I watched, unblinking, until the screaming stopped.
And then, I smiled.
Satisfied, I let my body blur, my form unraveling into shadow, darkness swirling around me like a living thing.
I vanished into smoke and ash.
My next stop?
Find the child.
Finish what I started.
Let the world learn what true darkness felt like.
Chapter 2
Alina
Francesco crashed into me, his body slamming mine into the bed of hay as if trying to brand himself into my skin. His breath was ragged, dripping with hunger, his mouth grazing my ear.
“I love you, Alina,” he panted, voice thick with need. “I want to be with you forever.”
I wrapped my arms around him like a noose, dragging my nails down his back with a seductive hiss. My hips rose in rhythm, my moans tailored to his fantasies.
“Yes,” I whispered, arching beneath him. “Forever, Francesco. Always.”
Lies.
Sweet, poisonous lies he was too blind to see through.
Every word was a performance. Every gasp and whimper were crafted to feed his illusion while I drowned in loathing. I didn’t love him. I didn’t want him.
I just wanted it to end.
When he finally came with a soft grunt, trembling with release, I stared at the wooden beams above us, hollow and numb.
His weight crushed the air from my lungs, suffocating me in sweat and the stench of lust.
“Please,” I choked, voice barely a whisper. But he didn’t move.He was lost in the high of his delusion, wrapped in the fantasy that I had ever belonged to him.
I forced a satisfied sigh. “That was… incredible,” I said, the words like ash in my mouth. I pushed against him, gently at first, then harder, until his body finally rolled away, sinking into the hay beside me.
He turned to me, eyes glistening with fragile hope.
“I love you. I want to marry you… when the time is right. But I’m just a stable boy. Your father—he’d never accept someone like me.”
I smiled, syrup-sweet, concealing the rot festering beneath the surface.
Let him believe in love. Let him believe in forever.
It would make the betrayal all the more exquisite.
“I would love to marry you, my love,” I cooed, each word steeped in poison. “I’ll speak to my father. I’ll plead your case.”
His expression brightened like a dog handed scraps from the table.
“Oh, would you, amore?” he asked, resting his head on his hand like a dreaming boy. “I’ll do anything for you. I’ll find a way to provide, I promise.”
