Page 28 of Our Monstrous Hearts

The end is coming, but it isn’t coming fast enough.

“They will come to us. We just need to wait, to have patience, my love.”

“No.” I shake my head, drumming my long fingers against my arm as I pace across the already worn rug. This will not do.

“I won’t have them think that they have the upper hand, that they are the predators. No, I want them scared, and I want to catch them off guard. I will find them.”

With my decision set, I turn, moving past Izcacus, now on a mission.

The dagger that I found hidden within the music box on my bedroom mantel shines, newly sharpened. It’s ornate and beautiful, the handle the color of pomegranates and encrusted with ruby-red jewels.

A dagger fit for the queen that I have become.

It is heavy in my hand, but feels as if it were made just for me. While staring at my reflection within the blade, becoming more and more comfortable with the sight of myself, I tilt it to see Izcacus standing behind me.

“What shall you do to them?”

“I’m going to make them atone for their sins.”

Chapter XX

Cassandra

Their laughter pierces through the otherwise quiet forest. It’s obnoxious and loud, but at least it makes them easy to find. Bottles clink together as if they’re celebrating, and I grind my teeth in irritation and rage, a growl forming at the base of my throat.

I hate how they think they can waltz in unafraid, how they feel entitled to their every desire. I despise everything about them.

With the dagger in hand, I begin to creep alongside the camp they set up for the night. The fire crackles. The two intoxicated men hunched around it are unaware that death is coming for them, and the smell of their liquor burns my throat.

The trees and thick bushes allow me to hide, invaluable aids since mastering the shadows will take more time than I currently have. Though with both of them being drunk, they wouldn’t see me anyway unless I was standing directly in front of them.

They think they’re untouchable.

I know them well. The sheriff, Nolan, and one of his officers, Myles, had both been good friends with Clayton.

As I get closer, I start to think of all the ways I might kill them, especially Myles.

The past revisits me as I remember a night Clayton and Myles came home, drunk from hours spent in the bar. They pulled me out of bed by my hair, and Myles held me still so that Clayton could use my body like a punching bag, gleefully laughing at the abuse. They switched at one point in the night. His sweaty, too-hard hands had wandered, touching me in ways beyond a beating.

His death I will savor. I will make the bastard hurt.

I enter their campsite and whistle, drawing their attention to me as I wave my dagger in the air.

“Hello, boys,” I purr, grinning like a mad woman. Adrenaline burns in through my veins. “I heard from a certain someone that you were looking for me.”

They curse as they clamber to their feet, bottles dropping to the ground, and sluggishly search for their weapons.

“It’s her,” Myles mutters while Nolan swears loudly.

Seeing Myles up close makes the rage burn hotter and brighter.

Nolan rushes at me with a yell, but since transforming into a monster, I’m stronger and faster than I was before.

I run towards him at blinding speed. With a screech I slap my palm against his chest, and I watch in awe as he slams into a tree. He groans loudly and slides to the ground with a thud.

I look to see Myles standing still, eyes narrowed. He’s a coward, no doubt watching and waiting to see if Nolan can finish me off without having to get his hands dirty.

Prowling forward, I pounce on Nolan, and find little fight. The alcohol has subdued his senses, and with that hard knock…well, he would be feeling sleepy. Still, I’m hungry to see him suffer, even if just a little. He might not have raised a hand to me, but Nolan was complicit in the crimes that everyone else committed.