Page 74 of Blazing Desires
“Davina!”
No, no, no, no, no! The grenade!
That’s when I see the blood. I fall to my knees, my heart turning to dust as wetness coats my cheeks, a river of tears.
What have I done?
I feel it in my soul, without a doubt. She is dead. Dead because of me.
Chapter 31
Feminine Rage is Underrated
Davina
There is no sound in space.
All the movies blare with the loudest of bangs to give you a sense of how catastrophic an explosion is, but that’s wrong. The absence of noise is more terrifying and leaves a bigger imprint on your soul than sound ever could.
Is this how death always feels, empty and hollow?
Noiseless. I don’t know how I got here, with nothing left to hold onto. Nobody left to love me. No reason to stay.
I’ve been alone for a long time, what is eternity?
I’ve never felt so at peace with the end until I let the grenade go and wait for my world to wither and die.
Imoved away from Blaze in the split second his attention left me and his grip on my hair loosened. I slipped his spare gun from its holster, testing the weight of it in my hands, the grip cool to the touch. Nobody noticed me slipping my hand into my pocket and detonating the bombs or reaching for his gun.
Nobodyevernoticed me.
I’d never been more grateful for being left in the background as I was then. I used it to my advantage—I’d tear this place apart with my bare hands if I had to. The sound of explosions and the alarms they set off throughout the mansion rang inside my head. The glass from the windows shattered above and hit the sunroom roof in a melody of ruin that I created. I committed the tune to memory so I could savour the song of my father’s demise on repeat.
They finally noticed me, as if time had slowed and caught up quicker than they could comprehend. Blaze tried to cover me with his body, but I was already by the wall of roses before he could get me back in his grip. He didn’t get to use me anymore, to pretend he cared or loved me when all along I’d been merely a pawn in his game, exactly like I’d been for my dad my entire life.
I’d had enough.
I wasn’t a brat. I wasn’t selfish. I wasn’t a bitch. I wasn’t a whore. I wasn’t useless. I wasn’t a waste. I wasn’t a pawn. I wasn’t a victim.
I was revenge.
I flicked the safety off, aiming the pistol at my father, but my eyes stayed on Blaze. His gaze begged me to come back to him, much like his mouth probably was, but I couldn’t hear him. I didn’t care. He was a beautiful liar and the only reason I didn’t want him dead too was because I understood him. I understood his reason and motives, and I might even have done the same if I had been in his shoes.
I showed him all the ugly things beneath the surface of my skin. All the hate, the hurt, the scars that I’d been given before I gave him the one thing nobody ever gave me—a chance to be free. I held up my other hand, the grenade the size of my entire palm as I pulled out the pin with my thumb and held the trigger down. The pressure of my fingertips was the onlything stopping us all from being blown to pieces. The tinkle of the metal pin hitting the stone floor added to the music of destruction I’d orchestrated.
“Run.”
He did. I loved him for it because I wouldn’t have wanted to watch him get hurt or die, but I hated him for it just the same. For getting the chance I would have done anything to seize if I’d still cared about living. The chance to be free.
I hated him for leaving me behind again, even though I’d given him no choice.
I turned my gaze on my father and finally, for the first time in my life, I’d seen fear when he looked at me. I was no longer scared of him and what he could do to me, and he knew it. I had nothing left to lose, but dear old daddy? He hadeverythingto lose.
“Let’s play truth or dare, Daddy but with a twist! You tell the truth and I’ll dare to blow us up if you don’t.”
The grin I gave him was maniacal, and he looked at me like I was insane.
“Oh, don’t worry daddy. I’m fine, honestly! I’ve only lost my mind.” I cackled.
