I throw my head back in a deranged laugh. “You did slaughter me. You stripped me of emotions.” My voice grows louder. “You wanted me to become a monster!”
“I wanted you to be strong!”
“Oh, I’m strong, alright, and it took falling in love to become it,” I snap back.
“Love is for the weak,” he hisses, his lip curling as he speaks.
“No, you were just too weak to welcome it.”
I step to the side and unveil a canister of fuel. Taking hold of it, I splash it around the room while he rushes toward the door, pulling on it frantically as though it’s going to open.
It won’t.
I’ve essentially created a crematorium. “We’re going to burn in hell together.” I smile. “The devils burning in the flames of the underworld.”
He clenches his teeth. “You’re insane!” he declares, scanning over me.
“I am well aware.” I smile and dump a load at his feet. “Are you proud?”
“You won’t get away with this.” He stabs his finger in my direction. “You won’t survive out there. My men are out there! Important members of the auction will see you rot before you get away with this.”
I brush a finger over my lip. “You’re right.” I smile. “I won’t get away with this. Nor will you or your friends. We’re all going to burn in hell together. This is our penance, Father.”
Then I throw the match toward him, causing him to shriek as his pants catch fire. He might not realize it yet, the entry room may be soundproofed, but it’s also been designed to lock down when smoke is detected. There’s no escape, he’s essentially trapped in an oven. We all are.
My eyes glow at the flames burning all around me, warming me for a million reasons, and not one of them their heat.
He’s finally going to succumb to his sins, and on his departure, he’ll be freeing hundreds of innocents of their nightmares.
He drops to the floor, screaming in agony, and Elizabeth thrashes about with strange noises coming from her open mouth that make her sound like a deranged animal.
I remain unperturbed, leaning against the wall, happy to watch the destruction of an evil empire about to go up in flames with me at the center of it.
The devil.
I was born in hell; I might as well die in it too.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Hevan
After exhaling deeply, I slam the book shut and groan at the disservice I feel from the author choosing to kill off the main character. “Bastard,” I grumble, gathering my empty glass, and head into the kitchen.
My house is small but quaint, and I actually love it. It’s taken me a while to settle, purely based on the fact that the man I love is no longer a part of my life, and truth be told, I don’t think he ever will be again.
Still, I’m grateful for his sacrifice; it took me months to appreciate it, but whatever he chose to do, gave me the freedom I have today, and it’s enabled me to live the life of my choosing in a sense of security I never felt in Azrael’s home, only his arms.
I rinse the glass under the tap, and as I twist it in the water, my gaze catches onto the tattoo Azrael branded me with, and suddenly, I find it difficult to breathe all over again. How can he have this hold on me still? Theeffect the man has left on my body and soul is indescribable. It’s like I’m bound to him.
The sound of a phone buzzing forces the hairs on the back of my neck to stand, and an overwhelming urge to vomit unleashes, but I push it back and rush to the drawer where I keep the burner phone Owen gave me almost two years ago. I only charge it once a week now, and not once have I ever had any contact with him via it, nor have I seen him since the day he left me here with a new identity and bank account, wishing me well for my future. Then he left, closing the door on my old life while leaving me in limbo with my new one. I’m Hevan Conley now.
My hand trembles as I lift it and open the message.
Unknown: Turn on the television. Channel 3.
My heart thuds, and I rush into the living room and turn on the TV. Then I search the room for the remote, my entire body shaking with anxiety.
Turning on the TV, I go to the right channel. A news reporter is on the screen, and the remnants of a burned-down property are in the background. I scan the screen, searching for what it is I’m meant to be witnessing.
