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I realize I’m not just watching abject cruelty.
I’m watchingrevenge.
Jonas was the favorite: the one who idolized Mal’s grandfather and looked up to him in every way. The one who felt nothing but betrayal when Mal killed the cold-hearted monster.
This is Jonas’ revenge, his twisted re-enactment of that night.
There’s no time to think. My eyes dart around the kitchen until I spot an old knife lying in the sink. It’s dull and rusty, but it’s all I’ve got.
My hand wraps tight around the handle. I pause at the side door, shrinking into the shadows next to it, already feeling the light raking its nails over my skin.
But there’s no time to worry about me or make a better plan. It’s this, or the man I love dies.
Put that way, it’s an easy choice.
Just the same, it’s like being set on fire.
The burning sensation tears through my skin the instant I step outside, blistering, scorching. The heat is overwhelming. The smell of my own flesh searing fills my nostrils like poison, but I keep running.
I can’t stop. Not now.
I burst into the barn, the knife heavy in my hand, my vision swimming with agony and every inch of my body feeling almost literally on fire. Jonas whirls, his eyes widening with surprise as I slam into him, driving the knife deep into his stomach with every ounce of strength I have left.
He roars in pain, doubling over. He grabs my arm, sending explosions of agony ripping through me at the mere touch of his hand on my seared, burned skin.
“You little bitch!!”
The handle of the hay fork in his other hand crashes into my right temple and I collapse to the ground, my mind reeling, darkness creeping in at the edges of my vision as it swims in and out of focus.
I try to move. But my body doesn’t respond. The world tilts as Jonas towers over me, his face twisted into a mask of sadistic glee.
“Ahh yes,the sunlight,” he snarls, his lips curled into a malevolent grin. “You really are a fucking vampire.”
Darkness is closing in fast, and the pain is unbearable. The burns on my skin throb, the taste of blood coppery on my tongue. Jonas crouches beside me, and I scream when he drags a finger over the blisters on my arm.
“I was going to end this quickly,” he murmurs low in my ear, “but I’ve changed my mind.”
Jonas grabs me by the arm, ripping another ragged scream from my raw throat. Without warning, he yanks me out of the shade of the barn and back into the relentless sunlight.
Fire consumes me.
Pain destroys me.
But it’s knowing that this is the end and I don’t get to spend it with Mal that truly kills me.
“No…” I whimper, trying to curl into a ball around myself, my skin blistering worse as the sun claws into me. “Please…”
“I’ll enjoy watching you burn,” Jonas says thoughtfully, his voice laced with venom.
The sun rips through my flesh, my body convulsing with pain. My vision darkens completely, until I can’t tell if it’s the sun or the darkness swallowing me whole. The heat is intolerable, and I’m seconds from giving up when I hear it.
A twig snapping underfoot.
A growl.
Aroar.
And then Jonas is ripped away from me and flung back like a rag doll.
