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The instant Armand realizes his mistake, his facial expression morphs to one of horror. His eyes take on a wild, desperate glint, and he scans the carnage around him.
All his servants are dead, and the man he loves has been stabbed in the heart.
Yugo won’t die from his wound, but I’m sure it hurts like a bitch. Every heartbeat will send zings of agony through his body, and it’ll take months to heal—even longer if he doesn’t have proper nutrients. And with only the two of them, there won’t be enough healthy blood to go around.
“What I want is to walk out of here with Kai, so that’s what we’re going to do,” I declare. “We’re going home.”
“No.” In fervent denial, Armand swings his head back and forth.
“This was all for nothing,” I go on, pushing away from the wall to daintily step over body parts as I make my way to Kai. “You lose. It’s over, Armand.”
“You can’t do this!” he screams hysterically.
“I can. Even your amulet agrees with me. It can tell what the truth is. Isn’t that right?”
Pausing and waiting, I search for any sign that Kai is being pulled away, but he’s just standing in the same spot. The gem has released him, once and for all.
In shock, Kai looks me up and down like he doesn’t know who I am.
Maybe he doesn’t.
Not this side of me, anyway.
I’m not usually conniving, but this whole ordeal has cultivated some new traits.
Cruelty is one of them.
I get immense satisfaction seeing Armand and Yugo suffer, and I smile deviously as I dare, “Try to stop us. I’d like to see what happens.”
If Armand intervenes, he’ll be the one breaking the bargain. The gem will take him instead, leaving Yugo alone, injured, and without the protection of the enchantment. He wouldn’t last two days once the barbarians realize they can breach the perimeter.
All of this goes through Armand’s head. I can see the wheels turning as he comes to the conclusion that he’s been bested by little ole me.
Avoiding the last dark puddle of blood between Kai and me, I hop over it. Not that it would matter if I danced in the stuff. I’m already covered in my own blood and so much filth.
I’m definitely going to need a new outfit.
And extensive therapy.
But that’s a worry for another time.
Finally snapping out of his shock, Kai surges forward and picks me up, lifting me away from the gory floor. As soon as he sets me down, he engulfs me in a tight embrace.
“You did it.” His voice catches. “You saved us. I’m not happy that you cut yourself, but it worked.” Warmth radiates from his hands, and the pleasant heat flows through my rib cage, up to my heart, and then my skin crackles quietly as it fuses back together.
The sting fades to a tickle, and then I feel no pain. I must confess, being healed by Kai makes me kind of horny.
“You can thank me properly later,” I quip.
Seriously, we’ve got some celebrating to do.
However, Kai’s frown is prominent when he puts some space between us. “Before we leave, I want to kill Yugo.”
“What?” Armand and Yugo simultaneously shout.
“And I’m going to mutilate Armand,” he continues his gruesome plan in front of the pair as if they’re not listening. “It was my plan and I’d still like to carry it out.”
He wants retribution, and I’m not opposed to it. If he feels that he needs revenge, I won’t get in his way.
