Page 78 of Devoured
“Because I see what remains beneath the blood and guilt.”His hand covered mine where it rested on his helmet. “The woman who fought to save others when she could have only saved herself. Who shows mercy even to monsters like me. That is beautiful.”
My fingers traced down from his helmet to his jaw, feeling the scarred skin there. He tensed but didn’t pull away. I explored carefully, learning the landscape of old wounds and twisted tissue. Whatever had been done to him, it was beyond anything I could imagine.
“You saved me,”I whispered, letting my hands map the broad planes of his chest. “Over and over, you’ve protected me. Carried me when I couldn’t walk. Taught me to survive. That makes you beautiful to me.”
He was quiet for so long I thought he wouldn’t respond. When he spoke, his voice was rougher than usual.
“Sleep now, Zahra. You are exhausted beyond measure. I will keep watch. Nothing will harm you while you rest.”
“I’m afraid to sleep.”The admission came out small, childlike.
“Afraid of what I’ll dream. Afraid I’ll wake up and be someone else entirely. Someone worse. And Alan... what if she’s not really dead? What if she crawls—”
“She is gone.”His arms adjusted around me, turning my body away from where the corpse lay.
“I will keep you safe from the living and the dead. Sleep now.”
“Promise?”The word was slurred. Exhaustion was winning despite my fear.
“I promise. Rest now. Let go of consciousness. I have you.”
The darkness didn’t seem as threatening wrapped in his arms. My body grew heavy, each limb weighing a thousand pounds. The cave floor was hard beneath us, but his chest was warm, solid, real. An anchor in this nightmare realm.
“Don’t let me go.”I whispered as sleep dragged me under.
“Never.”His voice followed me down into unconsciousness.
“I will hold you through every dream and nightmare. You are safe with me.”
As awareness faded, I felt his hand stroke my hair with impossible tenderness. This creature of death and judgment holding me like I was made of spun glass. In this place where love should have been impossible—where human connection was a liability—we’d found something neither of us expected.
My last coherent thought was wonder at the strange turns life could take. How I could find gentleness in hell’s depths. How a monster could show more humanity than any human I’d known. How, even covered in guilt and blood, someone could look at me and see beauty.
Sleep took me then, deep and dreamless, held safe in the arms of the Executioner while darkness pressed in around us and the dead woman’s blood slowly cooled on the cave floor.
Chapter 24
My eyes snapped open. I heard footsteps coming down the tunnel—lots of them, trying to move quietly. But I knew who they were. The Executioner was already standing with his blade ready, blocking the entrance to our alcove.
Marion came through first. She looked thinner than when I’d last seen her, with new worry lines around her eyes, but her fighting spirit was still there. She carried a metal rod that had been sharpened to a point. Isaac limped in behind her with wood strapped to his broken leg as a makeshift splint. He had a crude knife made from scrap metal tucked in his belt. The two of them were supporting Sela between them. Her feet barely touched the ground, and blood had soaked through the cloth wrapped around her thigh. Tobias entered last, constantly checking behind him. His usual arrogance was gone, replaced by genuine fear. He gripped a piece of rebar stained with something dark.
Then they saw Alan’s corpse sprawled on the cave floor.
The body lay there in the dim light—a mess of exposed muscle where I’d removed the skin. They froze, taking in the scene. Their eyes moved from the corpse to me sitting against the wall, then to the Executioner standing guard with his bloodied blade.
“Jesus Christ.” Marion stared at the body, then at the Executioner.“What happened here?”
I could see what they were thinking. Of course they assumed the Executioner had done it. He was the monster with the bloody weapon. I was just Zahra, the woman they’d been trying to protect.
“Get away from her.” Isaac’s voice was tight with fear, but he started moving toward me anyway, ready to pull me away from danger.
“Wait.” I stood up slowly. My legs were still shaky from exhaustion.“He didn’t kill her. I did.”
Sela’s sharp eyes studied me, then looked at Alan’s wounds more carefully. I could see her cataloging the amateur cuts, the messy work of someone who’d never done this before. Understanding crossed her face.
“I skinned her alive while she screamed,” I said clearly.
The words hit them hard. Tobias actually stepped backward, his face going pale. Isaac opened and closed his mouth without making a sound.
