Page 42 of A Twisted Gift

“What?”

“Don’t kill Marissa. She doesn’t deserve it.”

“She abandoned you. She left you there with thatmonster.”

But Raina shakes her head. “Father was a monster to her, too. I didn’t realize it at first—I was always jealous of how he treated her. But the night before the auction, I saw the truth. She’s afraid of him, too. He’s always manipulating, finding ways to pull people’s strings and turn them into his puppets. It’s not her fault that she had to escape.”

“And what about your brothers?”

Her expression changes to one of indifference, but not before I see the pain. Her hurt. “Maybe they were victims once, but not anymore. They’re just as cruel as he is.”

“And the staff? Should I spare any of them?”

“One. A maid. She was only hired a few years ago. She sneaks in new books and candy for me whenever she can.”

“Not anymore,” I murmur, tipping her chin up with a bent knuckle. “Remember that, little rose. No more. You can have as many books and as much candy as you’d like with me.”

A smile blooms across her face, and she loops her arms around my waist, burying her face in my chest. My arms lock around her automatically, pulling her into me. Every moment I have with her, I feel myself coming back to life. I didn’t realize how lost I was. How desperate I was for this. Forher.

“When will you kill them?” she asks.

“I’m not sure.”

“Tonight?”

I raise a brow. “You want it done that quickly?”

“I don’t want you trapped here.” As she says it, she pulls away from my embrace so she can gaze up at me. Her eyes are clear, her expression sincere, caring.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be—”

“No! I know what a place can do to you. How it seeps into your bones and drags you into the dark. You freed me from my cage,and now I’m freeing you from yours. We kill them tonight, and then we leave.”

“As long as you feel ready.”

I’ll have to make some arrangements, but it should be doable.

She takes her hands in mine. “As long as I’m with you, I will be.”

My heart aches. All I’ve ever wanted was for someone to care about me the same way I care about them. And here Raina is, embracing every aspect of me. It feels different than everyone who’s come before her, but what if it’s not? What if it’s all a trick my mind is playing on me?

And god, what if I lose control? I almost kissed her, for fuck’s sake. Multiple times. Hell, I wish I had. But not having her is more bearable than watching her realize she fell into this out of a sense of obligation.

I couldn’t survive that. Not again.

“You know you don’t owe me anything, right?”

With a frustrated huff, she pulls away from me. “Why do you keep saying that?”

“Because I need you to know.”

With a sigh, Raina tilts her chin up, but instead of the hard expression I’m expecting, her eyes soften when they meet mine. “You really don’t understand, do you?”

“Understand what?”

“My heart. How I see you. How I feel about you. I want you, Erik.”

I laugh, but the sound is devoid of humor. “No one has ever wanted me, little rose. Not in a long, long time.”

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