Page 147 of Dance of Madness

“I know it was you,” he murmurs, quoting my words back at me.

I smile nervously. “Nero?—”

Wait. Something’s not right. His fingers tighten—not possessively, not in that way that I love.

Just hard.

Toohard.

I choke, my eyes bulging as his hand wraps around my throat like a vise. My body jerks, trying to stand. But his iron grip keeps me planted in the chair as his lips descend from behind to brush my ear.

“AndI know,” he snarls, sending an icy chill up my spine, “that it wasyou.”

There's a sharp jab to my neck. I flinch, gasping in shock and ripping my eyes to the side…

…Just in time to see Nero pulling out the hypodermic.

Alarm bells explode in my head as his hand loosens its grip and drops from my throat. My body feels numb and sluggish, the candlelight of the room suddenly flickering manically. My head lolls as my vision swims, eyes vainly trying to focus on him as sheer terror swallows me.

“What…” I moan as the room goes dark.

“Whyyyy….”

The last thing I see is pure, venomous fury igniting in those sharp green eyes.

Then it all goes dark.

30

MILENA

At first,all I know is cold.

Darkness. Damp concrete. The smell of mildew and dank earth. Musty, unmoving air.

And the voices.

“Yes, Papa.”

“I’m proud of you,malyshka. Doing what the family needs you to do.”

“Of course, Papa. This is what we Kalishniks do.”

I squeeze my eyes tighter shut, groan when I feel the dull, sluggish throb of my pulse, like it’s just waking up.

I open my eyes, and vague, flickering light swims into my consciousness. Blueish.

A television.

Where am I.

Why am I so cold.

The questions come like sparks in the darkness, startling me and making me wince before I force my eyes a little wider open.

“It’s all a means to an end.”

The voices fade out. The hazy TV screen goes dark.

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