"What—" She jerked her fingers away. Her mouth opened into an agonized scream that pierced my heart like a sliver of glass.
'Let's go,' I mentally commanded my army.
'But we've barely begun.'Malachi's eyes flashed as he stared at Anna. 'And I want to play with that one.'
'No. You touch her and you will not just die. I will snuff you out of existence. Do you understand?'
Malachi narrowed his gaze and licked his lips. 'Sure. Whatever.'He blinked himself away.
'No complaints from me.'Samael shrugged, then sent his weapon into the shadows.'I could use a good long soak in a hot tub.'
Like a thief in the night, I scampered to my plane in a second, but Anna's tortured screams stayed in my head.
What have I done? What thefuckhave I done?
Chapter 23
Anna Sill
Present Day
Iblearilyrubbedatmy eyelids, which were red and swollen.
I have to stop crying or they're never going to heal.
Carefully, I stood from the uncomfortable recliner in Ryan's hospital room.
The doctors had said they weren't able to reattach Ryan’s tongue, that there had been too much damage.
I knew what it was like to lose one of the five senses. Not only would he not be able to talk, but he'd never taste the sweetness of desserts again, the tang of a cranberry, a slice of warm bread with melted butter.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
The monitor showing his pulse and oxygen levels beeped twice. His eyes remained closed. The medical team expected him to come out of his coma any day. I wasn't sure if that would be a blessing or a curse. To wake and learn he'd not only lost his fiancée, but also his tongue?
A shiver ran through my body. I couldn't look at him without feeling guilt and sorrow.
Quietly, I turned and stepped into the small adjoining bathroom and clicked the door shut. Bracing my hands against the sink, I forced down the rising bile in the back of my throat.
Somehow, I'm the cause of what happened.
I wasn't sure how I knew this, but I felt it deep in my bones. In a roundabout way, I killed Jason and put Ryan in the hospital. They'd only wanted to celebrate my sight returning and look at where that had gotten them. By loving me, they lost so much.
That’s why my parents abandoned me.
I swallowed another burning ball of acid and stared in the mirror. A face I didn't recognize peered back at me. Something in the shape of my cheeks reminded me of my mother, who I could barely remember. Instead of happiness, though, the memory reminded me of everything and everyone I'd ever lost.
Balling a fist, I raised it to smash the glass, but stopped an inch from the surface.
What good will breaking a mirror do? It won't change what happened to me or my friends.
Although I tried to block the massacre from my mind, it didn't matter. Those horrific images of blood splatter, the warm squishiness of the tongue, and the grayish brain matter would haunt me forever.
When the police had arrived, they'd taken me to the station for questioning. I could only cry and blubber about what I'd seen and heard. They must’ve believed I couldn't have done such an evil thing to my friends and the poor woman who'd checked us in.
One the officers—Officer Banden—an older man with belly that sagged over his belt, had awkwardly patted my shoulder. "We're still working the case. Just don't leave town."
Luckily, several massage therapists who'd survived by hiding in their rooms, vouched I'd been with one of them when the building had sounded like it was being ripped to shreds.
