Page 45 of Where Sinners Repent

After I’m done with her, she’ll know what real fear is.

I’ll ruin her before my brother even realises that she’s missing. Maybe then, he’ll see just how delicate and weak the girl is. Maybe then, he’ll learn his lesson about choosing someone over me.

His brother. His blood.

“I’m going to ruin you, Black Cat,” I promise in a whisper.

Her defiance fractures. Just for a split second. Real, palpable terror shivering through her.

“My brother won’t recognise you when I’m done.” I bite my lip at the image.

Her brow furrows, and I know she still thinks I’m Kai. Just like that night when she kept moaning his name instead of mine.

Releasing her hair, I take a step back.

Everything I want to do with this body whirls around my mind.

My knife. The night I snuck into her room and sliced her flesh, the outcome was... unexpected. I anticipated fear and disgust. She gave me more.

Her blood was so sweet.

Or maybe my hands. They ache to wrap around her throat. To slap and make her skin turn red.

No.

As soon as I turn my back, she cries out, the chains around her wrists and ankles rattle furiously. She has no idea of the pain she’s about to be in.

We might be merciless killers, but this place isn’t just used for torturing enemy men.

It’s our place of sin. Our place of fun, as sick as it may be.

Pain is the only constant in our lives. The only language that never lies. It has shaped me until I stopped trying to become anything else. Anything good.

This room isn’t just where enemies break.

It’s where the rules that everyone else clings to no longer exist.

Where monsters get to stop pretending that they’re human.

This place has changed over the years.

Ash had once joked that every generation of Devils left something behind. A collection of weapons and tools. Stains. My gaze drifts over the shelves lining the wall.

Everything in this room exists for one purpose; To strip people back to who they really are.

Sometimes weapons aren’t needed. Sometimes, it is the exact opposite...

Fear has a way of peeling back falsities.

Glancing at the girl strapped to my cross, I wonder what I’ll find when I strip back all of her layers, piece by piece.

How long will she last? I guess I’ll find out.

Ever since that night I sliced her tongue, I ordered a few presents for her. Ones specifically designed to ruin her. Kai will realise she’s gone soon. He’ll come looking for her.

And when he does, she’ll be so far gone.

My hands wrap around my first tool. A small, square case. Each step is mechanical as I make my way back to her, laying it on the table where I usually keep my knives. She jerks and pulls at her restraints. Using up all her precious energy.