Page 112 of Break Her Heart
“I’m sorry, but I had no other choice.” He took a breath, as if steadying himself for confession. “Once I found out who you were—what you did to Carrow—I couldn’t let you go.”
He shifted his weight, glancing briefly toward the door. “If Carrow returned and found out you were here, he’d punish us all. All I’ve ever wanted was to leave this place, to make a life of my own, but I was never given any freedom. I was kept on a shelf as his backup plan.” His gaze flicked back to me, sharp withsomething between guilt and resolve. “And now—with this, with you—I hope he’ll reward me with freedom.”
I said nothing. No matter what reason he had, it wasn’t enough.
“Benedict.” August’s voice filled the room, and for one heartbeat, a fragile peace bloomed in me—familiar, aching, and almost enough to make me believe it was really him.
But then it shattered.
He was gone.
August was gone. And the truth of it hit like a blade between my ribs. The man before me wore his face, his voice, his body—everything I loved—but there was nothing behind those eyes that belonged to him anymore.
It was like watching a ghost wear his skin, and every instinct screamed to reach for him even as my stomach turned. My chest tightened until it hurt, a raw mix of grief, rage, and disbelief. I wanted to cry, to scream, to tear him away from whatever darkness had taken him—but I was frozen, pinned by the horror of knowing he would never look at me the same way again.
And still… his body stood before me.
Benedict quickly dropped his gaze, head bowed in submission. “I will leave you.”
“No, I may need your assistance in a moment.”
August—Carrow—crouched in front of me, dropping down so quickly it startled me. His eyes lit up with something wild, and he leaned in, grinning as though he’d just unwrapped a long-awaited gift.
“A baby!” he exclaimed, the words bursting out of him with an almost giddy excitement.
I covered my stomach with my hand, the instinct protective and fierce, even as my pulse thundered in my ears.
He gave a low chuckle. “It was so thoughtful of the two of you to continue my line for me. Poetic, really. August—sonoble, so tortured—unknowingly creating the vessel for his own replacement.” He leaned in closer until I could feel the cold echo of his breath, and the scent of blood hit me hard. “I’ve had quite the dilemma these past few days. You see, Idespisewitches. Filthy, conniving little things.” He let the silence stretch until it felt heavy in my chest. “Do I really want my next body to be some twisted fusion of a witch and a vampire?”
I drew my legs up to shield my belly, but it wouldn’t matter.
“Normally, the answer would be no. But then you killed me, Bronwen. You reached inside and pulled the magic out with your bare hands. I haven’t seen anything that divine since the world shifted. That power… that fire… that rage. It wasexquisite.”
He glanced down at his arms, flexing his fingers, admiring the stolen form like a fine robe. “Augustus’s body is a marvel. Stronger than I anticipated. But your child?” He smiled. “A baby born from the two of you? I could carve empires from its bones. Can you imagine what I could become?” Then his tone dropped. “But can I risk keeping you alive long enough to give it to me? That’s where my dilemma lies.”
He reached up and brushed my hair from my face. I tried to swat him away, but he grabbed my wrists and examined the glove. “Ah, yes. How do you like these? I considered cutting your hands off, but then I’d risk you bleeding out before I decided what to do with you.”
I ripped my hand away. “Don’t hurt the baby,” I whispered.
He tilted his head. “I won’t, if you make a deal with me.”
I stayed silent. Because if I spoke, I might scream. And if I screamed, I knew he’d hurt me just to hear what I sounded like broken.
“I will let you continue the pregnancy,” he said, his hand lifting to trace a mockingly gentle line down my cheek before gripping my jaw just a little too hard, “but while you do, you will be the obedient little wife I want you to be.” His smile widened,predatory and sure of itself. “Do as I say, and no harm will come to the child.”
I stiffened, heat rising in my chest. “Why don’t you just compel me to be what you want me to be?” I spat the words, the taste of them bitter.
He tilted his head as though amused. “That would have made this all so much easier…” He shifted slightly, his face angling toward my ear. His breath ghosted across my skin, sending a shiver down my spine. “But it seems compulsion was linked to Augustus’s soul, not his body, and I am unable to do it.” He drew back just enough to meet my gaze again, his eyes glinting with cold amusement. “But I do not need compulsion with you. You will do as I say.”
My hands curled into fists inside the gloves. “I am going to make you pay.”
“Do not push me, witch,” he hissed. “I have no need for you or that baby. I am already teetering on killing you where you sit. You push me one step further, and I will rip it from your body.”
The cold certainty in his tone turned my stomach. I knew he wasn’t bluffing. I had no protection here—nothing to stop him if he decided to follow through. For now, there was only one choice: endure and bide my time until I could find a way to escape.
His expression shifted, dark amusement curling into something hungrier. His gaze dragged slowly over me before he leaned in. “Being my wife also means letting me feed whenever I want to. And I have been craving you since I got into this body.” He paused there, as if savoring the thought, his lips curling in a slow, knowing smile. “It’s as if his needs have been left in this body. His cravings.”
A cold wave of dread crawled up my spine. My stomach tightened and bile burned the back of my throat. The thought of Carrow’s mouth on my skin, using August’s body to takefrom me what was never his, twisted something deep inside. I remembered what it had felt like when August fed from me—how it had been possessive, electric, almost reverent. This would be nothing like that. This would be theft, defilement, a reminder that the man I loved was gone and all that remained was a monster wearing him like a disguise.
