Oh, she would burn—when I stripped her down to flesh.
It was only then that I understood I had never truly known pain.
Scratches. Cuts. Minor wounds—all of it healed within a day. Forgotten.
This was different.
This was excruciating.
The car came to a stop. I heard my doctor’s voice somewhere nearby, urgent, controlled—but I didn’t move.
My mind was already elsewhere.
Lielit wouldn’t suffer physical pain alone. That would imply mercy.
I would dismantle her slowly—thought by thought, certainty by certainty—until there was nothing left of her but fragments.
I wouldn’t destroy her body.
I would erase her. Until nothing remained.
???
I lifted the mirror again, staring at my bloodshot eyes. Each time I caught sight of the burst red vessels and the raw skin around my eyes and nose, I cursed her to Hel.
The guards were gone—fired. Two new idiots had already taken their place.
Fenrir had been silent. It wasn’t until I lit a cigarette that he finally spoke.
We take her. Hold her captive. It’s the only way to ensure our safety.
A pause. Thoughtful.
Now I understand why they kept me in chains.
I closed my eyes against the smoke and took a slow drag, flicking the lighter toward the table. I heard it bounce once before clattering to the floor.
“You fear her?” I scoffed.
But the idea lingered.
Breaking her down, day by day. Stripping away her resistance until she knelt—not forced.
Willing.
My eyes would heal, but her scars would be mine.
Because they wouldn't show on the outside.
???
The pain faded, but the bloodshot veins lingered. Calm settled between us as I planned ahead.
It took three weeks to finalise the purchase of Caer Virel, and another to relocate the remaining inhabitants. The island was remote—close enough for a helicopter commute, yet distant enough to keep her contained.
This was the most significant acquisition of my life. Not the land, but the woman who had dared to fight back. The one person who wasn’t quite human. There was something dark residing in her blood, waiting.
The boathouse by the dock would house the staff, kept well away from the estate. As for her? Where would she go? A swim into open water, or the jagged rocks beneath the cliffs that crowned the house?
