Page 158 of Eternal
“Please… please,” he pleads. His voice cracks. Maybe he’s crying?
But I don’t stop. His begging means nothing. I can’t hear it, can’t feel it. It’s like I’m already somewhere else, somewhere deep inside my head where none of this matters.
I circle around him, my footsteps soft on the grass, my hands twitching at my sides. The smell of his fear is so so fucking rich, it makes me dizzy.
I should… end him.
His eyes flicker to the water. “Why are you doing this?” His voice is pleading, but it’s weak.
I stop. I lean in close to him. I can feel his pulse. Faster, it’s getting faster. His sweat is mixing with the dirt in the air. The blood on his shirt…
I smile, soft, almost… too soft, like I’m not here at all.
“Why am I doing this?” I repeat, the words slipping out of my mouth without thought. I tilt my head. “I think it’s because people like you fucked me up. It’s people like you who made me. So don’t flinch when I do what needs to be done.”
I almost laugh, but it feels wrong. Too wrong.
I turn my back on him for a second. My fingers brush the edge of the fountain, where the water’s cold. The reflection in the dark surface looks so peaceful. So peaceful. Like a lie.
“You use them,” I murmur. “You use them like toys, don't you?”
I hear him struggle to breathe. His voice shakes. “You’re… you’re sick. You’re insane. You don’t have to do this.”
I turn back to him, my eyes narrowing. Sick? Insane? “No,” I hissed. “I’m not sick. You’re the sick one. You’re the one who thought you could get away with everything because of moneypower and influence. You think you’re the only one who knows how to hurt? Huh? You think I’m the monster?”
I drag the blade down my arm. It’s sharp, cold, but it feels… right. I stop, almost surprised by the feeling. Almost disappointed. “You don’t know what you did to me. I feel nothing now. I feel nothing at all. Like I didn’t even have a fucking name. You took that from me. You took the people I loved… and then you and your people hid.”
I walk around him again, slowly. My fingers are on the knife again, circling the edge like it’s a friend. I could slit his throat now, I could. But no. I’m gonna take my time.
“Maybe I’ll cut your tongue out first,” I whisper. My voice is softer than I expected. I stare at him as I imagine the blood pooling in his mouth. The soft squelching sound it would make. “Or maybe I’ll start with your eyes. Or your dick. What would hurt more? What do you think?”
His eyes widen with fear as his body jerks against the ropes. Tears streak down his face, the smell of piss filling the air. “You…you killed them all… all of them…” he croaks, his voice choking on the words. “You killed them!!! Some were innocents! You killed women, you fucking psycho!” His chest heaves, and I watch, amused, as he shudders.
“Killed them, killed them,” I repeat, the words feeling good in my mouth. “I did. I killed them all.” I say it again, louder, “I killed them because I could.”
His voice is barely a whisper now. “You killed them. They had families… wives…husbands… children… mothers!!!” He shakes his head, still trapped in that cycle of disbelief. “You killed them all for what? You’re not even human, you sick bitch.”
“I had a mother too,” I whisper, my voice low, almost tender.I had a mother too. I did.“She was mine, and you took her from me. You think I care about other families? Do you think I care aboutyou?” I let the last word hang in the air, sharp and cruel.“She knew how fucking filthy you were. She knew Antony. She probably knew you were part of the fucking puzzle that tore us apart. And now you’re saying that I’m the monster?”
His face goes pale, his breath quickening, like the truth cut through him. He looks like he’s seeing the world for the first time.
“You killed her too, didn’t you? Your ex-wife…Alina? She knew too much about your preferences. You coward.”
“Who are you?”
I take out a bullet, and I smile while playing with it.
“Voron? It’s you?” I hear the shaking in his voice, and it almost makes me laugh. He doesn’t get it, he doesn’t understand. “You’re the one who killed Donovan? And all these people too?Fuck!! Fuck!!”
He starts screaming and shaking, completely lunatic.
I slap him hard across the face, watching his head snap to the side, his skin reddening under my hand. He’s baring his teeth now, his breathing is uneven, scared, but I don’t care.
“Stop fucking screaming,” He’s still trembling, trying to fight against the ropes, but it’s useless. He’s too broken, too far gone.
“You’re a monster…”
“A monster?” I repeat, getting closer, my eyes boring into his. “No, Antony. I’m just an angry woman. So fucking angry that I want to turn this fountain into something new.”
