Krampus’s head whips toward the sound of Louis’s voice down the hallway. His grip on his birch rod tightens with an audible creak of wood.
A shiver goes down my spine. After what I just witnessed outside—blood on the snow, Adrian’s head landing at my feet—there is no question what lengths Krampus will go to with hispunishments.I may be about to witness the slaughter of the Kohler family. A slaughter that wouldn’t be possible without my cooperation.
Yet Krampus will only kill them if that’s what their sins merit.
My pulse pounds, but it’s not trepidation making my hands tremble. It’s anticipation.
“Let’s give them what they deserve,” I whisper. I shrug off my bloodstained coat, revealing the still-pristine dress beneath. Can’t have my appearance ruining the element of surprise.
Krampus glances at me. He shakes his head, jaw clenched, in warning.
“Diana?” Louis calls again, closer than before.
“Yes, darling, I’m coming,” I answer, and walk down the hallway toward him. Krampus reaches out as if to stop me—but his hand drops, and I walk by. I wait until Louis’s head disappears into the lounge again, and gesture for him to follow. With every step, I know I am only getting myself in deeper, but I don’t see any other option at this point. I’ve started this and I’ll see it through to the end, no matter the consequences.
And so, I lead Krampus straight to my fiancé and his family. They’re still in the sitting room, with their whiskey and their smiles, thinking they’re safe. Cheerful Christmas music drowns out the heavy clop of Krampus’s hooves approaching.
I stop just outside of the doorway, plaster on my sweetest smile, and walk into the room. Calmly, slowly, head up. Far more confident than I was the first time I walked into this room earlier tonight.
There’s no sign of Anna, and it’s clear she didn’t warn the rest of them about what’s coming. Louis’s expression brightens as he looks at me, but my eyes slide past him to my would-be future in-laws. Louis’s mother barely spares me a glance as she sips her wine, her lipstick leaving smears of red along the rim of the glass. His father, though, gives me a curious, almost assessing once-over. As if he sees my newfound confidence and is wondering what has changed. He looks past me to the door—and I brace, wondering when Krampus will enter, but after a moment Karl looks back at me.
“I don’t suppose you’ve seen my other son around?” he asks.
Is he suspicious of me already? Could he be so smart? I wet my lips as I slide onto the couch beside Louis, resisting the urge to watch the doorway.
“We didn’t cross paths,” I say. “Why?”
“He said he was going to look for you.”
He exchanges a glance with his wife, who presses her lips into a thin line before taking another large sip of her wine.
I almost laugh as I realize what they’re thinking. Louis’s father doesn’t suspect that I’ve teamed up with their enemy. He suspects that I cheated on my fiancé with his other son. Once again, they are underestimating me. I can’t wait to make them regret it.
“How strange,” I murmur, brushing my hair over my shoulder as I lift it in an affected shrug. “You’d think we would’ve crossed paths.”
I’m eager to play into the idea, for some amusement if nothing else. I’m not sure what Krampus is waiting for, but maybe he wants me to separate them. Maybe I can get one of them to go look for Adrian and Anna…
But as Karl looks back at me, his eyes narrow. “Is your hair wet?”
Shit, did I miss a bit of blood? I glance down, holding up a strand for inspection, but it’s just melting snow.
“Did you go outside?” he demands before I have a chance to answer.
I cross one leg over the other. “I needed a smoke,” I say, since I don’t care what these people think of me anymore. “Should I have done it inside?”
Karl stands up, his face creasing with anger. “Louis,” he barks, “into the panic room with your mother and your fiancée.”
Theodora rises immediately, clutching her wine glass.
Louis stands up as well, but his face is marked with confusion rather than concern. “I’m sure that’s not necessary, Dad…”
“I locked the door behind me,” I say, staying in my seat.
“Forgive me if I decide to verify that myself.” Karl heads for the door, glancing back at us. “Panic room, and stay there until I get back.Now.”
As he heads toward the hallway, a number of things happen at once.
Louis reaches for my hand, even as he voices an apology.
