Echoes (Dance with My Demons #2)

31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Grey

"You're being very strange this evening, little killer."

Avery glances over at me as we walk down the deserted corridor, exhaustion written all over her face. Part of me waits for her to deny it, to tell me she's fine.

"I know."

My brows crease together as we cross the entrance threshold to Arthur's office. It's late—well past midnight, so thankfully, he's not here. If he was, I'd probably gut him, chop his fingers off, and poke Avery with them until she tells me the issue.

She's been acting weird ever since free time. All I know is her and Damon went downstairs to look for Vivian's body and came up empty handed.

When we went back to our rooms for the evening, Damon instructed me to search Whittingham's office for clues. We just had to wait until he was gone for the day and the guards changed shifts for the night.

Even when I collected her from her room, she was staring at the ceiling from the bed, in a thought-filled daze.

The access pad beeps and flashes green, and I pull the door open, holding it for her. Avery steps into the office, eyes scanning the darkened room.

I grab her hand, leading her further inside, flicking on the light switch.

"What are we looking for exactly?" she asks, walking around the desk.

"Anything unusual," I reply, skimming through the discarded paperwork on the desk. Spotting the letter opener, I pick it up, jamming it into the lock of the desk drawers, breaking them. I don't give a shit if he knows we've been in here—I hope the thought terrifies him.

Though, if I'm being honest, he's probably expecting it. I don't think we'll find anything. I'm sure he's got whatever we are looking for hidden somewhere else. Perhaps we should check Teddy's desk on the way back out.

"That doesn't narrow it down," Avery mutters softly, lingering by a bookshelf as she checks the books.

"You're starting to worry me," I say. "What's going on?"

She pauses, falling silent. Slowly, she turns to look at me, face pained.

"Something happened today," she mentions, appearing uncomfortable. "And I don't want to keep it from you. But I also don't want to upset you."

Straightening up, my nerves start buzzing. I twirl the letter opener in my hand, leaning against the desk.

"Now you're worrying me. You can tell me anything, little killer. You know that."

I can see the way her body tenses up, stressed. She's running through words in her mind, trying to figure out the best way to say whatever is on her mind.

I'm growing impatient with waiting, the anxiety eating me alive. But I force myself to wait, to give her the opportunity to tell me on her own time.

"When Damon and I were in the morgue," she starts, voice shaking slightly. "The new guards nearly caught us. I pulled him into the storage room to hide."

"Right," I respond sharply, wondering where this is going.

Did Damon hurt her somehow? I thought he and I had an understanding now. I thought he was starting to tolerate her.

"We ended up hiding in a casket," she murmurs, face scrunched up. "They didn't find us, thankfully."

I'm already aware of this information. Damon mentioned they were nearly found. The back story is taking forever, so I push the tip of the letter opener into my palm to distract me.

"Yes, I know. What did he do?" I ask accusingly, getting angry.

Is she trying to protect our friendship? I love Damon like a brother but Avery is my everything—my life, my death, my destruction.

She glances up, locking eyes with me.

"When we were in the casket, we started arguing."

Still nothing unusual…

"Avery," I growl, frustrated. "What did he do?"

She pauses, the seconds ticking by. We stand in silence, watching each other until she finally breaks eye contact, looking at the wall.

"He kissed me, Grey."

My body freezes, an ice-cold chill rushing through me. Out of everything she could have said, that was the last thing I would have guessed.

I feel betrayed. Fucking deceived.

By Damon.

I almost want to throttle her too, except I can tell by her body language and pained expression that she's as shocked as I am.

We had finally gotten to a good place. I've been working hard to accept Theo into the mix—solely because he makes her happy.

But Damon? They don't like each other at the best of times.

So what fucking business does he have kissing my girl ?

"Please, say something."

Her voice breaks me out of my thoughts, a worried look on her face. Tears are pooled in her eyes, the gray orbs shaking with fear.

The fear that I'm going to leave her again.

"I don't know what to say," I mutter darkly.

Avery nods slowly, tears slipping down her cheeks. She doesn't brush them away, instead taking small footsteps toward me.

I can sense her hesitation, but she perseveres, desperate to touch me.

Her hands rest on my chest but I don't see her. I can't see the room at all.

All I can see is Damon's lips on her, kissing what's mine.

It's almost unnatural to imagine, especially since I've never seen him kiss anyone before.

I know in the past he's participated in fun at society meetings—a means of release. But he's never kissed anyone though. It's not his thing. It's too personal, too emotional.

"I'm so sorry," Avery croaks out, the imaginary ripping from my mind as her face reappears in front of me.

"Did you kiss him back?" I ask, voice breaking.

She frowns, an agonizing expression staring back at me. "I don't know," she admits quietly. "It happened so quickly. I think I froze up at first. And then suddenly we were out of the casket."

"Right."

"Please," she begs painfully. "Please, don't hate me."

The words cut right through me, my chest tearing apart. "I don't hate you. I'm mad at him. How could he do this to me?"

Avery breaths a small sigh of relief, throwing her arms around me. I hug her back, inhaling her scent.

I'm going to fucking kill him.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" a voice snaps from the doorway.

We pull apart, eyes darting to the door. A guard stands there, hand on his taser and gun, eyes wide with flashing anger.

"Get out of here," I warn him, my gaze darkening at the new hire.

"You're out of bounds," he spits out, taking a few steps forward. "Back to your rooms— now. "

And suddenly, I'm not seeing the guard anymore. I'm just seeing Damon's face, little bits of red filling my vision.

Avery hovers by my side quietly, assessing the situation. When neither of us respond, the guard closes the distance between us, charging at us with determination.

As soon as he's within reach, I fling my arm back, lunging forward with the letter opener. My aim is perfect—the tip of the blade jarring into the corner of his eye.

The guard lets out a hoarse scream, clutching his face as Avery gasps, stumbling back. I grab him by the scruff of his black vest, tossing him onto Whittingham's desk.

Retrieving the letter opener with a pop , I turn to Avery while the guard writhes in pain, blood dripping onto my hand.

"I want to make one thing clear," I say to her, putting it down. "You're mine . I've made exceptions for Theo, but Damon will need to explain himself."

I spot a stationery canister on the desk, picking up a Sharpie. I scribble the word ' Mine ' across the guard's cheek, dropping the marker on the ground as I reach into my back pocket. Pulling out my shiv—the one I fucked Avery with for the first time—I lift the guard up, his torso dangling above the desk, pressing the blade to his left ear.

"Your voice is the only one I want to hear," I snarl, pushing the sharp edge through the flesh. Blood spurts out, pooling onto the desk as the guard screams, begging me to stop.

Avery just stares, wide-eyed, frozen. I lift the severed ear, dropping it into Arthur's stationery canister.

"Your lips are the only ones I want to kiss."

I hear her gasp softly as I move the blade to the guard's mouth, dragging the sharp edge across as I thinly carve his lips off.

"Grey…"

Reaching over, I shove my finger into the corner of his eye, replacing the letter opener. "You're the only one I want to see," I growl, wiggling my finger around his sclera.

He bucks underneath me, like an electrified goldfish, arms and legs flailing as he weakly tries to push me off.

"I'd fuck his eye socket, but my cock is only for you," I finish, ripping my finger back out.

Avery's cheeks are flushed with confusion—horrified at seeing the real monster I am, while conflicted by my words of love.

And I mean every single one of them.

Lifting the knife, I hold it above the guard's chest, locking eyes with her. "My heart is only for you, little killer. I'll kill anyone that dares to touch you, hurt you."

Plunging the blade down, it enters his chest, straight into his heart. The guard stills, only the faintest of twitches as the last few beats of his fading life vibrate through the knife.

I grab his vest, tossing him off the desk like the trash he is. He lands between us, in a heap on the floor, bleeding out while making gurgling noises.

Avery's eyes dart to the knife in his chest, the pool of blood on the desk. Part of me wonders if she's going to run away screaming.

Slowly, she steps over his body, pulling me in for a hug. I know she's trying to calm me down, appease me. I'm covered in splattered blood, and when she leans back, I spot some on her.

Seeing her covered in someone else's blood, snaps something inside. It's not the usual calming effect that blood has on me, it's monstrous. It's the devil in me, acknowledging my two loves.

I pull her mouth to mine, hand firmly planted on the nape of her neck. Kissing her, I swing her around, slamming her onto the pool of blood on the desk.

Avery doesn't seem fazed, too focused on me as I kiss her heatedly, ravishing her face and neck.

Reaching down, I lift her skirt up, ripping her underwear off. The fabric tears instantly, dropping next to the face of the now dead guard.

I dip my blood-covered hand in my shorts, pulling my hard cock out. Without waiting, I slam into her body, sending little bits of blood flying all over the carpet.

Avery cries out at the force, hands digging into my shoulders and biceps as I smash our hips together.

She's mine.

I won't let anyone take her from me.

Pulling back from her lips, I look her directly in the eye, our faces covered in little droplets of blood. "We're bonded by this blood. Together, the King and Queen of the Unhinged."

Before she can respond, I cover her mouth again, reaching down to rub my fingers against her clit. Her hips buck into my hand, making me growl as she meets my thrusts.

I'm so close to exploding in her, filling her with my essence. Because she's mine.

Fucking mine.

When I feel her cunt spasm around me, her moans and cries falling into my mouth, I fuck her harder than I ever have before, letting the blood soak into her hair and shirt. And then I blissfully detonate, filling her tight little body.

Mine.

No one is going to take that away from me.

I'll kill every last person until we're the last two left. And then we'll burn the world down together.