Page 173 of Sinful Lord

Rian. Tytus. Maksim. Roz.

It must be them.

Maybe they set aside their difference to come save me. Maybe they broke the cycle themselves.

They’re going to die for it.

And so am I.

“I was hoping I’d be able to take my time,” Krol spits. “But I’m sure there will be some kind of backup on its way. So, I guess I’ll have to speed things—”

Suddenly, the mangled monster freezes. His pale dead eye snaps off me.

He sees someone in the other room. The room he just came out of. The room where he was sharpening his knives.

I follow his gaze.

My fallen heart jumps.

Standing in the doorway is a hulking figure.

It’s a figure I’d recognize anywhere.

“Tytus!”

He steps forward, as his face is illuminated by the snow falling outside.

Those silver-blue eyes shimmer like intense beacons. A heart-tugging smile lifts his heavy cheekbones.

“Miss me, angel?”

I want to scream with joy. Tell him how much I’ve missed him. Tell him that I regret how we left things.

But instead, my mind turns back to the hazy doorway. My eyes follow.

The smoke has started to clear. Finally, I can make out some of the faces.

My jumping heart stops dead.

Rian’s face is the first one I notice. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him that I can hardly believe it. Then I recognize Roz. Gabriel too. I don’t know who the fourth body belongs to, but it doesn’t matter.

“You have to help them,” I rasp, turning back to Tytus. “The smoke… it was poisonous…”

With a dutiful nod, Tytus steps forward.

But he doesn’t get far.

An ear-ringing roar fills the dark penthouse. Tytus falls to the ground with a grunt and thud.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Krol. His arm is raised, a smoking gun shakes in his hands.

“No!”

My yelp is interrupted by the sound of shattering glass.

In the blink of an eye, the penthouse is filled with a frigid gust. Something hits Krol in the shoulder. The gun goes flying from his hand.

The old air outside howls in through the broken window at my back. The room is thrown into chaos.