Page 25 of Hell Hath No Fury

He shakes his head violently, releasing her wrists and moving his hands to the sides of her head as he shouts, “Everything. Regardless of what has happened, you have always been and will always be everything.”

She frowns at him, those bright blue eyes glaring as she grits out hoarsely, “Fuck everything. Fuck you and everything I used to be.”

This time, Lilith attempts to move forward, and I grab her, yanking her back, knowing that whatever is happening here needs to come to a full head before we intervene. I glance around the room and see Tony holding Agatha the same way I’m holding Lilith. When his eyes meet mine, he nods, confirming we’re thinking the same thing.

A violent purge of broken hearts.

Darius and Antoinette are quiet, staring at each other, chests heaving, and then Antoinette lets loose a bitter laugh that has a chill running down my spine. “Good luck trying to make everything out of nothing.”

He stills completely, grief and rage openly warring on his features, and Lilith curses beside me as some of the fight bleeds out of him. And then, he whispers, “Don’t fucking say that. I know you. I know you don’t mean that.”

“I know I fucking hate you. I know I can’t fucking stand the sight of you. I know the only thing that got me through all that worship was the idea that you were fucking dead, and that’s why you didn’t come save me.”

“Oh, shit,” Lilith mutters, and when she takes a small step back, I go with her, knowing full well what’s about to happen.

The Beast unleashed.

Darius doesn’t say anything, but all those emotions I saw warring on his face before are now shuttered. Unbridled rage darkens his features, and without any comment, he once again shifts, coming up on his knees and yanking her into a sittingposition by the grip he has on her head. He manages to come to his feet, taking her with him as if she weighs nothing, and she just watches him, fearless and challenging.

Then she gives him an almost bored look as she says, “Imagine my shock to find that you’re not dead. That you just stood by and did nothing.”

He moves so quickly that one minute, they’re standing in the middle of the room and the next, he has her slammed up against the wall, his hand against her throat, holding her steady. “Not fucking dead?” His pained words come out one step above a whisper, and even though I see she’s struggling for breath, she doesn’t fight against him. Then he leans in close and says, “I’ve died at least a thousand times in your absence. First, from fighting against the acceptance that you possibly were gone to me forever. And then, upon the realization that you were likely alive but so out of my reach, I couldn’t touch upon your existence. And then, after all that, knowing that at least in your current state, you most likely were no longer hurting.”

“No longer hurting,” she spits out. “No longer fucking hurting?”

He nods and responds fervently, “Yes, because at least you could live each day oblivious to torment. Oblivious to that swarm of nightmares buried deep in your psyche.”

She deflates a bit, whatever she must see in his eyes immediately affecting her. “But a nightmare all the same.”

“A nightmare I will follow you into until the end of times,” he replies softly. His hand slowly eases up on her throat, and then both his hands move to her shoulders, where he grips her almost tentatively. He says something incoherent, and almost immediately, wet tracks are carved into the blood splattered on her face.

She nods as he speaks softly, her reply a broken whisper, “I know.” Her hands, which had been gripping onto his suit jacket,move up to his face, and she wipes at his cheeks as she repeats, “I know.”

The entire room seems to breathe a sigh of relief as just as suddenly as it had begun, the violence in the room dissipates.

Darius snags both of Antoinette’s hands, pulling them away from his face. He kisses the back of each one and then steps away, pulling her off the wall as he turns to Lilith. “She needs you now.”

Lilith immediately steps forward, nodding as she closes the distance between them, and Darius places Antoinette’s hands in Lilith’s.

Lilith doesn’t make a big show or attempt any sort of reunion spectacle. Instead, she grips both of Antoinette’s hands between her own and then calmly turns to lead her from the room.

Darius remains where he was standing, but now, Matt and Tony flank him, each with a hand on his shoulder as they lean in, whispering what I can only assume are words of encouragement. Darius nods and says nothing, and then I frown and turn toward the doorway where Lilith and Antoinette are slowly walking. “Antoinette?”

They both stop in the doorway, turning back to me with matching questioning expressions. “What happened to Dmitri?”

Antoinette frowns at first, but then her eyes spark, and a brilliant smile blooms as she responds, “Oh, he’s in the basement.”

13

Something Familiar

Lilith

AtAntoinette’swords,theentire room goes still.

Tony is the first to move, whirling around in the direction leading to the basement, but Darius’s hands immediately grab him, stopping him. Darius stares at Tony for a moment, waiting to be sure he’s not going to make another move, and then he turns back to Antoinette and asks, “What do you mean he’s in the basement?”

She scowls at him and then shrugs. “What do you mean, what do I mean? The fucker is in the basement.”

---