I helplessly watch as she unscrews the cross. White powder flows from the cross, which I thought was hollow. She places it on the tip of her finger and smears it over my lips.
“There,” she says with a comforting smile. “One more taste, to make sure you won’t survive this.”
I want to fucking kill her, but I’m immobilized. There’s no getting out of this. She’s flipped the tables on me. The one person I trusted the most has been a lying traitor all along.
She caps the cross and places the necklace back around her neck. It’s then that I think of something.
There’s an antidote to the poison she just used. It’s a common one in our world. In small doses, it just knocks you out and puts you to sleep. But the dose she gave me is lethal, unless I can get my hands on the antidote.
And I have some in my nightstand. The smallest vial. Perhaps not enough to save me, but enough for me to kill her before I die myself. This is now my goal. One last act of vengeance before we’re both gone from this world.
Now I just need to distract her for long enough to get the antidote. I know how to do it, too.
I roll my eyes back, more blood seeping through the sheets as it drips from my mouth.
“Goodbye, Xavier,” she whispers.
Chapter 15
Xavier is dead.
At least, I think so. His body has laid on the bed, not moving, for a few minutes. I think it’s safe for me to leave now.
I didn’t expect it to happen like this. I thought I’d be more prepared. But once we made love, I knew I couldn’t delay Xavier’s death any longer. I was getting attached to him. Dangerously attached. Waiting longer meant risking my sanity.
Even though today’s events have traumatized me, I’ve locked them up in a box in the back of my mind and thrown away the key. I will not be dealing with this feeling until I’m far away from here. Somewhere where no one can find me to punish me for what I’ve done to Xavier Gunn.
Rushing through the bedroom, I’m happy to find some money in a closet. I stash as much of it as I can into a bag. I’ll need that to get away from here.
My mind is working on autopilot, not really aware of the consequences of my actions. It hasn’t quite sunk in that Xavier is gone, because I still feel his presence in the room. Glancing at his immobile body, my bottom lip trembles. I deserve to say goodbye to him, at the very least. I’ll never see him again after this.
It may be silly, but I’m grateful to Xavier. He’s taught me patience, love and the power of revenge. All skills that will come useful for the rest of my life.
I walk over to him with the bag on my shoulder. Earlier, I found a way to escape. I’ll have to jump out of the window, but the fall shouldn’t be too bad. At the worst, I’ll sprain my ankle. I can keep going on that, but I can’t keep going if someone catches me here after killing Xavier.
I approach my guardian’s body. He’s so still, but he still has that commanding presence, even in death.
I lean down and press a kiss against his lips. Closing my eyes, I allow myself a second of mourning for this man and the life we could have had together.
Then, I feel something sharp poking into my neck. My eyes fly open and I have to force myself not to shriek when I see Xavier’s still alive, and is now holding a knife to my throat with shaky hands.
“You little whore,” he hisses, the words barely audible. “You’ll never get rid of me now.”
I can’t make too much noise. Anything we say could alert the guards, telling them something is going on here, something they need to stop. But this is what I was trained for, and this will be our last battle.
I grab Xavier’s wrist and we struggle for control of the knife. It pricks my skin, making droplets of blood drip down my neck. Xavier is still weak from the poison, which gives me an advantage. While I don’t know how he’s capable of fighting me, I know I will not fuck up this time.
He groans as I take the knife from him and shove him back on the bed. Falling on his bed, Xavier spits insults at me while more blood drips down the side of his mouth. I don’t hesitate, stabbing him with the knife right in the wound on his shoulder. In an instant, he passes out from the pain.
I take a shaky step back; the knife clattering to the floor. I don’t know if he’s dead. I can’t afford to let him live.