Chapter 30

thirty

The satisfaction of seeing these elders cower before us was almost enough to make me forget the horrors they'd inflicted. But the memories of their crimes were seared into my mind, and I knew they had to pay. Grayson's presence by my side was a silent promise of retaliation—we were in this together.

The first elder took a step back, his eyes widening as he realized he had nowhere to go. I felt a cold smile spread across my face as I let my powers reach out, wrapping my shadows around his limbs like silken ropes. With a thought, I lifted him off the ground, suspending him from the ceiling like a marionette.

He kicked and struggled, his eyes bulging with fear as he felt the constriction around his wrists and ankles. I tightened my grip, my shadows like a noose, and he gasped for air, his face turning red.

"Please," he begged, his voice hoarse and strained. "Mercy... please..."

I leaned closer, my breath ghosting across his sweat-sheened face. "Where was your mercy when you were playing God with our lives?" I whispered. "When you were cutting, and prodding, and experimenting on children?"

Before he could respond, Grayson was there, his blade flashing in the dim light. The elder's eyes went wide as he felt the slice of metal across his heels—his Achilles tendons severed without a trace of anesthesia. His screams reverberated through the room, filling the air with his terror.

But I wasn't done yet. I let him hang there, a grotesque puppet, as I slowly, methodically tightened my shadows around his neck. His struggles weakened, his legs useless, his life slipping away with each desperate gasp for breath.

And then, finally, he went still, his lifeless body spinning slowly from the ceiling, a testament to the horrors these elders had unleashed upon Red Hallow.

The second elder, one of the original scientists who'd tortured Grayson, was next. I approached him with a cold determination, my shadows curling around me like smoke.

With efficient, ruthless movements, I strapped him down to a table—his own tools of torture now turned against him. I could see the recognition in his eyes, the moment he realized the twisted mockery of his own experiments I was about to inflict.

Slowly, inch by inch, I let my shadows peel back his skin, exposing the muscles and tendons underneath. His screams echoed through the room, a terrible symphony of agony. But I didn't stop there.

Grayson appeared at my side, his eyes glittering with a feral madness. With a smooth, practiced motion, he sliced off the elder's eyelids with the elder's own knife, rendering him unable to look away from the horror that was unfolding.

The scientist's screams turned to incoherent babbling as he beheld the raw, exposed layers of his own flesh. I leaned closer, my breath hot against his ear. "How does it feel to be on the other side?" I whispered. "To be the one begging for mercy?"

But there would be no mercy. Not for those who had shown none. The elder's screams echoed through the room, a twisted symphony to our vengeance.

As the third elder struggled against my shadows, I reached for the jar of acid, a cruel souvenir from the lab. My movements were deliberate as I unscrewed the lid, the hiss of the toxic vapors filling the air. I wanted this elder to feel every second of what was coming.

With a steady hand, I poured the acid slowly over their face, watching as it ate away at their skin. Their screams were bloodcurdling, echoing through the room as my shadows held them in place, unable to move or escape the burning agony. Their skin bubbled and hissed, the acid melting away their features until their face was a distorted mess of bubbling flesh.

I stepped back, the smell of burnt flesh filling my nostrils. Grayson moved in, his blade flashing in the dim light. With meticulous precision, he carved deep into the exposed skull, etching the symbols they carved into Grayson's face into the bare bone. The elder's screams faded to gurgles.

The fourth and final elder, the mouthpiece of the group, was next. As I approached, my shadows curled around me, ready to do my bidding. I focused my power, reaching out with tendrils of darkness, and pried their mouth open wide, dislocating their jaw as I pulled.

The elder's eyes bulged with terror, their gurgles of fear echoing in the confines of their own mouth. But I wasn't done yet. I pushed my powers further, twisting and contorting until, with an audible crack, their jaw split clean in two.

I leaned in close, my lips hovering dangerously near their ear. "You always did talk too much," I whispered, my voice laced with ice. "Now it's time to see how you like the sound of your own blood leaving your body."

Grayson appeared at my side, a rusted saw in his hand. With a swift, powerful motion, he carved through bone and sinew, splitting the lower jaw in two. The elder's screams turned to a wet gurgle as their blood spilled down their throat, filling their mouth with the coppery taste of their own mortality.

I wanted them to feel the full extent of their own cruelty. To understand the true meaning of the terror they had inflicted on so many. As the elder's life drained away, their eyes met mine, and I knew they finally comprehended the magnitude of their sins.

The rush of power was still coursing through my veins as I surveyed the aftermath of our handiwork. The room was a painting of violence, the mutilated bodies of the elders a testament to our wrath. Grayson stood amidst the carnage, his eyes flicking over the remains with a haunting intensity.

My heart hammered in my chest as our gazes locked, the weight of what we had done hanging heavy between us. I could see the dark hunger smoldering in his eyes, a reflection of the primal urges that still stirred within me. Our shared bloodlust hung heavy in the air, a tangible force that drew us closer together.

In that moment, I knew what was coming. I could feel it in the way his gaze raked over my body, in the way my own heart pounded in response. I was his equal in this moment, a partner in the destruction we had unleashed. And now, he would claim me.

As if sensing my thoughts, Grayson took a step toward me, his movements graceful and deadly. I felt my breath catch in my throat as he reached out, his touch electric on my skin. His fingers trailed along my cheek, sending shivers down my spine, and then lower, skimming the curve of my waist.

I wanted him—there was no denying it. The dangerous edge that defined him had become a part of me, too. My body ached with a need that went beyond the physical, beyond the simple release of tension. It was a need for connection, for possession, for the completion of the bond that had formed between us through shared darkness.

Without a word, he pulled me close, his arms wrapping around me with a ferocity that bordered on tenderness. I felt the hard planes of his body against mine, his heartbeat thunderous against my chest.

The moment felt surreal as my fingertips brushed the edges of his mask. I had imagined this moment countless times, wondered what scars and stories lay hidden beneath. His breath hitched as I slowly, carefully lifted the mask away, revealing his face to me for the first time.

A maze of scars crisscrossed his face, each one a reminder of the pain he had endured. My heart ached as I traced the path of his suffering with gentle fingers, my eyes never leaving his. I remembered the rituals I had read about, the twisted experiments that had shaped him into the monster he was today. But here, in this moment, I saw the man behind the mask.

His eyes never left mine, searching for judgment or rejection. I saw the raw vulnerability in his gaze, the fear that I would flinch away. But instead, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to each scar, one by one, kissing away the pain of his past.

His breath caught as my lips moved over particularly sensitive areas, and I felt his hands tighten on my waist. The heat between us built, a tangible force that had grown from the darkness that bound us together. It was as if the more broken he allowed himself to be, the more fiercely I wanted him.

Then, with a growl of possession, he claimed my mouth with his. His kiss was passionate and intense, a raw expression of the primal emotions that stirred within him. It was as if he was staking his claim, branding me as his own.