Page 16 of I Will Mend You

“Stay still, Amy,” Delta says, his fingers pressing into my flesh. “I want to avoid excess bloodshed.”

Chills race across my skin and seep into my bones, but it’s not enough to numb the sting of the craft knife piercing my flesh. I jerk away, every nerve ending screaming as the blade glides through my tissue like he’s cutting through butter.

Warm blood trickles down my side, replacing the scent of Delta’s cologne with copper. I want to grit my teeth, but the ring gag forces my jaw open. Instead, I breathe hard and fast, trying to process the pain.

“Good girl,” Delta says, his deep voice curling around my senses like a serpent.

“Get the one on the underside of her tit,” Barrett says, his words quickening with excitement.

“This one?” Dolly chuckles.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see her raising her left breast, drawing Locke to her side. He wraps an arm around her waist and nuzzles her neck, making her groan.

Delta glances over at them, the fingers holding my waist tightening. If I wasn’t so preoccupied with my survival, I might wonder about the dynamics of Delta’s relationship with Dolly. Despite being the leader, he allows other men to touch his wife.The micro expressions he tries to hide each time she cozies up with Locke tell me he finds the sight unsettling.

He grabs my breast, forcing a gasp from my lungs.

“Look at me, Amy,” Delta growls.

I shut my eyes.

He leans in close, his breath hot against my cheek. “You’d be wise to obey the man in control of the depth of your cuts.”

My eyes snap open, and I stare into his irises. They’re nothing like Xero’s. Xero’s were pale blue with white striations, yet Delta’s have faint starbursts of orange that remind me of flames.

“I know he survived the execution,” he says, his voice low. “But did he survive your pyromania?”

Pain lances through my heart, burning brighter than the sensation of the craft knife slicing through my breast. I swallow back a sob, replacing sorrow with the metal taste of fear.

All this time Xero searched for his father, when the man was several steps ahead. How else would he know about the fire or that I would leave Parisii Drive in search of Mom?

“Do the cross on her back,” Dolly says, making Delta draw away.

He turns me around, his touch gentle once again. Barrett and Seth stand at my sides, seeming more interested in watching me bleed than observing Locke and Dolly’s exchange.

Delta’s large hands land on my back, his fingers tracing the lines of an invisible X before positioning the blade on my skin.

I shiver as he makes the first precise cut, my body tensing under the shock of pain.

“Relax, Amy,” Delta murmurs, his lips grazing my ear. “Your sister finds this pleasurable.”

Anguish wraps around my chest like a constrictor, making each breath a battle against unseen restraints. My throat burns with the urge to scream, yet I can’t form a word through the gag.I have no sister. Even if I did, she wouldn’t be as malicious or as twisted as Dolly.

Barrett chuckles. “She’s crying.”

“Let me see,” replies Seth.

I’ve never felt so powerless. Never felt so overwhelmed with confusion. Prickly heat builds behind my eyes, which threaten to well up with tears. My lungs work like bellows, trying to hold back the well of emotions, but I refuse to let them see me cry. I won’t give these sick bastards the satisfaction of seeing me break.

The knife makes another slice across my back, and my mind goes numb. It’s like a switch has been flipped, and now I’m watching everything unfold from a distance. Maybe it’s finally registered that I’m in a dream. Maybe something inside me has cracked. But whatever it is, I’m no longer fully present in my own body.

My limbs feel heavy and distant, as if they belong to someone else. The pain should be overwhelming, but it’s muted, like it’s happening to an avatar. My surroundings fade into a blur, the voices and scents and unwelcome touches blending into a jumble of muted sensations.

Strangely, this new state of being is peaceful. It’s like I’m floating above it all, observing the chaos below with a sense of detached curiosity. Right now, the world feels distant. For the first time since I stopped taking my meds, I feel a glimmer of peace.

As the cuts continue, I can even appreciate Delta’s determination to match every major line on Dolly’s skin. He works with the precision of an artist, making me wonder if he was responsible for Dolly’s tapestry of scars.

It’s surreal to become a human canvas. Even more surreal to not use any of Xero’s methods to escape.

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