Page 13 of Sweet Venom

“Do I need to explain myself to everyone here?” I asked, my voice icy, my eyes locking on each of them one by one. “Because if I do, we’ll be here all day, and I don’t have the patience nor the time for that.”

It is not that hard to comprehend. Who the hell wants to work in a space that looks like Cupid died here and left his remains behind?

The room fell into wide-eyed silence, and I released a long, resigned sigh. “Consider yourselves dismissed.”

Chairs scraped awkwardly as they filed out, throwing furtive glances at me—and at Linda—as they went. I waited until the last of them left before I leaned back in my chair, my gaze flicking back to the offensive colors outside.

“Black,” I muttered to myself, my voice dark with disgust. “Everything should’ve been black from the start.”

Chapter

Three

FRAGILE HEART

Azariel

“Roses are red, violets are blue, love is a lie, and so are you.” – P

Icounted the blood dripping from the tip of my index finger.

I sat in the corner of the large living room, my back pressed against the black wall, the weight of the knives in my hands grounding me—keeping me from slipping too deep into the chaos inside my head. The sharp, blood-stained blades caught the light as I twirled them slowly between my fingers. I could almost see my reflection in the metal.

A pale face.

Dead, gray eyes.

I had everything a boy my age could want in this mansion, yet all I ever needed were these knives.

They weren’t just knives. They were their knives—Kadra’s and Vitali’s. I hadn’t known Vitali until Kadra found me one night while I was hiding from the rain inside a cardboardbox. She pulled me off the streets, gave me warmth when I’d forgotten what that felt like. Then Vitali gave me something even harder to believe in—safety. And love.

Love. What a joke. And yet—I felt it. Between them. For me. At times, it suffocated me, but I endured it because, deep down, I loved them too. I was just too messed up to show it.

No. That wasn’t entirely true.

I was terrified to love them freely because everything I ever cared about—everything I touched—died. I killed it. Every. Single. Time.

Greta, Kadra’s sleek gray Sphynx cat, padded over and nudged the edge of the blade with her warm nose. Her eyes gleamed with mischief before she leapt, trying to snatch one of the knives from my hand. A laugh escaped my lips before I could stop it. She backed off, then pounced again. It was a game—but I was always careful. Always careful with Greta.

She wasn’t annoying. She was one of the few things Kadra loved. And I would never hurt anything that woman cared for. Not ever.

But I have hurt people in the past.

Bloody, black memories flickered through my mind—ruthless and raw. Blood on my hands. Blood on my face. Screams shredding my soul. Pain and carnage had raised me before love ever came close.

Blood.

Screams.

Cries for help.

Green eyes.

“Number 1… please.”

My head pounded. My chest ached. And then—I heard it.

A voice. Soft, small, and sweet. It pierced through the darkness like sunlight through storm clouds.

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