Page 40 of Her Darkest Possession

Blood sprays across my shirt as bones crack and crumble. But it's not enough. It will never be enough.

I grab him by the hair and yank his head back up to look at me through his single good eye.

"You think you're going to threaten my family? MY WIFE?"

This time, he finally learns to shut the fuck up. A bubble of blood, mixed with snot, grows and shrinks around his nose. But his eyes are unfocused. He's practically on the verge of death now.

Roma's hand lands on my shoulder, pulling me back. "Tolya, you have to ease up or else you'll kill him before Indigo gets down here."

I wrench away from him. Rage burns through my veins as I pant.

He's right. I hate that he's right.

"Give him a shot of adrenaline," I order.

Roma's eyebrows shoot up. "He's getting to the point where his body can't take much more?—"

"I SAID GIVE HIM THE FUCKING ADRENALINE!" I shout, my voice echoing off the basement walls. "Wake him the fuck up."

Roma hesitates, then shakes his head. "Fine."

He walks over to the nearby table where, picks up a syringe, and jabs it into Grisha's neck.

Grisha's eyes fly open wide as the adrenaline floods his system. His body jerks against the chains, but his broken limbs can't respond properly. His chest heaves with rapid breaths and the focus returns to his eye.

"Welcome back, Grisha," I say, flexing my bloody fingers.

"That was a dirty trick, Baryshev," he snaps.

"And I've got plenty more where that came from." I lean forward and pat his face almost gently. "We're going to be here all night if we have to. Because here's something you need to understand. Your fate, Grisha? That's not up to me to decide."

Just then, the basement door opens upstairs. The hinges creak, sending a shaft of light down the concrete steps. I turn around and see Indigo standing at the top of the stairs.

Myprintsessaandbritvochka.

She stands there like a vengeful angel, framed by the rays of light radiating from the doorway. It catches on her blue hair, and illuminating the red roots. Her face is calm, like the stillness that comes before a storm breaks.

I turn back to Grisha, who's staring at her with his one good eye. My face twists into a dark smile.

"It's up to her,"

Grisha's eye widens slightly. Fear finally registers on what's left of his face. Maybe he's remembering all the lines he crossed with her at the gala, on the train, and with Amara. Maybe he's realizing that there truly is no one who will come save him, and that vengeance doesn't matter when you're not alive to see how it ends.

Or maybe he's realizing just how close to death's door he is.

But whatever it is, his lips start trembling, and his feet kick out uselessly against their restraints, trying desperately and futilely to get away from Indigo as she takes one slow and deliberate step towards him.

She approaches with her shoulders squared and her chin lifted, passing by Roma and Vassily without acknowledging either them. Her eyes never once leave from Grisha as she approaches.

I can feel her fury, raw and protective, rolling from her body in waves with every step she takes.

It's beautiful and terrifying all at once.

"Do you remember all those things you said to me on the train, Grisha?" she asks. "All those disgusting promises about what you were going to do to me?"

Grisha's mouth opens and closes like a fish gasping for air. "I... I didn't... I wasn't..."

She leans forward until her face is inches from his. "This will be so much easier if you behave."