Page 30 of Rose and Shadows
“In cold blood? You’re an active threat. There’s nocold bloodabout it.”
He threw up his hand. “Wait. I know that Cassius made it where I can’t hurt you in here, so I can’t defend myself. That does qualify as in cold blood. I’m helpless, Velra.”
Wow.“Helpless? You’ve murdered me twice. You’ve hunted me for years. You took so much of my life.” I spun the dagger in my hand. “As if it wasn’t horrific enough that I was kidnapped and experimented on by Chimera Circle. It took me a whole year not to replay every moment of what they did to me anytime I closed my eyes. Do you know that? And instead of being given care and an environment to heal in, not only did you and our parents kick me out, you came after me, marking me for death.” I hissed at him. “So tell me again that you’re helpless.”
He went to speak again, but I silenced him by slamming my knee into his face.
Blood exploded over my pants as it broke his nose and he flailed against the wall, spluttering.
Enough of this.
It was done.
He was done and I was done with him.
Fanatic.
Tormentor.
Hunter.
Thief of my joy and my fucking life.
That was all that he was to me now.
Not a brother. Not family.
An abuser and a fucking threat.
A genocidal maniac.
I lunged forward, fisted my hand in his hair and wrenched his head back.
And then I brought the blade down toward his heart.
A violent rush of wind ripped through the cell and then the blade was suddenly snatched from my hand, Sorin tossed across the cell onto the bench before I could blink.
What the—
I spun to see Lazriel standing there now holding the dagger. “Not the kind of therapy we thought you were immersed in, love.”
The—wait…we?
Bright white light erupted with that comforting familiarity and Cassius materialized.
“This isn’t the sort of closure that will sit well with you in the aftermath,little shadow.”
He held his hand out expectantly and Lazriel tossed him the blade, which he snatched from the air.
“You don’t understand. He needs to be eliminated. There are things you don’t know yet.”
“Yet? So you were going to tell us at some point?” Lazriel spoke.
“Once you stopping me from doing what needed to be done was no longer an option,” I bit back.
“You’re right,” Cassius said. “It does need to be done.”
“Yeah, it does,” Lazriel agreed. “But not by you.”
