Page 170 of Ace of All Hearts

“Alright, we can go then.” And by we, I mean them. I will stay until Aleksei comes here so I can slit his throat.

Juliette shakes her head again. “They’re all upstairs. If we leave this room on our own, we get punished.”

I look at all the other girls. They’re not even giving me attention. Juliette points to a bed right next to the one she had been sitting on. “You can take the bed next to mine.”

The sound of the upstairs door opening throws everyone into a panic. Even Juliette. They all drop what they’re doing and go to their bed. They sit quietly at the end of their respective mattresses and put their hands on their laps, their heads bowed.

Anger thickens my blood and sweat covers my back. I move my ankle, ensuring I still feel the hunting knife hidden in my boot.

Heavy steps approach, and I see a shadow at the corner of the wall before a well-built, blond man shows himself.

His sour mood lightens when he sees me. “New girl? Who gave me a present?”

I hesitate, entirely at a loss, before I force tears to roll down my cheeks. “I’m scared,” I whisper as my heartbeat doubles, and anger erases any sort of fear I could possibly feel.

“Why are you scared, little lamb?” he smiles as he approaches me.

“I don’t want to die.”

“Oh, you won’t die, don’t worry. You’re going to be mine. I’m going to fuck you whenever I want and scar your pretty porcelain skin.”

I gulp as he comes face to face with me and fake a sob before falling to my knees. I wrap my left arm around both his legs and look at him with pleading eyes. “Please,” I cry. “Please, don’t hurt me.”

He puts his hand in my hair and tightens it into a fist. “Your tears must taste delicious.”

Lik was right. It changes you to kill a man. You’re not the same person anymore. Something in you dies, replaced by a stronger being, less afraid, more capable of doing unspeakable things.

I’ve never felt more like myself than in this moment, mere seconds from changing a man’s fate. Down on my knees, I hold all the power and he’s not even aware of it yet. It’s a thrill I can’t compare anything else to.

“I want to go home,” I whimper as I discreetly pull the knife out of my boot. I make sure to hold it the correct way before I stab him in the thigh, exactly like Sam taught me.

His scream brings me unmatchable joy. Blood spurts out of his leg, and he covers his wound with both hands as he falls to the floor. My next stab is to his stomach.

Juliette and some other girls scream before all huddling on one bed. The furthest away from me.

“Bitch…fucking,” he pants. “Fucking bitch!” he roars as he curls in on himself.

“That’s not exactly a polite way to address yourself to me now, is it?”

I hear the door upstairs and step over Aleksei. Shit, if guards with guns come down, I will be in big trouble.

I grab Aleksei by the hair and bring him up to his knees. I put my knife to his throat and brace for the arrival of the guards.

If they point a single gun at me, I will cut his throat.

We will! We will!My demon shouts.

Fuck, we will.

I see Lik first. Or should I say Kill? Rose is right behind him, with Sam who’s holding her close.

Look at us, a group of simple humans. The only thing that makes us special? Insanity runs through our veins. Our blood is poisoned with a passion for chaos. And chaos we found in each other.

“Hello,” I chime. The lines between reality and craziness are getting blurrier by the minute.

“Sunshine?” Rose chokes. She is beautiful when she’s a little scared, a little vulnerable.

When she is that way, I can think of myself as her heroine.

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