Cameron kicks open the door and I walk through. August jumps up from his bed and reaches under his pillow. He pulls a gun on me, but before he can land a shot, Octavius captures his hands in a blur and takes the gun. He turns, holding him by the neck from behind, positioning August straight toward me. Cameron takes the gun from Octavius’ other hand and stands beside me, putting the safety on and placing it in her waistband.
“You do not belong in this family, Kiera,” August says with a wince, side-eyeing his captor. “You don’t deserve the privilege.”
“You are right. I shouldn’t be here. I don’t deserve Asher or your mother. And neither do you. Good thing they will be all that’s left after I kill you. The family ends with them. Felix, Levi, Evan, gone. All of them.” I add Evan’s name to the list, just in case August escapes. I’m not planning on letting that happen, but Evan already opted out of this fight. He is dead to August either way, and I won’t out his betrayal in my evil villain “These are your last moments alive” speech.
His face squishes together in a foreign emotion for him—sadness. It tastes like sour candy on my tongue. Turns out, he can feel something other than simmering anger and superiority.
“I don’t need a gun to kill you, Kiera,” August says, his fists clenched.
“I’m not an idiot, August. I don’t plan on being the one to kill you. I get the pleasure of watching.”
Cameron comes forward again, unsheathing her fangs. Octavius snarls behind him and August flinches. I watch the grip of the vampire’s hand flex tighter on his neck. August’s horns ascend with the threat. A wasted instinct, if you ask me.
“Have fun with it,” I whisper and retreat backward, leaning against the door jam.
Cameron and Octavius move in a blur. August never had a chance. His scream pierces the air, to my great delight, as the vampires pull both arms out of his sockets and blood ricochets across the room.
I am not a master villain. I am not one to waste time lamenting my plans. Well, I did indulge a tiny bit by telling him his family was done for, but it was twenty seconds versus a five minute monologue. I am also not idiotic enough to crave that my hand be his final blow so I can feel satiated with my revenge. No, I don’t need to be the final blow. I am satisfied enough to watch.
The vampires play with their food, making the display as gory as possible. His screams die down eventually and I know he’s gone. I continue to stare as my new allies eat their meal, gorging to the last drop.
* * *
I walk alone into the crystal room. Inside, I find Marlow wrapped around the column with ropes. The energies of the obsidian seem to swirl thickly in the air like a dense fog. She’s pulled uncomfortably, arms at awkward angles. She has no cuts or bruises, though she is dirty, unpresentable in a way I haven’t seen her before. After seeing her jump in front of a bullet, I know she can’t be hurt by any normal means, but that doesn’t mean what the brothers did to her didn’t leave a mark on her conscious. In a way, she’s more powerful than the vampires that murdered her family by my request.
“I assume I have you to thank for that beautiful music,” Marlow says, voice hoarse.
“Three of your five sons are dead.” I hope hearing August scream wasn’t too disturbing, I didn’t think of that from her POV, but I probably still would have done it if I’d realized she could hear us.
“And who is alive?” Marlow asks, eyes zipping across my body as if she can tell whose blood is on me.
“Asher and Evan.”
Marlow bows her head and says, “Thank you.” She visibly relaxes and I take her response as approval.
I take Asher’s switchblade out from my pocket and sit down beside her, sawing at the rope.
A few minutes later, Marlow and I walk out together. She stills in the entryway, where Cameron and Octavius are piling the bodies of her sons.
“I knew they were dead—you told me—but seeing it is a different matter,” Marlow says.
“Do you want to close your eyes while I lead you out?” I ask and step in front of her line of sight.
“No. I learned not to invest the love I had into my children. I…I wonder sometimes if that was a mistake. To not give them all my heart. But after so many years forced to raise children that would cause hurt by design, that would never choose kindness over destruction, I closed that part of me off.”
“Asher and Evan wanted to choose you, to choose kindness. Evan told me to tell you he was sorry,” I tell her. Despite her holding back, they are as okay as they can be in this kind of home.
Tears gather in Marlow’s eyes, though they do not shed. “That’s nice,” she whispers.
“Let’s go see Asher,” I say and take her hand, turning to Cameron and Octavius to ask, “Can you both see yourself and the bodies out?”
“Don’t mind if we do,” Cameron says, hoisting Levi’s body over her shoulder.
Marlow gives one last look at her fallen sons before turning away without a word.