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Iris turned to look at her mother-in-law. “It isn’t her fault. She was all sweetness when she was born.”
“That was a long time ago. She’s made her choices since then. She’s old enough to own them and the awful allegiances she’s made.”
The understanding seeped into my gradually sharpening mind that they still didn’t know exactly what the Blood Hunter had shaped me into. They had no idea that I was just as brutal a killer as the men who’d come with me to the country home—they probably thought I’d simply instigated the slaughter and stood back to watch.
Which worked in my favor. I could already feel the bindings around my wrists starting to give way. And they hadn’t bothered to tie up my legs. Filled with hubris until the end.
“We have to give her the chance to throw off their influence and be who’s she’s meant to be,” my mother insisted, and peered down at me again. “You can break through it and become a real Malik. We’ll welcome you.”
“Or else my granddaughter really did die in that crash two decades ago in every way that matters, and only a monster is left,” Ruby muttered.
Irritation flared in my chest. I was so sick of the expectations these people put on me, the way I’d had to pretend to be someone I wasn’t around them, when they were the biggest hypocrites I’d ever met.
“The only monsters in this room are the three of you,” I spat out. “I’ve never harmed akidin my life.”
“Don’t you dare dishonor the sacrifices we make by referring to us that way,” Ruby hissed and leaned down to slap me across the face. The blow jarred me enough that my senses sharpened even more, but the sting was short-lived.
I’d spent my entire life being punched and kicked by trained professionals, and she thought a slap would cow me? I laughed, working on the knots at my back. It was only a matter of time before I’d slip past the bindings.
And then…
I didn’t want to think about what it’d come to.
“You could have just left well enough alone,” I said, seeking out my mother’s gaze since my grandmother had obviously already condemned me. “You didn’t have to grab me and tie me up. I made it clear that I’d leaveyoualone as long as you stopped your own crimes.”
Before my eyes, Iris’s face hardened into a rigid mask. My heart sank before she even started speaking. “We can’tstopour divine calling, Rachel. The world needs the work we do.”
“It’s not work,” I shot back. “It’smurder. Stop pretending it’s anything glorious and face up to what you’re actually doing. Those kids never hurt anyone. They can’t help who their parents are. And you didn’t just kill them, you tormented them first.”
Carter stirred restlessly behind the family matriarchs, and I thought I caught a flicker of uncertainty pass through his expression. For a second, he looked almost queasy at my words. Maybe there was some hope for this family after all.
“We let loose the brutality of their genetic line to disperse that energy into the universe, away from the innocent people it was harming,” Iris insisted. “You haven’t even tried to understand.”
Then her voice softened again. She blinked, a watery glint coming into her eyes. “I don’t want it to be like this. Maybe you think the ways you’ve been taught are the only way you can survive, but if you would just let us show you that there are different ways, you can break free of their influence and become a real Malik. Please. I want my daughter back.”
I’d loosened the cord just enough that I could feel the give that would let me slip my hands free when I was ready. I held them in place as I glared at Iris. “The last thing I’ll ever be is a Malik while that name means slaughtering children. You can’t even admit the truth of what you’re doing, and you talk aboutmenot understanding?”
“She’s too far gone, Iris,” Ruby said in a disgruntled tone. “Your little girl doesn’t exist anymore, only this fiend someone else created in her place. And you know what that means.”
Iris’s mouth twisted, but she inclined her head in acknowledgment as if she agreed with Ruby’s assessment. My gaze darted between them. “What does it mean?”
“We can’t allow a menace like you to continue wreaking havoc in this world,” Ruby declared. “We brought you into it, so it’s our responsibility to take you out of it.”
“You’re going tokillme? Because I won’t join you in torturing kids?” I’d have laughed again at the absurdity of this conversation if it hadn’t been so horrible at the same time.
Iris folded her arms over her chest, her entire body stiffening now. I could see her accepting this new sacrifice she’d decided she had to make. “We’ll be putting you out of the misery it seems you’re unable to shake. It’ll prevent so many more horrors in the long run.”
Maybe it was a stupid remark, but I couldn’t stop the words from tumbling past my lips. “Funny, that’s the exact same thing I thought when I sliced through your husband’s throat.”
A wounded little cry spilled from Iris’s lips, and her hands clenched at her sides. She reached and took a long, thin knife from the shelf next to her. “You’re not my daughter. You can’t be. The people who took her created a monster, and we can’t let the abomination they’ve created continue.”
Every inch of her body and every note in her voice told me how committed she was to this course. She was never going to accept anything other than my obedience or my death—and possibly even the former wouldn’t have swayed her now. To her delusional mind, killing me was somehow an act of heroism.
My grandmother watched with avidly gleaming eyes. Only Carter showed any hint of hesitation, his eyes going wide as he stared at his mother. His throat worked with a thick swallow.
A sense of resolve settled over me. I didn’t like it, but I knew how this would have to end. Monsterswouldmeet their deaths today, but none of them would be me.
Iris bent down over me, holding the blade poised as if preparing to stab it into my heart. She pushed my shoulder to force me onto my back—and at that moment I jerked free.
