Page 172 of Seeking Shadows

Her eyes search mine, and in them, I see the madness, the desperation, the need for me—only for me.

And the weight of that need crushes me.

"Then live. Don't you dare die. I swear to God, if you die, I’ll follow you. I’ll follow you into hell," she cries. "You don’t get to leave me. You don’t get to leave me like this. Please, don’t you dare leave me..."

Her words break the last of my resolve. She’s begging, pleading, and I can’t let her fall apart like this. Not like Katie. Not like so many others who begged for my life, only for it to be taken anyway.

But this is different. Mia... Mia is my everything.

Nico watches with morbid interest, a smirk curling his lips.

"Oh dear… love," he muses, almost contemptuous. "It looks so beautiful from afar."

He studies me, assessing, then gestures toward Mia.

"You know, kid, Mia used to literally eat the men we let her torture. She didn’t just hurt them—she consumed them, piece by piece. When I wanted something slow, something agonizing, I handed them over to her. She’d start with the smallest cuts, just enough to make them bleed, and then she’d... savor it. She’d tear into them, not just for survival, but because there was something inside her that craved it, something savage. The flesh, the blood—it was all part of the feast. She’d rip into their skin like it was her only purpose, and when they begged, when they screamed, it only made her hunger grow. No mercy. No hesitation. Just pure, twisted instinct. And in the end, there was nothing left of them but bones."

Horror and rage twist inside me.

I look at Mia, but she doesn't react. Her face is pale, her lips trembling.

"Do you still love her?" Nico asks, amusement flickering in his gaze. "Look at her, kid. She's a monster. A product of the cell she was raised in. Look around." He gestures at the carnage she left in her wake, as if that could possibly change my mind. "The small affections she feels are the only thing keeping her controlled, but it won’t last. She’ll get sick of you. And then she’ll kill everyone around you. It’s only a matter of time. I'd be doing you a favor."

"I don’t care."

"So what if I killed her and let you live?"

"Yes!" Mia screams at the same time I roar, "No!"

Nico's knife drags lower, pressing into my side, slicing into a spot that makes the pain gnaw through my nerves like fire.

"So many ways to kill you," he murmurs.

The burning spreads. Mia lets out a strangled sound, raw fear in every syllable.

"One more scream, and I’ll carve deeper, freak."

"You’re a fucking son of a bitch," I spit, fury coursing through my veins.

Nico chuckles, pressing the blade just a little harder, just enough to make me feel the threat. Then he lifts it back to my throat, playing with me.

"Want to repeat that?"

"You. Are. A. Fucking. Son. Of. A. Bitch." I make sure to enunciate every word, loud and clear.

I’m not afraid of him.

Fuck him.

Nico grins. "I like you, boy. My knife is at your throat, and yet you insult me."

I smile. "I know you won’t kill me. It’s not a sure move. If you do, Mia will have nothing to lose. And you know she could kill everyone in this room if she wanted to. You can try to break her with Katie, but we both know Katie probably has weeks left to live."

I have no idea if he will call my bluff but I told Mia I would survive, if it’s not by physically fighting it will be with some trucks on me sleeve.

"I know that," he admits, his smirk smug. "Very clever. I like that."

"I don't care."

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