Page 74 of His Eternal Claim

My heels hit the pavement hard, the sharp pain shooting up my ankles, but I don’t stop. I throw the shoes off, my bare feet hitting the wet, dirty asphalt of the alleyway.

And then I run.

I run into the open streets, the white lace dragging through puddles, tearing against the rough ground. People are staring.

They look like colourful blurs as I sprint past them, my breath burning in my lungs, the needles in my head breaking into a million sharp pieces.

Run. Run. Run.

I burst out of a narrow side street onto a huge, busy avenue filled with rushing yellow and black cars. The loud honking deafens me. The bright headlights blind me. I stumble forward, my bare feet slipping on the wet road.

A sharp, screeching sound tears through the air.

I turn my head. A massive car roars toward me, its lights swallowing the dark as it hits me.

Crunch.

And everything goes black.

Chapter 25

Craving

THE REQUIEM | Past

The storm outside is not as violent as the one in my heart. It rattles, shakes, and shatters everything I’ve ever believed in.

Whatever I thought we were. The lies, the false hopes, the pain this man has caused me cannot compare to the hatred I have for him.

Every time I breathe, I am reminded of his cruelty. I am reminded why I was a fool for falling for him. I gave too much of myself, yet expected nothing in return. But as I stand here in the middle of the room, breathing hard, my heart bleeding, no amount of balm can soothe me.

Zagreus stands by the door, watching me as I tear his room apart. I’ve thrown the vases at him, the antiques, and made a mess of it just like he has made of my life. But he hasn’t even lifted a finger.

That infuriates me more.

When the strength leaves me, I collapse on the ground, crying for my Father.

He killed him.

He killed my Father.

Even though your Father was an abuser?

A voice whispers, but I tune it out. Abuser or not, he had no right. He was not God, and he certainly is not anyone to me.

My hands clutch at my dress as though I can rip the agony out of my chest.

“For your sick revenge, you didn’t even hesitate to kill my Father.” My vision blurs with tears as I look up at the man standing before me.

The man I loved. The man I trusted. The man who destroyed me. And watched me burn.

“His death was not my agenda.”

I laugh bitterly through my tears.

“What was your agenda then, huh?”

My heart is being ripped out with bare hands. “Tell me. Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you got everything you wanted.”