Page 103 of Dirty Little Saint

My adrenaline soars as I move to the next sigil on his neck and do the same. “Red looks good on you,” I echo his words back to him again. I am fire. Darkness. Rage. I’m caught between madness and euphoria. Hysteria and serenity.

There is no mercy for one who does not give it himself. No redemption for leaders who choose themselves over their disciples. I carve and cut and flay his flesh as if I were butchering an animal. I skin him alive. And in my head, I hear Val strumming his violin, filling my heart and soul with its haunted melody.

I hear Felix’s words, his poetry, like a sacred chant. It beats a drum in my pulse, putting a fire in my belly. I roll Holden over and chip away at the sigils on his back. I have to hear the music so I can drown out Villette’s sobs. She shouldn’t be here.

When I saw his fucking hands on her…

I let out a scream and remove another sigil with one deep cut. “How does it fucking feel to be powerless?” I yell in his ear.

“Please…” Of course he begs. Well, I fucking begged, too, and he didn’t stop.

Riot nods when I look up at him. “Finish it, Firecracker. Take your revenge.”

I carve the last sigil out of him, my hands shaking. “Now I’m going to leave you here on the ground so you can slowly bleed to death.”

His gurgled cries are muffled. He doesn’t make any sense.

“Next.” I stalk toward Pisces.

“No, please, no. I’m sorry. Okay? Can’t we just call a truce? I promise I’ll never bother you again. Believe me.” His lips are quivering, his eyes bloodshot.

Just because he didn’t succeed in kidnapping me doesn’t negate all the vile things he had planned for me if he had.

“I’m not going to take your sigils, Mr. Thorn.” I wipe my knife on my blood-soaked dress, which was pointless except to demonstrate how fucking feral I am right now.

He lets out a deep breath. “Oh, thank the raven.”

I kneel down next to him and pet Zeus on the head. His tongue darts out to lick my wrist. “He is.”

Pisces’s eyes bulge. “What? Atlas, you can’t do this. Please. I’m begging you.”

Atlas locks eyes with Zeus as their unspoken bond sparks. The snake moves into action. “Don’t worry, the numbness kicks in after the paralysis. You won’t feel anything after that.”

The sound of their screams sends shivers up my spine. My hands tremble as I clasp the knife to my chest. We won. The rest is a blur. Exhaustion is kicking in. All my muscles ache.

“Come back to us, Maur.” Felix’s voice is soothing, like a warm bath. I’ll need multiple baths to get all this blood off.

He faces me, his brown eyes glowing. “In absentia lucis, tenebrae vincunt… Don’t let the darkness prevail.” He kisses me on the lips, and it tastes like sunshine. “Let me in.”

I let out a deep breath and close my eyes. As soon as I feel his sigil reaching out to mine, I feel lighter, freer. “Your light destroys me in the best fucking way, Felix.”

Villette still cowers next to the altar. I cannot approach her right now looking like this. Not after what she just watched me do.

Felix picks her up off the ground and hugs her to his chest. “I got you, Lettie. It’s okay.”

We’re safe now.

We control Nocturnus and the ravens.

But… none of us are okay.

Riot

We left my mother and Romulus tied up in one of the guestrooms. I’m sure they’ll free themselves eventually. Our fathers are dead.

Our fathers are dead.

Per their wills, all their financial holdings were transferred to us. Atlas took pity on his mother and left her their country house and a small monthly allowance. She cared less about him than his father did.

---