Page 341 of Legacy
“I’m going to untie you,” he says softly, “and you’re going to shoot him.”
Adriana’s head lifts.
Her hair falls away from her face, and I see the bruise clearly, see the split in her lip, but her eyes are what stop me cold.
They burn.
Rage. Fury. Terror.
All wrapped into one, shining through the pain.
Her glare could set him on fire.
“You untie me,” she says, her voice low, even, cold, “and I’m going to shootyou.”
He laughs, a quiet, amused sound, like she’s a child throwing stones at a giant.
Then his hand moves, brushing his knuckles down her cheek.
She flinches, but she doesn’t break eye contact, doesn’t look away, even as her jaw trembles for a moment.
And I can’t fucking breathe.
Every muscle in my body is screaming to move, to tear him apart, to put my hands around his neck and squeeze until the light leaves his eyes.
But I can’t,not yet.
Not until she’s clear.
My fists curl so tight my knuckles crack. My jaw aches from the grind of my teeth.
Karekin’s smile sharpens, darkening.
“If you don’t shoot him,” he purrs, leaning close enough I see Adriana’s nostrils flare, see the way her breath shakes but never stops, “then I will. Or maybe…”
His eyes flick down her body.
My blood boils.
“Maybe I’ll take my time with you first. Sell you. After I’m done.”
He nods once, and a soldier steps forward, pressing a gun to the back of her head.
The sound of the safety clicking off is like a gunshot in the silence.
Come on, Nico. Come on.
My pulse slams against my skull, hammering, deafening.
Karekin kneels, slicing the rope from her wrists with a flick of a knife. The strands fall away, and he grabs her by the wrist, yanking her to her feet so hard she stumbles, her gasp sharp.
He shoves the gun into her hand, his fingers curling around hers, forcing her grip tight around the cold steel.
“Kill him.”
His voice drips with delight.
She stands, swaying for a breath, her legs trembling from exhaustion, her arms shaking, but she doesn’t drop the gun.
