My heart?—
My heart was shattered into a thousand tiny pieces.
He killed my mother. He killed my mother.
The thoughts were like explosions crashing through me. I loved him, I trusted him, and everything was a lie. He was a fucking lie.
“As I expected, she was spelled.” Rodney’s voice sounded distant even though I could sense him standing behind me. “But if it makes you feel any better, it wasn’t of her free will.”
He killed my mother.
My jaw clenched. My vision swam as I raised my head.
Karson stood at the bottom of the stage, his face pale, his fists curled, his eyes wild in a storm of desperation, shock, guilt, and fury.
The whole room stilled, mannequins in a store, all staring at me.
Ethan darted his eyes between us, a look of pity, of rage, of … guilt?
The room kept spinning. I choked on a sob as I tried to shakily rise. Rodney placed his hand under my arm to help lift me up.
“Don’t fucking touch me.” I didn’t recognize the voice that came out. It was wild, it was animalistic, it was broken.
He let go and stepped back. I staggered to my feet.
“You son of a bitch,” Ethan snarled. “You fucking piece of shit. I knew you’d done something to her. I fucking knew it. But to stoop that low is pathetic even for you.”
Karson flinched but didn’t take his eyes off me.
He stole Tom, stole the life I had, stole the future we had planned, stole my mother, and my father. The only parents, the only family love I had ever known. Did my father know she was killed because of me? I answered myself immediately—of course he did. That’s why he hated me after her death; he blamed me. He stole everything precious I had.
I loved Karson, loved him more than I thought it was possible to love anyone. I thought he had mended the shattered pieces inside me. Instead, he was the one who had destroyed the beautiful picture.
My legs lost power again and I stumbled, as my whole world crashed out from under my feet.
Karson opened his mouth and closed it again, as if he thought better of what he was going to say. Or maybe he didn’t know what to say.
Tears poured down my face. “You killed my mother,” I choked out.
“Oh God,” Georgie gasped. “Oh God, Amy.”
His skin turned to a shade of gray. “Amelia, I?—”
“Don’t fucking speak.” Rage swirled through me. The lights in the room flickered. Darkness, light, darkness. I sucked in abreath down my seared throat and tried to calm the fury. The lights stopped flickering, but I could feel my power, my darkness simmering inside like a volcano.
Everyone just stared. No one said a word.
Marg and Bob were standing in the corner near the hallway, Bob with his arm around Marg’s silently heaving shoulders. They could escape, but they wouldn’t leave without Sarah.
Michael was staring at the ground.
Monique’s eyes were wide with shock and filled with pity.
Kenneth was up, his hand cradling the back of his neck as he looked between us.
Sarah was seated, her back pressed against a wall, her eyes lifted to the ceiling as she laughed. She fucking laughed.
Janice stood beside Rodney, her sword out, ready to defend him if anyone attacked. Rodney’s face had lost its usual color.
