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“Go for it,” he grinds out. His strange calmness and inability to care that he’s on the brink of death fascinate me. I knew he was unhinged, but this is… surprising. It makes me wish we had more time together. I’d have liked to drag this out, to see how far I could push him before he finally cracked. Even a sociopath like him must eventually break, right?
Curious, I bring the flame to his face, running the tip of it along the angle of his jaw. Sweat runs from his temple, his breaths coming in short, ragged pants, and he shakes with the effort it takes to hold himself still while the flame licks at his skin. And yet, he achieves it, taking every second of searing pain.
Before I can push him any farther, the creaking of hinges draws my attention a second before brightness floods the bunker. Dropping the lighter, I shove to my feet as a sweet, musical voice reaches my ears. “Wilder? Are you down here?”
“Run, Angel,” he shouts in a weakened voice. “Run!”
On numb legs, I move to the bottom of the stairs and peer up. With the harsh glare of daylight casting her in shadow, I can understand why he thinks she’s his guardian angel. She looks heavenly as she hovers at the threshold before descending into the bowels of hell.
Her lips part on a gasp when she sees me. “Mel?”
Cocking my head to the side, my brows furrow. “Why are you here?”
“Run!” he shouts from behind me.
At his voice, Emilia’s gaze flicks in that direction, but she’s still suspended at the top of the stairs and can’t see him.
“I, uh…” She licks her lips nervously. “What are you doing here?”
My eyes narrow, and I don’t answer her. I watch as she slowly descends the stairs toward me, our gazes locked on one another. When she’s standing on the bottom step, she stops. Gone is the nervousness, making me wonder if I imagined it.
“I knew you’d have seen what happened in the library,” she says before a soft smile pulls on her lips. “Knew you wouldn’t let him go unpunished, and I was hoping I’d find you here.”
“You came looking for me?”
She nods her head. “I needed to make sure you were okay.”
I search her face, her story not quite adding up. “Then why did you call his name?”
There’s a flash of something that I can’t identify before it disappears. "I wasn’t sure if you were here, and I didn’t want to tip him off." She nods her head in his direction without actually seeing him.
“You shouldn’t have come, Angel,” he croaks.
Emilia stiffens before slowly turning to face him. I’m watching her closely, so I catch the widening of her eyes and the parting of her lips as she gapes at him. Scanning her face, I don’t find any signs of pleasure or admiration at my handiwork, nor disgust or hatred at finding him still alive. However, I also know Emilia isn’t like me. She’s softer. It’s part of what drew me to her—that innocence.
Her radiant smile and soft glow. I knew instantly when I looked at her she was everything I wasn’t. Where my life has always been pain and blood and darkness, hers are kitty cat pajamas, rom-coms, and fictional books where the heroes get the girl.
We couldn’t be more opposite.
Night and day.
Summer and winter.
Good and evil.
She’s everything I always wished my life could be. With her, I can have everything I’ve missed out on. Once I get rid of these interlopers, it can just be the two of us for the rest of eternity.
Her eyes rake over him, swallowing roughly before focusing on his face. His pained, hazy gaze latches on to hers, rife with regret and adulation. "My card was up a long time ago. I’ve been living on borrowed time all these years. If it’s my time to go, then that’s okay. I’ll die peacefully knowing that I had you for a brief time, and I was happy."
Emilia’s lips pinch, her face hardening. She steps away before I can read her further, moving closer to him. With an unfocused gaze, he watches her approach.
"You stupid idiot," she bites out, sounding choked. "How can you say that now, after everything you’ve put me through?"
He gives her a weak smile. "I’m a fuck up. I was the one who ruined us, not you. I blamed you for stuff that wasn’t even your fault. Their ghosts were never going to let me be happy, anyway. You’re better off without me, but I’ll always be yours, Angel."
Giving up the fight, his eyelids fall closed. Like witnessing a car crash, all I can do is stand and watch as everything I know splinters. Emilia falls to her knees, her shoulders shaking.
“Wilder,” she sobs, crawling into his lap and, in the process, covering herself in his blood. “Don’t you dare give up on me now. I will follow you into the pits of hell and make your afterlife a living nightmare.”
