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“Ryden…” My voice was hesitant. “You don’t have to come in.”

But I knew he would come in. He’d try to see whatever there was to see there, and it would… break him a little more than he already was, and I could never fix him.

Ryden pushed open the door, and a stale, metallic stench filled the room. The familiar hum of the old air conditioner buzzed in the background. I took one step inside and froze, my stomach twisting, my eyes fixed on the grotesque display of the sin I had committed. It was now laid out bare before the man I love.

You love him.

Not the time to come to that epiphany, is it, Kat?

The body on the steel bed was bound in shackles, limbs splayed and anchored.

I didn’t recognize him—perhaps another stranger caught in the crossfire—but the marks, the deliberate incisions, were unmistakable.

It was my work, my bloody craft.

I could feel Ryden’s gaze on me, feel the rage burning through him, but I couldn’t look up and meet his eyes.

My chest was too tight, my thoughts being tugged between horror and guilt.

Every wound was a reminder of the night I buried my demons in Victor’s body. The Strangler had recreated a twisted homage.

This was a message, just as his love letters were. Personal, meaningful. Except this one was written for Ryden.

“Ryden,” I whispered. “Don’t.”

2

HOMAGE

YARA

“Don’t.” I grabbed Ryden’s hand, pulling him back, wanting to protect him from the sight before us. “Please.”

“No.” His voice was steady, but his face betrayed him. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not, Ryden. It tears me apart knowing I’m the reason you’re here, that you’re dragged into this nightmare, once again because of me.”

Had he loved someone sane, someone who didn’t kill his brother…

“This is about Sister Serena.”

“Is it? I don’t know.”

How many corpses would I have to greet before I reached Sister Serena? And I didn’t even know whether she would be alive or dead in the end.

“We don’t have to do this, Ryden.” I wanted to beg him not to put himself through this. “If this is hard for you… I’ll turn back right now. We’ll catch him, but we don’t have to play his game. He enjoys this, and we’re giving him exactly what he wants.”

I want to protect Ryden.

He didn’t deserve this.

“Don’t worry about me, Yara.” I knew he was trying too hard not to show me how affected he was. “We have come too far to turn back now anyway. We have to catch him, and if we have to play a game for that, we will.”

“I worry about you,” I whispered, walking further in, my hand clasped on Ryden’s. “He’s trying to hurt you, hurt you through me, Ryden, and knowing that… knowing I can’t stop it, kills me.”

He wanted Ryden to feel the pain once again and hate me for it.

“This won’t stop me from loving you, Red. I already know every part of you, and I love them all the same. He can try, but he won’t succeed.”