Page 104 of Claimed In Darkness

Not needing to.

We fight together with claws, with teeth, with blood and breath and the kind of violence that makes lesser men tremble.

I feel the moment his blade cuts a throat just inches from my shoulder.

He feels the moment I twist and slam my dagger hilt into a skull right behind him.

We are an unstoppable thing.

A force of fucking ruin.

And when the last body hits the dirt, gurgling on its own blood, we are still standing.

Still breathing.

And I am still shaking.

I have never felt this alive.

Never felt this hungry.

Never felt this close to something else, something darker, something worse.

She has not moved.

Not once.

She stands at the boundary of the carnage, watching, waiting, calculating.

There is no fear in her eyes.

Only understanding.

And I fucking detest her for it.

She sees me too clearly.

Sees what I just did.

Sees what I have become.

She is not surprised.

A slow, knowing smile pulls at her lips.

"You’re finally showing your true self," she murmurs.

I step toward her, my blade still dripping.

"Say another word," I whisper, "and I’ll cut out your tongue."

Her smile widens.

"You can try."

The tension between us crackles.

It is not jealousy.

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