I could almost hear Dez’s voice in my head saying,“This isn’t who you are, princess.”And perhaps a couple of weeks ago, I would have listened to that voice—the one that used to steer me between right and wrong. Nowadays, that voice faded to a far part in the back of my mind, shoved down just as Cain had locked me inside of that bird cage.
And whileCainwasn’t here… Aamon was.
I stopped before his cell, opening the barred doors and stepping inside. When he heard the sound of my feet padding across the stone floor, his head turned in my direction. He began to laugh, but I knew it wasa nervous one.
“The princess has a dark side now, does she?” he asked tauntingly. “Please, you almost went crazy after killing Maeryn.”
“Perhaps Ididgo crazy, Aamon.”
His smile faltered a little as I reached the table. There, he lay flat against the hard stone, shackles attached to both wrists and ankles that held him spread out for me.
“Weeks in a cage, barely fed, only to be thrown into a cell without so much as a mattress to sleep on.”
The metal scraped as I removed the dagger off of a nearby tray that had been placed on top of another small table Malakai had left for me.
“I think anyone might go a little insane after all of that.” Slowly I pressed the tip of the knife into the stone, scratching the surface as I slid the dagger from beside his hip, up past his waist, and stopped at his chest. His body flinched a little in response, expecting me to touch his skin.
“A little jumpy there, Aamon?”
He let out another nervous chuckle. “There’s nothing you can do to me that’s worse than what yourloverdid.”
I paused, gripping the blade tighter, and stared into his emotionless eyes. “Kaiden killed you?”
“Quite brutally, in fact. But not until he got a nice, long look at yourbeautifulcage. Cain never bothered to remove the blood stains. I bet your lord sees it every time he closes his—” He released a scream, his body tensing and contorting as I dug the blade deep between his ribs.
Kaiden…I allowed the thought to form, letting out a quiet sigh of relief knowing that hedidcome for me. He would have found me…
“You talk far too much, Aamon,” I said quietly, removing the dagger and setting it to the side.
As I walked away, his chains rattled as he tossed and turned. “You think your lords will want you after this? Knowing you’ve been parading around with another man? When they see themonsteryou’ve become?”
“You see, you’re under the assumption that I still care about what people think of me.” I found the cloth that I was looking for and bunched it into my hand before moving to the end of the table. “Perhaps Cain dropped me from that cage one too many times and knocked a few screws loose.”
“I’ll bet you already gave that man your?—”
Before he could finish, I shoved the cloth over his mouth, sliding it around his head, and tied it tight.
“As I said, you talk too much.”
He began struggling, trying to move the cloth down enough to speak, but it was too thick. I calmly grabbed the dagger that still had his blood on it, and was vaguely surprised. I don’t think I expected him to actually bleed since he was already dead.
When I reached his side, I leaned over his panicking body that had now begun to heave with frantic breaths. I lowered my lips to his ear and softly brushed the blonde locks away. “Shhh, don’t worry,” I hummed in the same way he had once said it to me. “I just want a taste.”
Then, I began to carve.
I had counted every single cut he made on me. I had proof still on my skin. Fifty. I had fifty cuts on my shoulders, little ones, but all still fresh enough that they could be seen if I removed my shirt. So, ten a day would suffice.
Aamon’s eyes shut tight as I pushed the dagger into his skin, dragging it toward me as I cut him. These were deeper… messier… and I bet they hurt like a bitch. But a switch had flipped inside of me, and the disgust I expected to feel with myself never surfaced.
“I’m sorry,” I laughed, removing the blade to find another area. “My carving is a little sloppy. Notnearlyas practiced as yours, of course.”
When I pierced him again, he stiffened, his back arching as he pulled against the chains. Though his screams were muffled through the cloth, theybrought so much satisfaction to my ears. It was like a high rushing through my head.
“You know, at some point, I had just given up. I think it was the… thirtieth cut?” I said to him, carefully maneuvering around his body to make more slashes. “I’m sure you’ll give up, too. Though, I might be disappointed if you make it pastmyrecord.”
After the tenth cut, I took a step back to examine my handiwork. Blood coated most of this chest as it rose up and down. His teeth clenched against the cloth so tightly that his jaw trembled from the tension. It was a sadistic work of art.Yeah… maybe just a couple of loose screws.
“That should do for today,” I sighed, placing the blade down and wiping off the blood. “Sleep well, Aamon!” I called over my shoulder, just as he began pulling at the chains and screaming again.
