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Wild thoughts ran through my head as I scrounged the kitchen, my stomach yelling at me to fill it. I couldn’t believe I had nearly died twice in the last two days but was still alive. Finn – the real one – had led me into Aeron’s basement, cackling about how he had the power to control my men. I didn’t tune into his crazy babble; I was more focused on the newest intricate letters engraved on my arm and up to my shoulder.
The bastard had carved his name into my skin multiple times, another sign for my men to stop fucking around. My arm was sore as I cradled it, still trying to find food. I knew that Aeron’s house was the worst place to get hungry. But my stomach was about to revolt if I didn’t find something.
I swung open the French-style fridge doors, eyes roaming frantically for something, anything to satisfy me. My eyes landed on a Popeyes box, the aroma of fried chicken hitting my nose. Bingo. Dark and Daemon were strangely quiet during this transaction, but I felt something was off.
As if they were trying to warn me but couldn’t quite get through the haze.
Seconds later, the box was ripped open, chicken and bread stuffed into my mouth as I gorged on the meat. It was like I couldn’t get enough of it.
Damn, K, slow down. We’re going to choke.
Yo, um… that’s not…
Fucking hell, K! Spit it out!
My throat closed even as I tried to stuff more into my mouth, my mind a mess of thoughts and voices, that dark door that I had been scratching at for so long seeping into all my safe spaces. I was fucking terrified as I chewed and swallowed.
I was in this haze just as much as them as I continued, unable to stop. Something was compelling me.
Dark, switch with him.
You do it!
I can’t. It’s like… I can’t take over.
Neither can I.
Fuck.
AERON
I burst in the front door, eyes frantically searching for Killian. He was going to be okay. He just had to be. Samael and Slash were on my heels, Samael having called someone else to finish cleaning up the mess while we checked on the kid.
Killian backed away from the open fridge, but he wasn’t there. His eyes were blank as he stared at us, his mouth stuffed with what looked like flesh, blood dripping down his mouth and shirt. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the scene. Samael and Slash nearly collided with me as I came to a full stop, everyone trying to understand the horror unraveling before us.
“Just so fucking hungry,” he mumbled around the flesh. I knew what he was chewing on – Jenny’s lungs. But the hunger in his eyes and the mess that he had made didn’t sit well with me. He hadn’t cooked it or prepared it.
He had eaten it raw, straight out of the fridge, like a fucking savage. Something about the way he looked at us told me he had no idea where he was or what he was doing. But when he came to…
“Kitten, what – what are you doing?”
He chewed a little and then swallowed. I tried hard not to wince as I approached him, pulling him toward the sink. Blood stained his shirt, smothered his arms, and crimson stained around his mouth. “Finn dropped me off, and I was just so hungry. But you had Popeyes, so I ate that.”
“Popeyes?”
“Yes, in that box.”
I followed his gaze to see an open box in the fridge. But it wasn’t a Popeyes box. It was the container that Jenny’s lungs had been delivered in. The fact that Killian couldn’t see it for what it was…
I stared back at Samael and Slash, “I give. Samael set it up. He needs more help than we can give.” I pulled Killian’s shirt off and rinsed his arms in the sink. “Sweetheart, let’s get you all cleaned up, and then we’re going to take a little trip.”
“You’ve never called me that before.” He stared up at me, those soulless eyes reaching mine.
“You’ve never needed it.”
AERON
I held him tightly to my chest, both of us tucked into Slash’s side as Samael drove in silence. There had been no extra discussion as I found new clothes for Killian, but I knew from experience that Samael always planned ahead. Despite his words, I knew he had found a mental institution for our favorite crazy kid. I knew he was planning to enroll him the first chance he got.
