Page 20

CHAPTER NINETEEN

SELENE

T he smoke is so thick and I can’t see a goddamn thing. The sound that echoes through the hallways is piercing my ears and it feels as though my brain is about to combust. I know Onyx is down the hall to the right, but I need to figure out where the smoke is coming from.

That was the whole purpose of us splitting up. I don’t want to put him in any danger, so it’s better if I’m the one who goes looking. I know we’re no longer alone here, but I can’t let him get to Onyx.

And I’ll die trying to stop him, if I have to.

I head down the hallway in the direction where the smoke is coming from—the opposite direction of Onyx. I should tell him my plan and include him, but I know if I go to him he’ll shut it down before I even get the chance to explain it.

I can’t let that happen. I need Onyx to see that I’m just as capable of handling things. Plus, I was the one who fucked up with Ian. I’m the one who got us into this mess, so it’s only right that I handle it. Even if it means just finding the source of the smoke and whoever started it. There’s a weird sense that I need to right my wrongs.

The smoke grows thicker the further I walk down the hall. When I round the corner, I see the flames and realize I’m fucking trapped. There’s an entire inferno burning at the end of the hallway, destroying everything that it comes into contact with. The fire is spreading rapidly, consuming the rotting wood of the building as it crumbles beneath the flames.

This place wasn’t built to be able to withstand something like this, especially after being abandoned for decades. Just because we came here frequently doesn’t mean we were taking care of the building. In all honesty, this place burning is doing everyone in this town a service, except for Onyx and me.

I know there isn’t anything I can do to stop the fire at this point. It’s going to just keep spreading and swallow the entire asylum whole. What I need to do is get to Onyx. I need to find him so we can get the hell out of here. There’s no way we can follow through with what we came here to do.

But then again, I think our stalker is one step ahead of us. I notice the square speaker sitting in the center of the hallway, and it begins to make sense. Someone planted that here to distract us with the dreadful sound. And the same person who did that also started the fire. I don’t know what his prerogative is, but we need to get out of here before we get ourselves killed trying to handle the situation instead.

I spin on my heel, my feet moving quickly as I break out into a jog, heading back toward the hall where Onyx is. Thanks to him, I hold my breath, careful not to inhale in too much of the thick smoke that surrounds me.

As I go to round the corner and head down the hall, I’m jerked backward by a pair of large hands on my shoulders.

“What the fuck?” I snap, spinning on my heel and ducking out from under the pair of hands.

His hazel eyes stare back at me, and I can’t miss the look of disapproval on his face. “I knew you would be here, Selene.”

“No shit. You were tracking us, asshole.”

A soft chuckle slips from his lips as he wraps his hands around my throat and hauls me backward, my back slamming into the fractured wall. My nails dig into his hands as he lifts me from my feet, holding me in the air. “It wasn’t easy to find you, but I’m so glad that I finally did. I don’t think you realize how long I’ve been haunted by you.”

I kick my feet, struggling against his grip as he tightens his fingertips around my throat. My foot connects with some part of his body, but it doesn’t affect him. I can hold my breath, but I don’t know how much longer I can last. My body is already low on oxygen, and I can feel the effects beginning to swirl around in my brain.

I don’t know what the fuck this psychopath is talking about. He’s somehow connected to my past, and I run through the list in my head, trying to figure out where the fuck he’s from. Maybe he’s the son of someone I killed, but I don’t know how he would be able to connect me to that. There's literally no evidence out there—that I know of—that links me to any of my victims now.

“Come on, Selene. I know you’re smarter than that.” He pauses, his face inching closer to mine. “I don’t want to be like him. Honestly, I’ve tried to do everything in my life to not be like him. But I know I have to do this. You and Sirius are both like a fucking invasive disease. This is the only way to cure the world of the sickness that you plague everyone with.”

My eyes narrow, the realization hitting me deep in the fucking chest. “Abel?” I mouth the words, unable to make a sound.

My goddamn brother. The one who ruined it all. The one who put my father on death row. The one that I tried and fucking failed to kill when we were younger.

The corners of his mouth lift. “Hey sis.”