Through bated breath and shaky words, she barely manages to get out, “He was obsessed with someone after returning from Eldritch and Silper. When he came back, he always talked abouther. Howsheleft him! I don’t know who! I have no idea WHO!”
Marcos has an obsession with my little demon. It’s obvious who he was referring to.
My jaw tightens. No one is allowed to obsess over what’s mine—especially when it comes to Xeraphine.
“My Marcos wouldn’t have ever done anything like that…” Her murmur tells me she knows it’s a lie, but he’s her son—of course she’d try to defend him.
The raw clearing of her throat draws my attention back to her. She is staring up at me. “Please… I know I’m a dead woman. But please… I’ll do anything, don’t hurt my son!”
I’m dragged into a flashback of that moment—begging Lars not to do what I knew he would. I pleaded with him, desperate, not to take my girl. I would have done anything to stop what felt inevitable in that instant.
He didn’t care, nor did the one who had held my girl in their grasp. They took her from me, and with her, they took the man I once was. I am no longer a man of sympathy, no longer a man of jokes or playful banter.
I amangry.
“Fuck you, Sarah, and fuck your entire family.”
The action is too fast for her to even get a final scream out. Warmth blankets my hand as I feel the pulsing of her heart in my gripped fist. Her eyes are complete circles, blood splattered across her face as I tear out her heart, the snapping of tendons and muscle mixing a symphony with her high-pitched release of what air is left in her lungs.
She’s near death; that last moment where the brain functions, so I leave her with a haunting afterthought as she falls into the Beyond. “I’m going to paint the town red with your son. That… is a promise.”
Chapter 5
Kairhyse
I’m unsure of how long I’ve been sitting here, hot water cascading over me like a heavy downpour of rain.
Nothing physically ails me, but I ache, and am furious with myself that it has come to this. Come to mefailingher, even if she wouldn’t see it that way. I do, because I swore that no one would hurt her ever again.
I just keep thinking of the last moment I saw her. Tears streaking down her face.
“I l?—”
I’m the only one who should bring her to tears. Only me. Tears of pleasure, tears of laughter, and yes, even tears of pain—because who am I to deny her that? It’s what she wants. It’s what she deserves. Not this torment these bastards keep putting her through.
Leaning my head forward between my spread legs, my elbows resting against my knees, I grip my short hair right at the roots.
Regrets.
It’s all we take into the darkness of eternal sleep—regrets and unspoken words. If I die before I find her, I’ll regret not telling her I love her. I’ll regret going to pick up Sydni alone. I’ll regret every moment I ever put anyone before my girl, even if she would have had it no other way.
Them killing Tyson, and the thought of my butterfly being found slaughtered in the same way, sends fractures through every bone in my body. Not just because she deserves to live, but because of what it would do to my little demon.
I blink rapidly, forcing myself back to the present, and clawing my way out of the depths of my fractured mind. I’m on the tile floor of one of Alaric’s showers. Pieces of my flesh are scattered across the floor, my hair littered everywhere like the remnantsof a storm.
My body’s healingincrediblyfast, and I am at a loss for words. The white haired bitch’scomment about feeding off of Xera is at the forefront of my mind. I’ve never recovered this quickly.
Bones heal relatively fast since they’re constantly supplied by our blood, but to have my skin regenerate nearly instantly is… not normal. It grew back almost immediately after it was torn from my flesh.
Sighing, I shake my head. I’m no idiot. When I think about it, I know exactly why my healing is so accelerated. I’d completely overindulged on her every single day, for weeks.
I removed most of my tattoos—my neck, arms, face, hands, and my chest are now bare. But I couldn’t bring myself to touch the piece on my back.
I don’t know exactly what it means, but it meant something significant to Xera, and I refuse to touch it. Plus, I don’t plan on walking naked in front of anyone.
It’s been eight days since I lost her, and with each one, I feel myself slipping further into the Beyond. I know I need to get myself together, not only for Xeraphine, but for Sydni. I’ve left her too much already, and I can’t keep doing that.
After pulling myself off the floor and stepping out of the shower, I stand before the mirror. The steam clings to the glass, hazing my reflection. But even if it were clear, I wouldn’t recognize the person staring back at me.
