Total pages in book: 401
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
“I can take away all that fear.”
It vanished with his words as pain spiked, replaced by a deep sense of restlessness as I moved silently through the halls under Wayfair, the veil hiding my scars. I was alone as I drifted like I imagined lovesick spirits did, afraid to pass on. I was so…
“I can make it so you’re never lonely again.”
With each passing heartbeat, the pain became pressure in my skull. I was in a room with dark mahogany paneling, my palms flat against a desktop, the white gown pooled at my hips. I could feel the aching clench of my jaw as I stood perfectly still, even though I felt their stares, even as I felt the smooth, cold tip of a cane gliding over the skin of my back.
“I can erase the shame.”
The pressure expanded as I screamed, hands covered in blood as I begged—pleaded with—him to open his eyes. To not leave me.
“I can make sure you never feel such loss again.”
My head felt like it would explode as I found myself on my back, staring into golden eyes. Rage tore through me as he smirked down at me, those beautiful lips that had worshipped my skin—my scars—speaking blood-soaked lies. My heart cracked and then broke as the betrayal cut deep.
“You will never feel such heartache again.”
He vanished from above me as the first stone hit me, tearing open my skin where I stood under the sun—all my fears becoming realized. I would never be accepted. Would never be seen for who I was.
“I will always see you.”
More images came at me. The pain of a bolt tearing through my flesh. The agony of red-tinted hunger and being unable to stop the swing of a blade so cruelly taking another life from me. Sitting by her side, fearing she’d never open her eyes again, that I would lose yet another person close to me. The crimson-cushioned box delivered to me, and the terror and fury that followed. Scarlet streaking soft, white fur. All the lies. The harsh truths and fear that I would turn out just like her. Bitter. Destructive.
It was all so much.
Too much.
And it didn’t stop. All the painful moments of my life kept coming in startling clarity. Gods, it was unbearable. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t relive those moments. And, gods, I knew there were more. More heartbreak. More loss. Even harsher truths. Worse times.
I didn’t want to go through it again.
I was weak.
That was the harsh truth. Everything would be so much better. So much easier if I’d just give in.
The pressure retreated as my surroundings pieced themselves back together. My cheeks were damp as I saw him reach through the bars.
The mist around me trembled, and his head tilted. “I’ve always seen you.”
He…he had.
He tipped his head to the other side and dragged it across a bar. “Don’t you want that? To stop struggling? Free yourself of the pain? The panic? The fear? I can make it stop. Take it all away. Everything will be so much better. So much easier.”
I…wanted that. An end. Silence. My lips curved up. Peace.
“Let me in.” His chin lowered, and his flesh started to thin. “Let me in. Let me in, so’lis.” His voice rose, and the whispers returned, joining him as the ghostly dancers clutched at the bars and howled. “Let me in.”
“You can trust me,” he said, his voice echoing around me. “Always.”
I’m not asking you to trust me.
My heart stuttered at the sound of his voice. One I knew mirrored his emotions, deepening with passion, turning raspy when worried or uncertain, smooth as the finest wine or silk when he teased. And when his voice softened, it was always a warning that blood would be spilled.
I would always know his voice.
And he would never ask me to trust him.
A faint tingle drew my gaze to my left hand. Through the undulating mist, I saw the shimmery gold swirl of an…imprint.
My gaze lifted to the being before me. He smiled. It was painfully beautiful and…a lie. Just as everything he promised was. Because I knew who he was.
What he was.
He had been the end of every beginning.
True Death.
But now, he was the great deceiver. The thief of life and joy. The Conspirator, a manipulator who preyed upon weakness and fear. The very first and very last murderer. A monster not by design but by choice.
“Let me take away your pain,” Death whispered. “I know you’re ready, so’lis.”
The mist around my throat loosened.
Anticipation swelled in Death.
I dragged in the thinnest breath. “Never.”
Death stared, and I saw something flicker in those crimson-flecked eyes. Something akin to confusion. And something deeper. Starker and colder. The mockery of a smile faded before it returned like a poorly concealed stain. He gripped the bars, which shattered around his hands, exploding into shimmering dust. He walked into the cage, the tendrils of Primal mist loosening and retracting, unfurling from around my neck, slipping down my arms, and sliding across my hips. I fell forward onto my hands, dragging in deep breaths as the essence slithered across the floor, returning to…