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“What do you mean?” I ask as Luci turns to place me down in Valentine’s chair.
“There’s one surefire way to know if I’m the one responsible for these women’s deaths.”
I don’t like the edge in his voice as he says this and rounds the desk.
“How?” He doesn’t answer as he walks toward the shattered glass cabinet, and panic grips my chest. “Luci, how?! Don’t you dare do anything before you tell me.”
Luci slowly turns to look back over his shoulder at me.
“Evi, watch the heads. If evenoneof them doesn’t turn to ash, then you’ll have your evidence.”
“And if not?”
“Well, then the world will be home to one less monster.”
“What do you mean, Luci?”
Luci sucks air through his teeth in pain as he picks the dagger up of the floor and turns back to face me.
“I love you, Evi,” he says, the dagger shaking in his hand as he forces himself to cling to it. “I tried to deny it. I tried to run from it. Hell, I tried to kill it … when love was all I ever needed in the first place. I spent so long yearning to get back to Anna that I became blind. That I couldn’t see thatyouwere everything I needed.”
“Luci, please, don’t do anything we can’t take back,” I plead, as he points the blade at the center of his chest, and I grab the edge of the desk to pull myself up out of the chair.
“I’m sorry, Evi. I don’t deserve you, but I have to do this. Forgive me. I’ve been a fool, but I know one thing for certain … I love you too damn much to let you die. Not if I have a chance to save you. Now, watch the wall.”
My eyes flicker to the wall of heads as he says this, my breath catching in my chest as I quickly turn back to look at Luci.
“Luci! No, wait!” I scream, throwing myself across the room at him with every last bit of energy I can muster. Glass shards slice into my feet as I crash into him, but all I can think about is stopping him.
I land on top of him as we’re both sent sprawling backward onto the floor, the blade dropping to the floor a few feet away. My breaths come fast as I push myself up to look into Luci’s eyes.
“You shouldn’t have done that, Evi. I have to do this.”
“No, you don’t,” I say quickly, snatching the blade off the floor and sticking it between the pages of the diary—that’s somehow managed to stick with me this far—in defiance.
Luci’s brow furrows, his expression pained.
“Please, Evi. Give it back. This is exactly why I have to. You’re too good—”
“No Luci, please, just listen,” I interrupt. “Remember the night we met?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Did you go out that night? Did you leave the club?”
“No. What does that—”
“I was there with my friends, and one of them,” I pause to swallow the lump in my throat as I try to get the words out, “one of them was killed. That’sherhead on the shelf.”
I turn to point out Charlotte’s head.
“I could have killed her another night—”
“No, youcouldn’thave.” Luci searches my face as if he wants to believe what I’m saying but can’t. “Luci, I’ve seen pictures of the crime scene. She was killedthatnight.”
“Crime scene?” Luci mutters, his eyes slowly widening as if he’s just realized something. Grabbing my arms, he suddenly sits up. “Evi, are you sure about this?”
“Yes, I’d know her shoes anywhere. They were one of a kind, and she wouldn’t have worn them out twice.”
