She leaps for Stein.
Her arms come around his neck.
She is clinging to his back, dragging him away from me, a hoarse sound of frustration and rage and agony, all three, leaving her lips.
Stein staggers back a step, but I see it a moment before he moves.
He still holds the small scalpel’s edge in his hand, from the purple vial along my throat. It’s what I used to poison Cosmo. Thinking ofhisblood mingling with mine, along my face, causes my skin to itch, but imagining it mixing with Karia’s…
As Stein attempts to shrug Karia off, his free hand circling around her arm, bones beneath his fingers straining under his skin as a scowl of madness crosses his face, I stagger forward. My steps are uneven, I push the necklace into my pocket, spots pop in front of my eyes, the dizziness grips me like the devil’sclaws, and Isadora is lunging for Karia, too, but that gives Constance less of a barrier.
While Von turns to track Isadora’s movements, Constance smacks the gun in his hand against the side of Von’s temple.
A groan leaves his lips but he doesn’t stumble away.
He pivots instead, drawing his weapon and pushing it into Constance’s stomach.
But Constance has his own poised at Von’s head, the barrel digging into his temple.
Isadora freezes, no doubt sensing the movement behind her.
I don’t care.
I don’t give a fuck about any of them except for my girl, now darting backward, out of Stein’s reach, taunting him and luring him away fromme.
Fuck, you stupid, beautiful, intelligent girl.
I grab the back of his neck, digging in what’s left of my nails.
“No!”Karia’s voice, raspy from fear.
She darts forward.
Stein’s devilish laughter licks the air.
He raises his arm even as I bar my own around his fucking throat, tugging him into me. I marvel over the strangeness of it; I never fought back before. Even now, it feels wrong. As if I am a cowardly child once more and he will soon shove my nose to the ground as he steps on my fingers, pinning me into place in that submissive, humiliating position.
My cheeks burn at the thought. The sensation contrasts sharply with the cold in my wound.
I think I might throw up.
Keeping my arm pressed to his windpipe, I reach for his lifted hand, knowing he will cut Karia with the scalpel if I don’t stop him, and that cannot happen. Any imperfections she might believe herself to have are nothing but magnificence to me. Ascar would change none of that. But if I could give my life to stop her from experiencing any future pain in hers, I would.
Yet as I grab for Stein’s arm, my fingers crushing around his wrist, the light in the sitting room beyond goes out.
Abruptly, all at once, no flicker of a warning.
Then, in the heartbeat of stillness that follows, the utter darkness, a loudpoprings through the air, echoing in the underground, causing my pulse to skyrocket.
No one screams.
This is a room full of demons, used to hell.
There is only one angel among us.
But more important than the lack of a scream, though, a body doesn’t thud to the floor.
A gun went off, but no one was shot.
