I drop my blade below her neck, tapping it against her collarbone before lowering it to just above her breasts. Her hands clutch her sides, drenching in crimson, and I chuckle.
My blade sinks in, and I swipe across her skin, easily cutting into her flesh. I don’t go deep, but enough to draw more blood, to leave a mark that’ll be there forever. She screams, her body arching in agony.
I grab her around her bicep, standing up and dragging her across the room. Heading to the back door, I open it up, pulling her outside.
My fingers release her arm, and I cringe when her limbs knock together as she tumbles to the ground. A trail of blood extends from inside the library to where she lays, heaving, bloody, pale. She’s losing life quickly.
I nudge my boot into her side. “I have a message for you to pass along to your little friends.”
She whimpers, attempting to roll, but all she can do is let out a pain-filled groan.
I lean down, cocking my head to the side. “I need you to tell them that I’m coming for them. All of them. This is just the beginning, Eloise. Only the beginning.”
I swipe the bloody knife on her clothes before standing up and glancing around.
Still alone.
I will take the life of everyone who was involved, ripping them apart piece by piece.
And I will save her for last.
Though, it’s more than just the kill. It’s a lesson.
She doesn’t belong to them. No one gets to have her. She is not theirs, and she never will be.
She is mine, and I will take everyone from her, until it’s only us left.
And then I will take her life, because she deserves everything coming to her.
I will watch the fear enter her eyes as I pull her friends apart, creating chaos, and leaving nothing but the truth, and pain, and madness.
This isn’t about revenge.
This is about getting what is owed to me, about taking what’s mine.
And Lakyn is mine, even if she doesn’t realize it yet.
CHAPTER EIGHT
LAKYN
“Lakyn! Lakyn!” My name echoes in the distance, and I roll over, pulling my sheets over my head as I burrow myself under my comforter. The sheets are so warm, and my mind starts to drift back to sleep.
“Lakyn, wake up!” The sobbing voice of Posie has me freezing, and I fly onto my back, my dry, tired eyes springing open, coming face to face with a horrified Posie.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” I croak, sitting up in bed. My hand goes to my phone, and I tap on the screen, seeing it’s only nine in the morning. I frown, swallowing down my groan, then grow confused at the twenty missed calls and numerous text messages from everyone.
Dread seeps into my bones and I let out a shiver, my eyes turning to Posie. “What happened?” I whisper.
Her face crumples, and her eyes flood with tears, pouring down her face in fast rivers. She bends at the waist, crippling over as she wraps her arms around herself, limbs trembling.
“Posie…” I mumble, my voice shaking. “Please tell me what’s going on!”
“E-Eloise…” she sobs. “Eloise was attacked last night.”
My eyes widen, and my jaw slackens, tears instantly blurring my vision. “What?” I gasp.
“She was stabbed,” she whispers, her face pale.