Page 151 of Rook of Ruin
Vetter’s voice rings in my head with pure malice.“They separated the thirty children from Tynan, calling them pointy-eared pixies. Like they have a disease or curse. I’ll show them a fucking pixie.”He dropped his glamour, his ears becoming longer and his canines protruding slightly. Vetter’s skin practically radiated.“Shall we show them a new level of degeneracy?”
My first thought wasVetter is a twat; my second thought wasthe word is not degeneracy, it’s depravity; my third thought wasfuck yes. Now, we’ve killed a majority of the Panther’s guards in the warehouses. Only a few remain.
I barely breathe as my brace glows soft, the natural power humming in my body, and I take what’s never freely given. Theirsilent screams are loud in my mind as I kill more of the Panther’s guards trying to escape. Stalking out from the shadows, my head tilts on its own. The last guard is on her knees, her thin fingers splayed out, but her fierce face is twisted in torture. The natural pinches of pain I feel from burrowing deep within their minds is nothing compared to the agony they feel.
Blood drips down her nose, and I can practically taste her fear—it’s like a drug to my body. I savor it and stare into her brown eyes as she begins to cry blood. My teeth grind when she tries to fight back, and those small pinches turn into little sharp stabs. But it’s useless to fight me, and she knows it.
When I see the woman who has been haunting me for almost two years, laughing and dancing at a ball in Bethal in the guard’s memories, I almost lose control.
“She is coming?” I whisper and get a clear answer before I enjoy the all too satisfying feeling of flesh tearing inside her skull. The guard drops to the ground, her dead body and blood mixing with the rest.
“I’ll always fight for—”
Damn it—shut up. Just fucking leave me alone!
Orlaith haunts me. Every waking moment, I hear her whisper in my mind. I despise her and love her with each breath I take. I want to destroy her and at the same time I want to consume her. The last time I saw her, she was riding away with her prince. Orlaith will regret what she did to us, I’ll make her regret it. Inhaling a deep breath, I struggle to stop thinking of her.
My jaw is clenched tight, and the fucking monster coils in my chest.
She ruined me. She is the reason I have lost memories, I know she had them taken from me, pretended to care just so she could cruelly watch me wither. The princess almost had me fooled with her little act in the bathroom before she left for Bethal—shemissed me with the dagger. She never misses. She could have killed me, but she didn’t.
So I took the bait. Believed her. But she was fucking with me, taunting me, playing the game. I watched as she held her favorite flower, the one inked permanently onto my skin. Sheknew. She fucking knew, and she letit go.
The detailed journals I keep told me a false tale of her love for me—ourlove.Orlaith did speak one truth though: she hates me. Good. I fucking hate her too.
My attention is drawn as Vetter saunters down the alley of the cramped warehouses towards me, his practically white hair shines in the light, and blood is splattered on his fighting leathers. I refocus and nod to him in acknowledgement. There’s a rage on Vetter’s face. He shows it plainly, I do not.
“Anything?” Vetter asks.
“Yes. Lord Cobal is finally coming to Acros.” My eyes narrow at him.
“Good. You know Orlaith took his home.”
He says her name as if she is his queen—I still don’t know how, but he knows her. He watches as I touch my chest. There is a constant itchy ache there from my fulfilled life debt to Vetter, which I don’t remember giving . . . another memory Orlaith took. Vetter smiled softly when he told me she cleared my debt, but the soft smile was creepy coming from his stupid fae face. If I hadn’t watched the rune disappear, I would have never believed it.
Vetter stoops down, staring at the dead warrior. “The Panther surfaced.”
I’m surprised, but it doesn’t show. “Where.” It’s a demand.
“The Stocks.” He straightens. “He took women from Bethal this time.”
“From Bethal?” Unusual. He usually takes from Acros, from Enthe. I don’t want to, but I think of the horrors this dead woman showed me.
Vetter glances at the woman. “Disgusting creature.” He turns to me, and his violent face pulls into another smirk. “You must be lonely, Spider, with all the blood you’ve been shedding. But you don’t know true loneliness. The only female I’ve ever wanted as my own has been claimed by another.”
My mask drops, and I know there is clear disgust on my face. I never realized how pathetic Vetter is. Who says that shit?
He flicks his hand, and out of some-fucking-where, one of his minions appear to dispose of the bodies.
Vetter was right to fear the Panther—he came for us, trying to find everyone we loved. My fingers roll into a fist, and my fucking heart lurches. He killed Christoph, who was like a brother to me; Nolan found him barely breathing in an alley, took him to a healer, and by the time I arrived, he was gone. Zane was injured before he—thunderous mercy, I miss that red-headed asshole. Even in death, I bet he’s watching over us. If O had been here—my blood runs cold. If the Panther knew about her, if he had any idea about Elliot . . .
Vetter grins wickedly at the mess we’ve made. “Well? Are you going to tell me what you learned?”
I shrug.
Vetter frowns. “Still mad at me?” I shrug again just to mess with him, and he rolls his eyes. “It was one little life debt. Get over it Spider.”
“Little life debt? You fuck.”
