That hits wrong and a chill rips down my spine while I just stare, too stunned to even blink.
“But your mom? She lost her mind. Thought it’d be a brilliant fucking idea to turn one night into a purge for all. It ended in their deaths.”
He just stares at me like I’m supposed to piece this all together. Like it’s all so clear. But I’m sitting here half-naked in a cage, sweat clinging to me, heart racing, and I’ve never been more fucking confused in my life.
“And Wrath?” I ask, quiet—too quiet.
His reaction is instant.
He explodes, slamming his fists against the cage, again and again, the metal rattling like it's about to rip from the bolts. I flinch hard, hands flying to my ears, heart hammering so loud it drowns out the chaos.
“I told you!” he screams, spit flying. “He fucked your dead cunt of a mom!” His voice is raw now, his finger jabbing at me, trembling with rage. “And he liked it enough to keep doing it.”
It’s like being kicked in the gut, the words hitting brutally.
Realization slams into me so hard I can't breathe. My gaze drops, eyes glassy, jaw trembling, chest rising too fast. Anger surges through me, simmering beneath the surface.
“But don’t worry, Arabella. I’m not keeping you,” he taunts, but I don’t even look at him.
My mind’s a mess—too much whirling, none of it landing.
“When you died,” he lifts his fingers in mocking air quotes, “you were real good at staying dead. I’ll give you that.” His tone is casual, almost amused, like he’s reminiscing something funny.
“It wasn’t until I went to Kyro’s mansion that I saw you again.”
My gaze flicks to his, sharp and confused, but now I know why when I met him at Oddity, I recognized him.
“I was only there for some shopping,” he shrugs like it’s all no big deal. “He wanted to get rid of a girl quick. And there you were. Frail. Caged. Like a starved fucking dog,” he grins, tapping the bars of my current enclosure like it’s a sick joke. “Looked just like this, actually.”
My stomach twists at his words and I look away.
“Anyway, I had him stamp you. Claimed you,” he says, voice darker now. “Planned to come back, pay him off. But he moved you. Then poof—Kyro was dead.”
He suddenly bites his fist, vicious and animalistic, and my brows pinch as I stare at him like he’s completely disturbed. I’ve met crazy before, hell, I’ve lived in it, but him? He’s in a different fucking league. A whole other breed of broken. No wonder Wrath’s so fucked in the head if this is the monster that raised him.
“I should’ve fucking killed you,” he spits, voice venomous. “Then you wouldn’t have strangely met Wrath by weird fate and filled his head with all that fluffy bullshit and turned him weak.”
I just stare at some meaningless point on the wall as he keeps ranting, voice scraping against my skull.
“But I have someone who’d really, really like to finish the job,” he sneers, and my teary eyes snap to his.
“Because if I don’t do it? There’s a better chance my son might actually forgive me for this. He’s better off without you.”
When he starts to stand, the panic hits like a switch flipping inside me.
“But don’t worry, pretty Arabella, I’ll be watching.”
“Wait—Valen.”
He doesn’t even glance back, just walks to the door and yanks it open. Then I see them. Another man’s shoes, too clean, too fucking polished, step into view like death in slow motion, and I feel something inside me break. I start hyperventilating, my chest tightening, every locked memory and scream flooding back into me at once.
Chapter Thirty
Hell
Standing in the carnival grounds, I stare up at Oddity engulfed in red flames. Wood cracks and pops, embers flying into the dark sky like burning confetti from hell. A cig hangs from my lips, smoke curling as Noir tucks tight against my arm.
“I really hope he finds her,” she says quietly beside me, voice thin, a light sniffle escaping and I glance down at her.
