Page 105 of House of Darkness
And he did just that. He didn’t need his blades; his claws were enough to slash through him. Codran didn’t even process the pain; he was trapped in the nightmares now playing in his head. Silence enveloped the entire, drawn-out event. Yet Roman continued, extracting every second of pain and terror Codran had ever inflicted on another, forcing him to endure his own sins over and over again.
Once Codran sat in a pool of his own blood, Roman positioned himself in front of him, splattered with crimson like a garish painter. His face remained carved with that cold, unfeeling expression as he crushed him. Blood poured from Codran’s orifices, and he crumpled.
The man who tried to destroy me was gone, as if he had never existed to begin with.
It took several minutes before the floor was clean enough for Iliya to be released. Roman returned to my side, his bloodied hands tucked behind his back. I stood close enough to him that I could curl my hand into his, not caring about the filth between our skin.Another evil wiped from the face of the earth by my angel.
He smiled at that.
Are you ready?
Yes.
“Please bring Iliya forward,” I called.
I set my tiara in my chair and picked up Roman’s twin blades. Turning to Iliya, I found her standing meekly on the floor still stained with her lover’s blood, tears welling in her eyes. It was almost enough to make me feel bad for her. Almost.
I stepped off the dais, and she turned to run. The wall of vampires caught her and shoved her back to me.
“Iliya, you conspired to kidnap and torture me to overthrow the crown. You are a defector, a thief, a liar, and worst of all, a traitor to your fellow woman. For this, I sentence you to death.”
My feet continued their steady march forward, and I basked in her fear when she finally turned to face me. She pointed an accusatory finger at my hands. “You’re cheating. It’s not fair if you have weapons and I have none.”
My lip curled in response. I threw one of the blades to her. “There. Wouldn’t want anyone to think this isn’t fair.”
Then I lunged. I narrowly dodged the swipe of her blade before slamming my own into her ribcage. She screamed and tackled me.
It felt like being kicked by a horse. I managed to press the serrated outer edge of Roman’s karambit to her throat, struggling to hold back her snapping jaws, even as blood trickled down my arms.
She caught her blade against my shoulder, slicing through my beautiful dress and leaving a trail of gore. I saw red.
“This was a gift, you bitch!”
I slammed my knee into her groin and wriggled from beneath her. Albeit not gracefully, I crawled away and scrambled to my feet. Before Iliya had a chance to rise, I fisted her hair and dragged her backward.
She kicked and screamed, but my grip was like a vise. Thankfully, I had been training for this moment. I forced her to her knees and pressed my blade to her throat.
“See you in hell.”
I thrust upward. Blood sprayed across me, ruining my dress, and her body slumped in my grip until I remembered to release her.
The crowd erupted in bloodthirsty cheers. Just as I’d thought, they appreciated my savagery. I felt nothing as I looked upon the corpse of the woman I had just murdered. It was then I realized why darkness always seemed to follow me. Unlike my sister, who radiated light, darkness lived within me. I just had to choose to unleash it.
My focus shifted to my tsar. He sat on his throne next to mine, his eyes darkened with lust. I could only imagine what twisted thoughts swirled in that messed-up little head, and the thought made me smile.
I stepped over Iliya, nearly tripping on her hair, and ignored the applause for my wickedness as I made my way back to him. He was ready for me when I pressed my lips to his, disregarding the gore that covered us. The demons that had haunted my nightmares were gone, and I wanted to celebrate with the love of my life. We could worry about the rest later.
Roman picked me up and spun me, oblivious to our audience. For a moment, the room melted away, consumed by our darkness. Then he set me down, and reality returned. He took my hand and thrust it into the air. The cheers were rabid, and I couldn’t tell if they were for us or the evil we had committed.
“Thank you for your continued support of the crown. Please enjoy the evening. There are drinks and music for your enjoyment.”
Roman spun me onto the dance floor. It was a special kind of twisted to dance on a floor stained with the blood of our enemies, but I didn’t care. He moved us expertly, allowing others to bow out of our way.
“I’m sorry I ruined my dress,” I said as he dipped me back.
He drank me in hungrily before responding, “I think it’s an improvement.”
As the song ended, I caught sight of my sister against a wall. Somehow, she seemed completely comfortable amid the soirée of vampires, though that may have had something to do with the guard dog named Catina at her side. She watched me with a smile on her pretty face.
