“I will.”
He hits me again.
“It’s amusing that you think you’ll ever leave this house. I’ve been far too lenient with you. You’re moving to the basement for the foreseeable future.”
“Go to hell.”
He clicks his tongue.
“Where does a child your age learn language like that?”
“I’ll tell,” I repeat.
The next blow lands against my head.
Then another.
And another.
“No, you fucking won’t. I could kill you the same way I killed your pathetic mother, or I could break you slowly. I could beat you, starve you, chain you up until you forget your own name. Or you can stop fighting and do as you’re told. We could be allies, son.”
Something hard collides with the back of my head.
My face hits the marble floor.
For a moment, all I can do is stare at the white stone beneath me as my blood spreads over it.
It’s nice.
I like my blood.
Then I look at mum.
Her eyes are still open.
But she’s dead.
Her blood stains the marble too.
No.
I don’t like that.
And that’s the last thing I see before everything goes dark.
Chapter 43
Hunter
The memory releases its grip, and I’m slammed back into the present.
I lunge before he has so much as a second to react.
My fist connects with his jaw and sends him sprawling onto his arse.
This fucker.
This motherfucking piece of scum.
