Page 31

Unknown

S he whispers before I’m even fully awake.

Pretty girl’s ready for you now… go see what they’ve done to her.

My feet move before my thoughts register what’s happening, dragging me through the doorway toward the basement.

The guards say nothing as I pass. They know better. This power I’ve been gifted comes from something beyond their understanding, and they aren’t ready to face it.

I reach the door they left her behind.

Reaching out, I place my palm on the door handle .

Go ahead, open it.

Giving it a push, the door creaks open, and there she is.

Aisling.

She’s curled up on the floor, soaking wet with raw, dark bruises blooming across her body and fresh cuts peppering her skin.

She doesn’t look up at me.

Doesn’t move.

Doesn’t speak.

The door shuts behind me, its metallic thud filling the quiet space. She flinches.

Good.

She should.

I stalk towards her slowly, watching as her eyes flicker up to my masked face and back down again.

“It’s impressive that you’re still alive,” I snicker, eyeing her. “Most people break before this part. ”

I crouch down, brushing my fingertips along her face, pushing a wet strand from her face.

Her body recoils instantly. “Don’t fucking touch me!”

I grin. “You’ll get used to it.”

“You all break eventually. Girls like you act like surviving makes you untouchable. Like biting back makes you different from the others.”

My hand grips her jaw, forcing her to look up at me. She winces, trying to pull away.

“Funny thing about that, though...you all break the same.”

I reach into my back pocket, my fingers wrapping around cold metal. I smile to myself as I bring my hand towards her face.

She draws in a sharp breath, her skin turning white as she takes in the object in front of her.

A knife with a curved handle and intricate details glints in the fluorescent lighting.

It’s familiar.

She knows it.

Scrambling backwards, her spine hits the wall as I walk forward, dropping down to her level. I reach out my arm, placing it on the wall above her, boxing her in.

“H-how do you have that?” she stammers, and I can feel her heart rate increasing. The fear drips off her body in waves so thick you can taste it.

Delicious .

“It's cute that you believe in your dreams, it really is. But your world isn’t a dream, Aisling. It’s a fucking nightmare that you’ll never escape.”

I drag the knife along her cheek, soft enough not to cut, but hard enough to let her know who’s in control right now.

She shudders under the knife’s blade as it inches its way down her body, but her face remains straight, giving no emotions away .

“P-please don’t do this…” She stumbles over her words, trying to come up with reasons.

Cute.

“Shhhh,” I hush her.

“It’ll hurt so much less if you stay fucking quiet,” I say, digging the blade in her sternum, a trail of red beads forming. “Or maybe not, either way, I’m going to fucking enjoy this.”

She whimpers as I go deeper, her body stiffening under the pressure.

Under the pain.

But she still doesn’t scream.

I lean in close, my lips brushing her ear as I whisper, “You’ll scream for me soon enough, hellspawn.”

A silent tear falls down her cheek, and I catch it with my tongue like it's holy water.

“Now, let’s begin.”