Page 47 of Bloody Valentine

Maddox had his back toward me, but I knew that wasn’t why I suddenly felt so cold. The priest left with the man, and Maddox stared long after their exit. He didn’t turn around when he spoke. His voice was a whisper.

“It doesn’t matter anyway, Vivian. You should be glad you’re dying soon. That is really the only freedom from our bloodline.”

The ember in my heart and the hope with it no longer smolder. It was completely extinguished.

I couldn’t feel my arms. I had been suspended in this fucked up crucifix for so long. I felt so defeated. I didn’t know how I could free myself from this. I was stuck. Maddox was gone after stringing me back up wordlessly.

He left me here to stare at nothing.

My ears were ringing from the deafening silence.

Dying would be a fucking mercy at this point. His words bounced around my head. I couldn’t shake them. The only freedom from our bloodline is to die. Otherwise, you were just a fucking puppet of fate.

I didn’t accept that. I chose my damn fate. I wasn’t going to allow some old fucking group of murderers to choose how I would die.

Maddox suddenly came back into the room with someone draped over his arm and halted my thoughts.

Was this some other sacrifice?

It was that man.

He held him with care and put him on the ground, being sure to watch his head. The man was passed out and smelled like a brewery. There was vomit on the guy’s clothes and stuck to the side of his mouth. Maddox had a wet cloth, dabbing his lips and wiping at his shirt.

“Hayes, you fucking idiot. When will you learn to pace yourself? You always are the reason my hands are tied. Why would I try to believe differently?”

The two silhouette shadows clouded my mind, and another puzzle piece slid into place. It was Maddox and this guy. Allalong, I was right. I likely saved that bitch that night, but something told me it didn’t matter.

“Who is he?” I said, not expecting an answer.

“Hayes Valentine. He’s my little brother.”

My eyes widened. “The Divine allow their monsters to have a family?”

Maddox sighed. “Hayes is meant to take my place one day. I have tried to teach him the way of the Divine, but he’s young and stupid.”

I realized that this was Maddox’s version of love. He seemed…afraid of the Divine. That made sense after torturing him, but there was more he wasn’t telling me.

“Did they threaten you, Maddox?”

Maddox was silent, continuing to care for his brother, cleaning and changing his clothing to fresh ones before pushing some form of medication into his mouth.

Threats wouldn’t matter to him unless they were about someone he loved. The Divine had threatened Hayes.

“You can’t run from fate, Vivian.” was all he said before he picked up his brother and walked out of the door again.

My head was spinning, partly from the horrible angle that my arms had been for so long, but also because I was feeling…bad? For a monster. A monster who intended to kill me. I was fucked up.

The door opened again sometime later, but it wasn’t Maddox.

“So beautiful, strung up and helpless, aren’t you, you mouthy girl?”

I kept my head down, trying to feign sleep as best I could. The priest walked up to me, grabbing my face and turning it side to side. He stuck some kind of herb in my mouth, and I hid it under my tongue, trying to keep from reacting to the bitter taste it left.

“That ought to keep you still. This herb makes you practically dead. I don’t need you fighting me during this, even if it only lasts for ten or so minutes. Let’s enjoy this, shall we?”

Dread entered my stomach, and I almost opened my eyes, prepared to spit in this creep’s face, but then an idea hatched in my brain. My last hope.

For ten minutes, I would appear dead?

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