Page 56 of Absentia Mori

“Leave the lollipops,” the Terror Twins whisper in unison as they materialize into the room.

Dr. Hall’s eyes widen. “Do not leave me here alone with—”

Kitty appears, cutting her off with a bloodcurdling scream just inches from her face, her mouth contorted like an evil mask.

The doctor shakes as she sobs. “No. I’m sorry.Please.”

My fury builds again as she begs for her pathetic life. “You don’t deserve my mercy. You’re worse than Gorman because you turned your head when you knew what he was doing to us.”

“Just kill me then,” she pleads.

I smile. “Of course, I’m going to kill you. With the one thing you love the most. Poison. Do you know that people who are poisoned don’t cross over to the other side?”

She chokes on her sobs, shaking her head in protest.

I snicker. “Like I said, the ghosts will decide your fate. You’ll be trapped in here forever with them.”

On cue, Raithe and Fabien rush forward and grab her arms and legs. She screams and flails as they slam her down on the desk. Mordecai pries her mouth open.

I glare down at her. “Such strange and beautiful irony, isn’t it? I’m in control now. And you are going to die a really painful fucking death.”

Her eyes bulge when I pour the first vial of nightshade down her throat. Mordecai pinches her nose and clamps down her mouth until she swallows it. One will be enough to kill her, buttwo will make her heart explode first, and I’m out for fucking blood tonight.

Her face pales and contorts as I pour the second vial into her mouth. Her body jerks, and her irises turn white. Her mousey-brown hair turns a shade to match.

“Shhh, relax, little Doe,” I whisper.

Her body convulses, white foam spraying from her mouth. I watch, mesmerized, as she dies and decays right in front of us.

Now there is no more pain. No more deviancy. No more monsters. No more Dr. Hall.

A light tingle flutters through my body. A release. Tears of joy stream out.

Mordecai, Fabien, and Raithe surround me. They let me cry in silence. They all do—the Terror Twins, Kitty, and Rowena, amongst others who I hadn’t encountered before. All these women who perished here. Who had unspeakable things done to them.

“Redemption,” I murmur.

Mordecai nods. “And now…revenge.”

Fabien arches an eyebrow. “Penny Blackwell?”

I nod. “Yes. But I need to go to Tenebrose first. Maureen and I need to have a chat.”

Raithe retrieves my knife out of the desk and cleans it off before handing it back to me. “Is this going to be a friendly chat or a deadly one?”

I shudder. “That depends on Riot, Atlas, and Valentin. But they need to know the truth. That the three of you didnotbetray them to Zeke.”

We spend the rest of the night cleaning out the asylum and packing up all the poison and Blackwell gin we can find.We leave the lollipops.

Thinking of Tenebrose Academy, my palms sweat, and my stomach turns. Six fucking months in here.They all must thinkI’m dead by now. I know Maureen will be happy to see me, but Riot is another fucking story. He’s so self-righteous. So stubborn. But I need to convince them of the truth. And I need to keep my guys and Maureen’s from killing each other. She’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to a best friend—her and Villette. It will break my heart if we don’t get past this.

Rowena leads us to the service entrance. We say our goodbyes, and I vow to come back someday to check in on her.

I almost start crying again when we step outside, and the fresh air hits my lungs.

Freedom. A precious construct that I took for granted.

But was I ever really free before Absentia Asylum? Or was I trapped in a luxurious prison crafted by my own family? Where the barred windows of my cell replaced my bedroom back in Ever Graves. The orderlies took the place of my father’s guards. And the sedatives were just medicinal-grade versions of whiskey and cocaine.

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