Page 59 of Sinless Demons
“What kind of monster kills someone so violently, Aries?” Nathiale asks.
The darkness presses in on me.
I—I don’t remember this.
Did he really say that?
“You hit me so hard with the crown, you cracked my skull with the first blow. But you kept going until my blood painted your hands, Aries.” His voice slithers over me.
A tremble shakes down my spine.
“What are you talking about?” I finally ask.
A hue of soft golden light strikes up at the center of the room, just over the vial’s black pedestal. Its light spider-walks across the small room, lighting up what I’ve never laid eyes on in my entire life.
My heart drills in my chest.
The light crawls farther and farther.
And then my brother’s bloody, disfigured face is looking down on me. Flesh and hair hangs from his features, twisting his once-handsome appearance into something grotesque and unnerving.
“You want to know why Catherine left you? It’s not because you’re stronger now, Aries. It’s because you’re dangerous. You hurt her. You hurt me. You hurt everyone around you, sister,” he says through split swollen lips.
“Shut up.” I shove to my feet, but when I stand, I can’t take another step. My feet are glued to the dark, brick floor.
“Maybe I will. Maybe I’ll just shut up.” He tilts his mangled head at me. “I’ll let you talk for a while. Maybe... maybe you should say something nice about me.”
I blink at him, and the twisting feeling in my stomach lurches a little harder. “What?”
“Say. Something. Nice. About your dear, sweet,deadbrother, Aries.”
Fuck.
He continues in that seething, roaring voice of his that scuttles over the walls and echoes into my chest. “Tell everyone. Tell them how you hated me, even when we were children. Tell them how you fantasized about burying me alive in our sandbox. Or pushing me down mother’s stairs. Or shoving a pillow over my face until I couldn’t breathe or speak any longer. Tell them that fond memory, Aries. Tell them. Tell them. Tell them!”
The memorial...
My eyes flash open with the whooshing sound of my pulse filling my ears. Trembling breaths shake across my lips, and I just stare up at the shadows along the ceiling with the image of his face burned into my mind.
Warm fingers slide over my stomach, slow but soothing.
Ryke pulls me hard against his big chest, and the men around me in bed are fast asleep. I settle in against his warmth, but my eyes refuse to close. I can’t sleep. All I can think about is that fucked-up dream and the fucked-up things I’ll have to say tomorrow night at the memorial.
An hour slips by into the silence. My thoughts are no lighter, but my eyes feel heavier. They close slowly. Sleep touches around the edges of my mind. Peace settles into my chest.
I open my eyes once more.
Movement outside the glass balcony doors catches my attention. Translucent black hair flicks across her pale features, and the woman taps ever-so-lightly against the glass.
If my fucking siblings could let me rest for a single hour, I would be so appreciative.
Unfortunately, Corva continues to rap against the balcony door like a fly buzzing around my face, until I’m forced to throw my feet over the edge of the bed. The thin black nightgown flits around my thighs, and I’m already huffing out a breath of frustration before I even storm across the room and throw open the doors.
“What?” I hiss through my teeth. The cold wind catches at my hair and clothes, but the woman in front of me seems unaffected.
“How’s the angel?”
“Are you fucking kidding me? He’s fantastic. Good night, Corva.”
