Rebirth—Day 56, hour 6.
I turned to my Protector and said, “She has ‘WHORE’ carved into her back. It’s a dark enchantment.”
My lyrical voice rang loud.
I was too numb to control my power.
“Mother did it. The night before I killed her,” Arabella whispered.
Scorpius’s eyes widened, and he turned toward her with horror. He shouted, “What?!”
Arabella’s voice was drenched in pain. “She used to light me on fire. For fun. Just like you, Malum.”
As if something possessed me, I staggered forward and collapsed onto my knees beside her. Horror paralyzed me.
On her skin, blue letters glowed with enchantment.
“WHORE.” The W was too big, as if the person carving it had wanted to take up as much space as possible. The rest of the letters were jagged and cramped.
It was unmistakable.
That dead cunt had marked my sweetheart. Permanently. She’d tortured her with fire.
I pulled at my hair as I looked down at the fileted pale flesh.
Memories slammed through me.
We’d called her a slut. I ripped harder at my scalp because I couldn’t remember. Had we called her a whore?
The bathroom door burst into flames as my Ignis ripped it off its hinges.
Corvus lit her on fire, and we watched him do it.
A hideous sensation twisted in my chest.
Recognition dawned.
I’d wondered why she was always scratching absentmindedly at her back. I hadn’t cared enough to figure out why. I’d assumed she went into the bathroom to change because she was a woman. I’d assumed that was why she never took off her shirt in the bathhouse.
I ripped the hair out of my scalp, but it wasn’t enough.
I needed to avenge her.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. She was supposed to be my sweetheart. I was going to protect her and take care of her.
It was already too late.
She was marked.
I trembled as I knelt beside her, and tears streamed down my cheeks. John collapsed on top of her, and tears also ran down his face.
He cried for her.
I cried for myself.
Because for the first time in my life, I didn’t just hate what I was—I loathed it. I didn’t want to be a Revered. I didn’t want to be the person who was sheltered and protected.
I wanted to protect her.
I wanted to be her shield and her sword.
I wanted people to tremble at the sight of her because they knew I was standing beside her. Ready to carve anyone up who disrespected her. I wanted to bring her mother back from the grave so I could skewer her body parts on the pikes in front of our mansion.
One thing was for sure.
Every person in the fae palace was dead.
Every. Single. One of them.
No exceptions.
They were all complicit.
A disturbing calmness washed over me as I stared down at my sweetheart. I had a new life purpose, and it was attainable.
Everyone would pay.
Brutally.
Just like my mates, I had no mercy.
They wouldn’t stand a chance against us.
