“Kill me,” I plead. “I can’t do this.”
I sob uncontrollably, a dark desperation moving through my mind.
Help.
Me.
Someone.
The pain moves through my body like a wretched disease spreading so widely that I fear it will consume my soul. My throat is raw, as if one more desperate scream could tear it apart.
“Breathe, my love. Please.” I hear Silas whisper, pleading with me. “You can do this. He’s almost done.”
His voice sounds like he’s somewhere else.
They all feel so distant, anchoring me in another miserable life—a time that doesn’t exist—where I scream in desolation and pain. I want to leave this body. I need to get away from my own flesh.
“Stop,” I scream. “Stop!”
Larkin watches his work intently, never breaking his stare from the needle piercing my skin, and I attempt to focus on him. His eyes flash to mine, and a sadness fills them. A push of the needle sends another shock wave through me, and my eyes roll to the back of my head.
Someone.
Help.
A breeze moves over me, and my eyes snap open.
My autumn glow is replaced with the darkest despair. I look at Larkin through a shadowed haze, and his eyes widen. I know exactly what he sees.
No.
No.
“You can’t stop, Larkin.” I hear Silas urging him, as the sob breaks from his lips.
“I swear he’s almost done.” Silas’s handsome face comes into focus briefly, and I swear it looks as if he’s been crying. “Hang on.”
Through my fog, I hear Larkin speak. “I think we should stop.”
“The pain is for nothing if we stop,” Silas says, clutching his chest as if he can feel the searing pain vibrating my body.
Larkin whispers, “It’s killing her.”
A loud gasp leaves my mouth as a frozen whoosh of air enters my lungs. My back attempts to arch, and I thrash against the table, held down by my friends, who are also desperate for this to end.
The room turns cold, and the pain disappears, even as Larkin continues to tattoo my broken body. A numbness rises through my legs, spine, and to my hands, like the shadow creeping over a field on a summer day. My eyes flutter closed, and a tingle starts in my fingertips, offering a break from the pain.
Silas shouts, “Larkin, stop.”
But it’s too late.
A whisper flows into my ears, an angel of death coming to answer my prayers.
“Hello, Briar.”
I scream.
“Welcome back.”
