Page 83 of House of Crimson Kisses
Something is off.
I slide my hand up the back of her neck and draw her to me until our mouths meet. She kisses me.
But it’s forced. Cold. Empty.
The heat of our bodies nonexistent.
I pull back, frowning.
“What’s—” I start, but she cuts me off, her face contorting. Her chiselled jawline becomes sharp and harsh. Her green eyes cold and icy.
I don’t recognise her.
“I’ve seen the truth. I know who you are now, Octavia,” she snarls.
“What do you mean? You’ve always known who I am.”
“You’re a liar. A thief. You ruin everything. You ruin me. Ruined my sister.”
“No. I… I saved Amelia. She would have died. You know that.”
“You’re everything I hate. How many memories did you take? How many times did you take my free will away, Octavia? I’ll never love you unless you let me go. Unless you let me be free. Unless you tell me what really happened that night.”
“No. No. You made me promise. You begged me.”
“So now this is my fault?”
“That’s not what I…” I’m crawling back off the bed. I need to get away. I can’t do this. This city is killing me. Everything is wrong and twisted and broken. And it’s all my fault.
“Yes, Octavia. It’s all your fault. You’re a fucking monster, just like they all said you were.”
I look up at her, my eyes welling as I scramble back.
“You don’t mean that,” I cry.
“I mean every word of it. You disgust me. You’ve always made my skin crawl. You will never be enough because you’ll never be anything but a filthy fucking monster.”
“No,” I whisper, my voice cracking. “Please,” I hold my hands out towards her. But she shoves me back.
I tip off the edge of the bed…
… and I land in a new room.
I stare up at the ceiling, recognising where I am. My mother’s throne room. I roll onto my stomach and push myself to my feet only to stumble backwards until I hit Mother’s throne and collapse down into it.
The seat is odd; not the soft, plush leather of normal but like I’m sat on someone’s lap. I stand up, wrench around and scream.
Mother’s body rests on the throne. Her skin is grey and desiccating. Her mouth hangs slack, her eyes vacant and staring through me.
Pieces of her flesh flake off and drift into the air until a thick smog of decaying flesh swirls around me. The door swings open, and my siblings stumble through, each of them desiccating in the same way Mother is. Only they’re still standing and walking.
Dahlia falls first. A long sword driven straight through her, front to back. She points a finger at me. “You did this.”
“I didn’t. It wasn’t me, Dahlia, I swear.”
Gabriel crawls on his hands and knees, his eyes already rotten to black orbs still stare at me like he can see. “Your fault. You ruined us.”
Xavier appears now, stepping over Gabriel, but with each successive step he takes, his legs crumble more. His beautiful face is marred and shredded, scars gouge through his cheeks and mouth.
