Dr. Clark backed away, his face drained of color, his fear thick.
Something inside me had snapped. My grief had fractured the last piece of restraint I possessed. The rage… it wasn’t just human anymore.
A maggot wriggled from beneath my skin, dropping onto the floor with a wetplop.
Dr. Clark froze. His eyes locked on my face as more decay sloughed off my cheek. He staggered back, crossing himself with trembling fingers.
“Dear God,” he whispered. “What are you?”
I smiled.
And more of me crumbled.
“Your worst nightmare made real,” I said, voice low and venom-laced. “Now be a good little doctor and cancel your security—before I decide you’re next.”
He nodded frantically. “Of course. At once.”
“And while you’re at it,” I added, my grin widening as more maggots slithered free, “give me and my dead lover a moment of peace.”
With a strangled groan, Dr. Clark backed out and shut the door behind him.
Silence returned, heavy and absolute.
I turned to Scarlett.
The sight of her—so still, so pale—sent a chill through me thatno darkness could warm. My monstrous form quivered. My rage gave way to something worse—sorrow.
I shifted back. My flesh knit together, the rot retreating beneath my skin as my breath came in ragged, uneven pulls.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
I gathered the baby into my arms. His cries were softer now, as if he sensed the moment’s sadness. I rocked him gently, my chest rising and falling with grief I could barely contain.
This wasn’t how it was meant to be.
I had failed her most unforgivably.
“There, there, little one. We’ll manage on our own,” I murmured, offering him my pinkie to suckle. “So… what do you think of the name Tristan? Do you like it?”
He latched on, eyes fixed on me, silently accepting his fate.
“I agree,” I said softly. “It will do. For now.”
I turned back to Scarlett.
My face hardened to stone. My breathing slowed, as I forced myself to face the truth.
Scarlett—mother of my child, the woman I held as she bled and fought to bring life into this world—was gone. Her body lay still, her skin cold, her eyes vacant.
Just hours ago, I had held her hand through the agony of birth. Now, I stood in a sterile hospital room, the most powerful being to walk the earth—a demon forged from darkness, capable of horrors beyond mortal comprehension—and I couldn’t save her.
A deafening roar pulsed through my ears, dragging me into a void I could not escape.
Memories flashed—Scarlett’s laughter, and how we met the first time. I saw the future we’d never have, the life she would never know.
And I saw the past—Zara, ripped from me. My daughters, lost in blood and betrayal.
It was too much.
