Dark Lies (House of Sin 2)

Soren suddenly bursts into the kitchen, dragging a body in his hands with a bloody trail behind him. My brow rises. “Interesting.”

He throws the body on the floor in front of the door. I haven’t seen that guy in a long time. A guard stationed on the mainland, east of the island, to act as both a safe keeper and a watcher. Now, he’s missing an arm. I guess he’s failed his job.

Soren is covered in blood, his breath heavy, his body covered in bruises. They were in a fight.

My nostrils flare.

“He had her, didn’t he?”

He nods.

I take another big shot glass, fill it up, and chug it down in one go. “I’m glad you killed him. Or I would’ve gone over there and done it myself.”

The mere thought of that swine trying to hide her from me fills me with rage. Whatever he’d planned to do with her can’t have been good. If he tried to have his way with her, I would’ve cut off his dick and fed it to him personally.

But I guess it’s too late for small joys now.

“I assume she’s escaped again, seeing as you didn’t bring her back?” I put down my glass.

He nods again.

My eyes narrow. “Figured.”

I get off my seat and march toward him.

He stares me down, then throws a glance at the guy lying in his own bloody pool on the floor.

“Get rid of him. Erase any trails and wipe him out of existence completely,” I say.

Soren sucks in a deep breath, then nods.

I pass him by and go directly into my study, ogling that one book that always makes me feel like my father’s eyes are still boring into mine. I swallow and take it off the shelf, flipping to the last page where Amelia’s name and everything important about her is written.

I flip to the next page and write down my wishes and vows.

Right then, Tobias walks in. “Did Soren—”

“No,” I respond as I draw a knife from my drawer.

Tobias eyes the knife as I bring it toward my hand.

His eyes widen. “What are you … are you making the vow?” I nod, and his eyes darken. “You can’t do this. She’s gone, you know that.”

“I’ll get her back,” I say through gritted teeth.

Tobias marches toward me. “Do you have any idea what the repercussions are?”

“Don’t school me. I know full well what I’m doing,” I say, but as the knife nearly punctures my skin, he grabs my wrist.

“You’re drunk,” he growls. “I can smell it.”

“And you think that’s going to stop me?” I growl back.

“You’re not thinking clearly,” he retorts.

“I’ve never thought more clearly in my life,” I say through gritted teeth. “She belongs with me.”

“Even if that’s true, are you willing to bear the consequences of your choice?” he asks. “We only get to choose once. So choose wisely.”

“My parents were the embodiment of a failure,” I growl, and I jerk my wrist back. “I know better than anyone what it will cost me.”

“And still you’re willing to go through with this?” he says, eyeing me down. “You know you’re going to have to bring her back now, no matter the cost.”

I pierce my skin with the blade, looking away as I make the cut. The blood is warm as it oozes down my skin, right onto the page.

“Yes, she will become my wife,” I say, with my head held high as I splatter the last bit of blood onto the page.

Tobias never takes his eyes off me as he grabs the House Seal and smashes it onto the page.

“Fine. Have your wish,” he says begrudgingly. “But as your advisor, I must add: Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I nod. “Duly noted.”

“Sir, I have—” Mary suddenly bursts into the room, but the second she spots my bloody hand and the rulebook, her jaw drops. “I—”

“Spill it,” I growl, quickly covering my hand with a bandage I found lying in my drawer.

She refocuses her attention on me. “The helicopter has arrived.”

“Finally,” I reply, and I immediately barge past both of them. “I’ll go find her myself.”

Amelia

It takes me an hour to find a road and another to finally catch a passerby vehicle and hitchhike to a city. From there, it doesn’t take me long to find others willing to drive me around for a little while until I finally get back to my hometown.

The familiar buzz of the city, the people walking about, the rain pitter-pattering down gently, it all brings me a kind of calm that nothing else can. But the minute I spot my apartment building, it suddenly becomes hard to breathe again.

A tear runs across my cheeks as I place my hand on the outside wall.

I didn’t think I’d ever be back here. All this time spent locked up in a room, I dreamed about it, but I never thought it’d actually become a reality. That I’d actually escape and find my way back.