I sit in the same seat, staring out the window. The adrenaline is fading now, leaving behind aching knuckles.
This man's death wasn't in vain. In fact, killing him makes me feel empty. The burden of everything is coming on too strong. Running the operations, avenging my father's death, and saving my family from being erased.
I know I was always destined to wear the Killaney crown, but I never imagined it would be like this. Fighting a war that started years before I was even born.
By the time we pull into the estate, it's nearly 3 a.m.
I step out of the SUV and head toward the house, my shirt stiff with dried blood.
Inside, the house is dark and quiet.
I head upstairs and when I reach the East Wing, I pause outside Zaria's door.
The guard stationed there straightens when he sees me.
"Any trouble?" I ask.
"No, sir."
I nod and turn away, but I stop. I have to ask, why I don't know, but I do.
"She eat the pizza?"
"Yes, boss."
I don't say anything and continue to my room.
I strip naked, tossing my clothes onto the floor, looking at the bloodstains on the cuffs of my shirt.
I look up and my reflection catches in the mirror, the speckles of red across my skin, the cuts on my knuckles, and the exhaustion etched into the lines of my face.
I step under the water, letting it hit my shoulders, my chest, my face.
Blood runs down my skin and pools at the drain, swirling in crimson ribbons.
I brace my hands against the tile, lowering my head.
The water pounds against my back, washing away the evidence of what I did tonight.
But it doesn't wash away the rage or the guilt or the knowledge that this is only the beginning.
Cormac is out there right now, building his empire of broken people, branding them, burning them, convincing them they're chosen.
I look up at the showerhead, close my eyes and let the water run over my face.
If Zaria is what Cormac does to the people he calls blood, then I'll show him what I do to the people who try to erase mine.
17
ZARIA
My eyes snap open, air locked somewhere deep in my chest.
I sit up too fast, the world tilting, my hands gripping the sheets.
For a few seconds, I don't know where I am.
The walls press in. The ceiling feels like it is falling.
