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I smirked at his choice of words. He still had hope that one day he would best me. Pathetic. I’d crush that soon enough, too.
I unlocked his cell and stepped back, inviting him to exit with a wave of my hand. He moved stiffly as he walked past the confines of the bars, coming to a stop when he was at the edge of my personal space. His body practically vibrated with the need to attack me.
But he didn’t.
He wouldn’t.
My lips stretched into a delighted smile, and he scowled.
I freed the knife from its sheath and handed it to him hilt first, careful not to cut him. I didn’t have to make him bleed to cause him agony. His thunderous expression told me that he knew it too, and it shredded him.
He exploded into violence, grabbing the knife from my hand and lunging forward with a roar. For less than the space of a heartbeat, alarm flickered through me.
But he wasn’t coming for me.
He sidestepped me and slammed the blade deep into Alberto’s gut. Our prisoner released a ragged shout, the shock of pain rousing him back to consciousness. Luca ripped the knife free and drove it back into his enemy’s flesh, tearing into him as though he was a rabid beast with claws rather than a blade.
I grasped his shoulder to steady him, and he rounded on me, eyes wild. He raised the knife, swinging it in a downward arc. Another rush of adrenaline pulsed through me, making me high on the violence and bloodshed. I grabbed his wrist, throwing all my strength into halting the momentum of his attack.
He froze on an animal snarl, his entire body coiled tight with the need to end me.
I smiled at him. “You’re making it too quick,” I informed him coolly. “Make sure he suffers. For her.”
He shouted in wordless rage and frustration, but he stepped back from me, spinning to face Alberto again. This time, his cuts were precise and brutal, eviscerating his enemy. Luca knew how to torture a man, no matter how noble he pretended to be around Nora.
And judging by the feverish light in his eyes as he became absorbed in his work, he was enjoying inflicting agony nearly as much as I did.
“He tried to rape her,” I reminded Luca. “What are you going to do about it?”
Alberto babbled when the knife scraped down his bloody abdomen, nearing his cock. He was beyond coherent pleading, his wounds already severe enough to ensure his eventual death. Luca and I wouldn’t spare him an ounce of pain. He’d hurt Nora. He’d violated her.
My laugh mingled with Alberto’s scream.
Luca was doing the vengeful work, but he was thoroughly under my control. The power over the proud former heir, my most hated enemy, went straight to my head. He was taking out all his aggression and frustration toward me on Alberto. I redirected his murderous impulses, and each bloody gash he carved into our prisoner’s flesh was dictated by my will. Even with a lethal weapon in his hand, he was powerless against me.
Luca was mine.
Bloodlust rode me hard, taking my mind to a purely primal state. Alberto was going quiet, nearing his end. I craved to get back to Nora, to show her that I’d eliminated her enemy. Then I would stake my claim over her.
“That’s enough,” I barked, and Luca froze, immediately compliant despite his frustrated growl. “Hand me the knife.”
His muscles bulged and flexed, but he managed to turn stiffly and offer me the blade.
I took it from him and, in one swift movement, buried it in Alberto’s gut. A bloody choking sound bubbled in his throat as I dragged the knife upward, shredding his insides until I twisted the blade in his heart.
He jerked once, and then his dead weight dropped into his shackled wrists.
I looked back at Luca. His chest rose and fell on rapid, heaving breaths, as though he’d run a mile. His white shirt was red and wet, and drops of blood had sprayed his face with crimson. I felt the warmth of Alberto’s blood on my own face, and I shot Luca a savage grin.
“Shall we go tell Nora what we’ve done for her?” I asked, my voice rumbling with my desire for her.
Luca nodded in agreement, his jaw tight. I’d been overtaken by my bloodlust, but he seemed to have gone completely feral, as mute as a beast.
He started to wipe his bloody hands on his pants, as though that would be enough to clean them before going to Nora.
“No,” I said sharply. “Let her see. She’ll want to know that he suffered for what he did to her.”
I started striding for the stairs, forgetting the dead man behind me. All that existed was my need to get to Nora and my delicious control over the hulking, powerful man who shadowed my steps without question.
