Page 189 of The Harbinger

“Clean this up,” Sacha said, then turned to Vlad. “Take her back to her room.”

Vlad nodded and took my arm from Dmitri, marching me past Sacha. “Lock the door this time.”

My heart shattered, and I screamed, barraging Vlad with my fists, my bare feet kicking out, jamming my toe. Sharp pain radiated through my foot, and I hopped, then my world turned upside down as he tossed me over his shoulder.

Chapter 48

Sacha

Istoodback,focusingon her until she disappeared into the darkness, then turned back to Katya, the only childhood friend who had made it this far.

“Why’d you do it?” Dmitri asked as he bent down beside her and picked up her limp arm, his thumb pressed into her pulse.

“Her loyalty wasn’t where it should have been.”

“You’ve allowed your issues with Ina to cloud your judgment. Not everyone is like her.”

I scoffed and hardened my jaw. “Where was that advice before I plunged the dagger into her neck?”

“Too late, it would seem.”

“Indeed.”

“Would it have made a difference?”

“No.”

“Why didn’t you leave Mia in her room? Why force her here to witness this?”

I looked down at my knuckles, still throbbing from the impact against the tree. I flexed my hand and winced. “She needs to see that I am who I am, and nothing will change that—not for her or anyone.”

Because if she could see past the darkness within me and around me, and accept me for who I truly was, then nothing could come between us.

The true test was yet to come, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d be ready for it.

Chapter 49

Mia

Vladdroppedmeonmy bed and left before I could scramble off the bouncing mattress. The lock clicked, and I screamed, my fists leaving red streaks across the door.

My fingers stuck together, the coagulated blood acting like glue. Strands of hair matted to my neck, the wound on my head forgotten about as I’d watched the life leave her eyes.

Still, as the blood on my neck and throat turned the shower water pink, my body remained numb to the torment, yet I needed to wash the remnants off me. I needed the memories to swirl down the drain like it never existed.

Tomorrow I’d wake up and still be furious with Katya, and she’d try striking up a conversation.

But no matter how much I scrubbed, her glazed-over eyes flashed in my mind. Her mother’s anguished cries echoed in my ears.

The scorching water assaulted my skull, sending sharp jolts of agony radiating through my body. My breath hitched, but I refused to flinch, willing myself to stay submerged, to confront the pain head-on instead of drowning in a sea of recollections like a cheap Hollywood flick.

He took her life as easily as one takes a breath, plunging the blade into her throat like he was meting out justice to a rabid animal. My gut twisted as I lifted my hands to my face, her crimson essence painting my skin in macabre strokes.

I frantically scrubbed at my flesh with soap and scrubber, the harsh bristles tearing at the shallow gash on my wrist, causing me to hiss. Memories long buried in the recesses of my mind surged to the forefront, crashing over me like a tidal wave of anguish and dread.

I was a wild child, sneaking out under the cover of darkness, having sex with random boys. After my appendix was unceremoniously removed, I spiraled into an eating disorder that was as fleeting as it was destructive. My parents were quick to get me into therapy, but while it quelled my hunger pangs, it did little to tame my rebellious streak.

The darkness crept in like a slow-rolling storm, the depression taking hold long after the rush of defiance had faded.

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