Page 48 of Lords of Ruin: Savage

“It is very easy to find agirlscorned.” I say, shrugging. “She’s young, naive. She will make mistakes.”

Damien laughs. “If this was a man I’d say give you three days and he will be gone, but a girl?” Damien’s laughter only grows louder. “Good luck.”

His hand pats my back as he walks past me. I stand in the hallway for a moment until I hear the quiet sobs of Willow and against my better judgment, I turn back around and lean against the frame of her door covered in my crimes.

I don’t say anything, afraid to break her anymore than she already is broken, but when she looks up at me, her tears stop. “Cast, oh my God, what the fuck happened?”

She is on her feet in an instant, running to check me for any wounds, her hands raised across my skin as she looks at me with concern. She is the only person besides Rosemary to look at me as if losing me would be the end of the world. And when she looks at me like this, I know that she believes that if I died, some part within her would die, too.

I grab her hands in mine, a small smile on my face. “It is not my blood, Cariña.” I whisper.

Willow pauses, staring at my chest. “Whose blood is it?”

“The blood of the people who failed to keep you and Vincent safe. The men who betrayed me.”

Willow’s breath shudders against my chest, her body trembling so violently I can feel it through my own bones. She grips my shirt like it’s the only thing keeping her tethered to reality, and when she finally speaks, her voice is barely more than a rasped whisper.

“I killed a man who betrayed you.” She whispers.

“What?”

“I ran away because I killed him.” She shudders. “Dad told me to run.”

My grip on her tightens, “Who did you kill?”

“Ricardo,” she breathes his name like a curse, like a wound that still hasn’t healed. “He—he came after me. That night. He—” Her voice breaks, her fingers digging into my skin. “I fought. I tried to run, but he was bigger, stronger. He had me pinned, Cast.” Her breathing is too fast, too erratic, her eyes wide, distant, like she’s still trapped there. “I could feel his breath on my skin. He told me—” She swallows hard, shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter what he said. He was going to?—”

Her fingers twist the fabric between her hands. She pulls back slightly, just enough to look at me, her eyes wide and glassy, her lower lip trembling.

“There’s something wrong with me,” she whispers, barely audible.

I frown. “What are you talking about, Cariña?”

Her throat works around the words like they taste bitter. “When I killed him…” She takes a shaky breath, her nails digging into my chest like she’s afraid I’ll let go if she tells me the truth. “I liked it.”

A chill slides down my spine, but I don’t react. I don’t flinch, don’t look at her any differently, even as her words settle between us, thick and heavy.

Her voice wavers. “I liked hearing him die, Cast.” Her breath hitches, like she’s afraid of her own confession. “I liked watching the life drain from his eyes. I thought it would make me sick, that I’d feel guilty, that I’d want to take it back. But I didn’t. Istill don’t.” Her lips part as a shudder runs through her. “It felt… good.”

I cup her face, tilting her chin up so she can’t look away. I see the fear in her eyes, not of me—but of herself. She thinks I’ll push her away. That I’ll be disgusted. That I’ll think she’s some kind of monster.

She doesn’t understand.

I press my forehead against hers, my voice steady. “Good.”

She jerks slightly, eyes widening. “What?”

“Good,” I repeat, my grip tightening. “Because he didn’t deserve your mercy.” I brush my thumb over her cheek, catching the last of her tears. “You know what that makes you, Cariña?”

She swallows hard, shaking her head.

I press my lips to the corner of her mouth, my voice dark, reverent. “Mine.”

Her breath catches, her lashes fluttering as she stares at me, searching for a reaction—guilt, judgment, disgust. She won’t find it. Not in me.

I stroke my thumb along her jaw, my voice dropping lower. “You think you’re alone in this? You think I don’t understand?” I tilt my head, watching her. “Cariña, Ilikethe sound too.”

She freezes. Her pupils dilate, her fingers twitching against my chest.

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