Page 96 of When Death Whispers

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She ismine.

She has always beenmine.

And yet, they dare.

Rad—a filthy, impudent demon beast—dares to touch her. To fill her with his filth. To lay claim to what does not belong to him.

And that human. That fragile, insignificant thing who should have long since succumbed to forces he cannot possibly comprehend—lingersat her side. Polluting her with his warmth. His devotion.

It is insufferable.

I stand at the threshold between worlds, cloaked in the comfort of darkness. The fabric of the Evergloom hums around me like a living, hungry thing. The veil is thin here—in the places she does not see, where shadows slither in whispers and bleed into her world unseen.

I feel her. Even now. Trembling in that fool’s embrace. Panting from his touch.

A snarl curls my lips.

They have no right.

She is not theirs to cherish.

She is not theirs to protect.

She is not theirs to love.

She ismine.

Mine to torment.

Mine to break.

Mine todevour.

And I have been patient. I have waited, allowed her to play her foolish games, to deny what she knows to be true. Allowed her to run, to fight, to pretend that she has ever had a choice.

But patience is a luxury I no longer possess.

The time for games is over.

The time for games is over.

A low, bitter chuckle rumbles in my chest as I peer through the threads of darkness surrounding her—into the quiet corners of her existence where I have always watched. And now, I see him. Rad. The interloper. Whispering soft, meaningless words against her skin, trying to soothe her. Promises meant to anchor her, to keep her tethered to him.

He thinks he can protect her.

How quaint.

How utterly, laughablywrong.

But I have learned something.

A delicious secret, buried in the way she quivers under their hands… The way her bodysingswhen it is claimed, worshipped, ruined.

I once believed her fear—her dying breath—would be the sweetest thing she could offer me. That her death would be the ultimate feast. The most intoxicating nectar.

But I was wrong.

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