“Don’t call her by her first name,” Darkmore and Nyx snarled at the same time, but Nyx stepped up and glowered down at her. His tail whipped around him angrily. “You call her Gravesend with respect.”
Damn right, dream demon.
“You met the skull?” I murmured. I wondered if he realized it was dark magic oozing out of it, not a soul manifestation like Pandora had thought.
Dreadful tossed up her hands and backpedaled away from him. “Right, of course.”
“We’re not friends, Dreadful,” Pandora rasped, her words choppy and guttural. “Don’t put on a show. You’re a terrible actor.”
Dreadful gasped in surprise, like she really didn’t think Pandora would say such a thing.
“Don’t think you’re not going to get punished. You attempted an assassination on Death’s daughter.” Darkmore’s vengeance magic blasted outward and smacked into her.
Dreadful was hurled through the air and back into her room, crumpling on the ground with bruises and cuts all over her—almost the exact way we’d found Pandora. Every cut, bruise, and dent on Pandora’s body reflected on Dreadful’s, but unlike Pandora, Dreadful’s had healed within moments.
That didn’t stop the pain, though.
She let out a bloodcurdling scream, and tears poured down her face. This time, they weren’t fake.
I resisted feeding on her pain. I wanted her to feel all of it.
“Must be nice to be able to scream like that when it hurts,” Pandora murmured softly like she didn’t expect anyone to hear, but Darkmore and Nyx did.
And so did we.
What the hell did she mean by that? Had the group not let her scream?
Darkmore led them away, and we entered the room’s shadows, watching the bitch sob on the floor with the door wide open.
“Why had she told them but not us?” Bram huffed,crossing his arms.
“She doesn’t trust us,” Skel whispered harshly, smoking his pipe and blowing out the colorful smoke. “Why should she? We’ve been assholes. You two especially.”
I gasped, whirling on him. “I havenotbeen mean to her! I just like her pain. It feels so good.”
“That’s fucking creepy,” Bram mumbled viciously. “Yeah, okay, I’ve been the biggest asshole to her.I know.But she—she’s a fucking noble.”
“Yeah, a fucking noble that got the shit beat out of her by other nobles!” Skel got in Bram’s face, and fear magic started to leak.
Bram flinched and squeezed his eyes shut. “Your fucking magic, Skel!”
“Shit.” Skel sucked on his pipe harder, getting higher and higher until he stumbled back, and the magic stopped.
“Skel’s got a point, Bram.” I shrugged, slipping my hand into the dark and coming out with a bottle of fae bourbon before tossing it at him. “Pandora being on the ass end of the other nobles should tell you she isn’t like them.”
Bram caught it easily by the neck and popped the lid off with his thumb. “Yeah, I know. Thanks.”
“Anything for you two.” I grinned cheekily, flicking my gaze to Dreadful. She had gotten backto her feet and locked the door. “Can we make her bleed now?”
“Be our guest.” Bram tossed back the bottle, gulping it like the greedy dick he was.
I stepped out of the shadows, letting my shadow tendrils whip around the room, destroying all of her fucking shit. “Boo!”
Her scream pierced the air, and she hugged herself tightly. “What are you doing in here? Get the fuck out!”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Skel chuckled darkly as he stepped next to me.
“We’re here to make you pay for what you did to Gravesend,” Bram slurred his words as he stumbled next to me.
