaze flicked toward the knife on the ground. She stooped, nearly falling over in the process, and retrieved it. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”
She made a pitiful lunge at Balthazar.
“Just look at you,” he said, batting the blade from her hands as if swatting a fly. “You’re so weak I could blow on you, and you’d fall over.”
“So fucking kill us, then, if you’re such a badass.” She squinted as if she couldn’t entirely focus on his face.
“You’re the weak link in your family. I can see why your mother tried to kill you. She knew you would never make it.” Balthazar gripped her jaw in his hand and leered at her.
A few silent tears trickled down her cheeks.
God, I wanted to comfort her, hold her, and tell her not to believe in all his lies.
“So, kill me. Do it. Get it over with,” Olivia said in a hoarse voice.
“Not yet,” he snarled. “You’re going to do something for me.”
“Am I?” Olivia let out a mirthless laugh.
“Absolutely.” He stuck out his wretched tongue and licked the side of her face. “Ah, you taste like her. What will kissing you and having my mouth on your body feel like? If my lips ever touch yours, you will never want Roman again. Exquisite!”
I wanted to kill that man, but I could only hang here and watch him.
Olivia pulled back her head, pursed her lips, and spit at him.
A wad of phlegm landed on his eyelid.
His nostrils flared as he wiped away her saliva. “You’re going to regret doing that.”
“I doubt it. At this point, you can do nothing to harm me any worse than you’ve already tried.”
“Think so?” Balthazar said with a sneer.
“I know so,” Olivia said.
“We’ll see about that. You’re going to regret your words. I can give you so much pain.” He gave her jaw a vicious squeeze.
She cried out. Wisps of smoke coiled from her skin which blistered before my eyes.
Still gripping her tightly, Balthazar said, “You’re going to get me Alina’s journal.”
“I thought you knew and saw everything. Go get it yourself,” Olivia shot back.
His fingernails dug into the skin of her cheeks. “Oh, you pretend to be so tough. You’re just like Alina.”
“If I’m just like her, you should let me go because you love me,” Olivia taunted.
Balthazar gave her jaw another squeeze.
Olivia’s eyes filled with tears, but she stayed silent.
“You’re going to find that journal and bring it to me,” Balthazar bellowed.
“Orwhat?” Olivia shrieked.
Balthazar turned and fixed his wicked gaze on me. “You’ll just have to see what happens to your lover-man, won’t you?”
