Rafe and I slowed in a relatively open space of the woods, letting Viktor drop to the mulch unceremoniously. I sniffed, plucking free my gun and my lighter, weighing them in each palm. Blood coated Viktor’s slacks, already seeping into theleaves beneath him. His body was shivering uncontrollably, his breaths a stuttering, glorious mess. I crouched beside his head, his sick eyes like venomous slits through the flutters of his lashes. “You’re almost there,” I whispered, running my gun from his temple to his cheek. “Your black heart is fading, your mind is turning toward darkness. The edge of death, Viktor. Can you feel yourself teetering there? Wanting to claw toward life but being incapable of drawing so much as a breath without pain?” I spat on his face, and he flinched. I looked up at Rafe, who propped himself against one of the trees, watching me with adoration.
Do you want another shot?I asked him.
He shook his head and gestured toward Viktor with his warped hands as if to say,He’s all yours.
I hummed in contentment, the quiet hush of the trees above easing my rage toward a place of immense peace. “I could wait, you know. I could be merciful and let your eyes shut and your heart stop. Then I could light you up in warmth.” I shook my head. “But why would I do that, Viktor, when you never gave me or any of the kids you stole that mercy? If I had the supplies, I can assure you that I’d bandage you right now, burn you in intervals, and keep you on that edge, begging, for days. One day for every year you tore away from us though still wouldn’t be enough. Even burning you won’t be as satisfying as I hoped. I don’t think there’s anything I could do to you that would ever compare to what you did to me, and that’s a real shame. This is close. As close as I can get you. And I know you’re a small wheel in the machine. Don’t you worry. I will never stop hunting the Viktors in this world. Even beyond the grave, I will find you Viktor Shaw, because this rage you’ve instilled in me? The brightest pieces of myself that you have raped and bled and fucking tortured into screaming flickers of pure fury? They willneverreturn to me. I will have to spend the rest of mylife lighting new flames, because I can never be the girl or the woman I could’ve been had you never come into my life.”
I wrenched the pearls from my pocket and dropped them to his chest, his blood-covered palm shaking as he fingered them delicately, disgustingly. I snarled and flicked my lighter to life, setting the mulch beneath him on fire and letting it catch slowly.
“But it’s a start,” I said with finality, his clothes igniting. “Watching you burn is a fucking start, and I’m not going to take it for granted.” I met his gaze one last time, holding it and showing him that he had not killed me, that none of me belonged to him. "Look how you die for me," I whispered, taking small steps back until I felt Rafe's arm slide around me.
I leaned into his side, the first scream tearing out of Viktor, birds scattering in the canopy above.Ravens, I thought, their black wings large and unkind as they circled into the sky. Alex was here. Smoke tangled upward, flames growing taller and taller. So was Thorne. I pressed a shaking hand over my heart, felt its rapid beating. There she was too—Leah. I counted the minutes as they passed.
One. My limbs tied to a bed. My body wrenched into lap after lap. My head thrown against the wall again and again andagain. Buyers. Viktor. More Buyers. Always Viktor. Halden—then fire. So much fucking fire. Burning them. Burning me. Tearing away every piece of me while somehow keeping me alive.
Two. I bit down on my tongue, refusing to sob, to give that man anymore of my tears.Always show your teeth, Arden, Leah’s voice caressed me. I wasn’t ready to smile, but I was ready to remember those I managed in my life thanks to the people who’d given shape to my name. I could hear mine and Leah’s laughter as we chased each other through the estate, echoing between Viktor’s screams. Embers rose, sparkling, dazzling, dizzying—like watching the chandeliers swing in those hallways, or the fluttering in my stomach when Rafe touched his thumb tothe corner of my mouth that very first time, wiping blood away in the courtyard.
Three. The screams stopped, but I knew he was still alive in there, still burning his way toward hell. The rage inside me wasn't gone, but it was mercifully quiet, keening,mourning. I closed my eyes, letting this tiny bit of closure settle into my heart.
Then—four minutes.
Viktor Shaw was finally, fully dead. He would not dream, would not resist or even breathe without permission. Just as a Doll, I knew his eyes were polished and shiny like glass beneath the flames.
Rafe and I fell into each other, my sob finally crushing outward and into his chest, his grip on me relentless. We let ourselves break, counting toward eight minutes and seeing Thorne in the fire blazing into the trunks of the surrounding trees. Then we locked hands and hurried in the opposite direction it was spreading, our breaths heavy butfree. I had no idea where we would go, but for the first time, we could truly go anywhere. We needed to find a phone to call the Ravens, to get confirmation on whether Kane was in that van, but we couldn’t go back to the townhouse, to anywhere we would be recognized. I wasn’t sure—
I stopped abruptly, tugging Rafe to a halt as well, hearing twigs snap behind us. My thoughts left me as I pulled my gun and clicked the safety off, swinging it around before immediately lowering it in shock.
Henry. He was frozen between trees, realizing he’d been caught sneaking after us, his blue eyes blown wide and his little face smeared with soot. My heart pounded as I flicked the safety back on, wedged the gun into my back waistband and hurried toward him, holding out my arms. He ran forward and collided into my chest, wrapping his arms around my neck as I held him tight. Then I snatched him back by the cheeks.
“Why did you follow us?” I demanded. “Did the cops not protect you?”
Rafe knelt next to us, his gaze concerned as he searched the boy’s face.
“Tell me the truth, Henry. Do we need to go back for the other kids, too?” I asked.
Henry shook his head no. His eyes burned as he opened his mouth, clearly in pain as he spoke, “D-don’t leave me again.”
My chin trembled, and I brought him close to my chest again, cradling his head as I looked to Rafe. His eyes were dark, his jaw clenched, but he didn’t look angry, just determined.
We won’t, he signed, Henry peering past my arm at him. Then Rafe reached around me and pressed his palm against Henry’s chest, lifting his free hand with the fierceness of his promise:Safe.
?Arden?
We found a cheap motel room after a long trek in the woods, Rafe and I taking turns carrying Henry. My heart fluttered as I watched them together, Rafe teaching Henry ASL and beaming when Henry got something right. The kid was intelligent for five, picking up on the signs with ease, especially if it meant getting to tell us things like his favorite color or about the movie he got to watch at the orphanage. He stumbled a lot though in the woods, tripping over himself at times, and I realized, after pointing out a bird to him, that Henry badly needed glasses. I planned to fix that problem the second I got my hands on new identities. Until then, Rafe and I took extra care with him. We couldn’t risk him getting injured. A hospital visit would draw too much attention.
I swiped a cellphone from the motel’s receptionist, an elderly woman that I was sure didn’t recognize Rafe and I in the slightest. Once back in the room, I dialed Mickey, my stomach twisting. I needed to know. As much as I almost preferred remaining in a state of suspended disbelief about Kane, his death would determine our next move.
“Arden?” Mickey picked up after the fifth ring. His voice was rough and strained on the other end.
“How are the Ravens?” I asked, smiling softly when I peeked my head into the bathroom and found Rafe covered in soap, trying to bathe Henry, who somehow didn’t haveanysoap on him, splashing Rafe repeatedly. I stifled a laugh before leaving them to it and bracing myself against the wall.
“I won’t lie to you. It’s not good. At least eight of our orphanages were breached before we got there, over a hundred kids taken. I’ve got every Raven on high-alert, searching and tracking, but this was a declaration of war by S.I.N.”
“I got the cops to Henry’s,” I told him. “He’s with us, by the way.”
Mickey released a long breath. “Good. I’ll let you know where to drop him off in a few days. Right now, we have the other orphanages evacuated, kids staying with Ravens at their personal homes until I can come up with a more permanent solution. If he can stay with you, that would be a big help.”
I swallowed. “He can more than stay with us, Mick. He’s welcome as long as he wants.”
