Page 4 of Tears of Ruin

But it wouldn’t have been fun wiping out since the floors were so shiny.

My steps slowed when I smelled something amazing. I wasn’t sure what it was, but the aroma had me drooling and my stomach rumbling. I simply inhaled, closing my eyes as my lungs consumed the scent.

Martin never splurged on groceries. He was too busy donating his money to his favorite gambling websites. My paychecks barely covered the bills. Most nights I ate noodles or just a sandwich. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a home-cooked meal, let alone smelled something that wonderful.

Wandering the halls, I tried following the scent, retracing my steps when the smell grew weak and hurrying forward when the aroma became stronger.

My stomach was determined to find the source and gorge on the imaginary smells. If I was going to hide out here, I needed real food, not something my battered brain conjured up.

Wait. Now I was hearing voices? I slowly glanced around, my gaze sweeping over the interior of the castle. This… this couldn’t be real. I’d rushed through a farmhouse door. Doors on quaint little homes didnotcontain massive castles inside.

It had to be my hallucinations, delusions, whatever, conjuring the voices. And that thought made me take a step back.

Into something solid.

This isn’t real, this isn’t real, this isn’t real. Just close your eyes and whatever is behind you will disappear, and so will the voices.

Quickly, I closed them, but the feeling didn’t vanish, and neither did the voices. The ominous feeling caused me to tremble. Was Martin behind me?No, no, no. This is not real. It just isn’t.

“You have five seconds to tell me who you are and how the fuck you got in here.” Every syllable carried the promise of violence, as if the words themselves were forged in blood.

If I breathe, I’m dead.Just pretend this is a game so you can calm down. Panic is your enemy.

The smell of food forgotten, I slowly turned then wished I hadn’t. No hallucination could conjure someone who looked like they were built for destruction. Those icy-blue eyes began to glow red, but I knew my fate was sealed when he bared sharp fangs and slid daggers from sheaths strapped to his sides.

He twirled them like they were his actual hands, causing them to whistle loudly.

I dropped to a crouch, throwing my arms over my head, unable to stop the violent tremors threatening to shake me apart. “I c-can fix this,” I choked out. “Just g-give me one more chance, s-sir.”

“Giovanni, what’s going on?” someone behind me asked.

I pivoted, afraid to have them at my back. But now Giovanni was behind me, so I turned again, then again, and again, finding pairs of feet in every direction, completely surrounding me.

I’d run from my father and that demon, only to end up in hell. I tried not to make a sound, but a sob escaped.

“Giovanni, back off!” the newcomer said sharply.

“He was heading…for the kitchen…where mypetit oiseauwas enjoying dinner.”

“Oh my god, seriously?” the other voice argued. “He’s what, maybe five-three, skinnier than me, and you pulled out your daggers?”

There was a strain in the man’s voice, as if what Giovanni had done was appalling. I tried to listen, to pay attention, but my brain kept whispering to me, telling me this wasn’t real, that portals into hell didn’t actually exist.

But I’d lived through too much bullshit not to believe it wasn’t real.

“I was protecting—” Giovanni stopped abruptly, his voice wounded, and now I was waiting for him to strike me down for making the other voice upset.

“Please,” I whimpered, hating how cowardly I sounded but was unable to stop my voice from breaking. “I can fix this, I can fix this, I can fix this.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” The voice lowered, tilting his head to look at me. His soft smile only terrified me even more. “I’m Kyson. You’re safe.”

Kyson scowled at him before turning back to me. “Can you tell me what’s going on?” He touched my arm, and instinctively I cried out, crawling quickly away from him.

I huddled against the far wall, waiting for the leather belt to emerge. “I can fix this.”

“Fuck,” Kyson said slowly as another slim man joined him. They stared at me with wide eyes, their lips slightly parted.

No one spoke as my gaze darted between them, my breathing so heavy my head was rocking back and forth.

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