Ink & Dagger (Sins of Eden #1)

33. Chapter XXXIII

Chapter XXXIII

Emily

M y body began shaking. I couldn’t tell if it was from the euphoria of what I’d accomplished tonight or the adrenaline pumping through my veins, but I clutched the handle of my knife tighter as I stared up into his rich amber eyes.

“Erik’s here.”

He tensed as his eyes flicked down to the blade I still clutched in one hand and the silver knuckles on the other. He looked back up to meet my eyes, his own shifting onyx for a moment before returning to the rich amber hue of his glamor.

“He’s in there?” He growled with a nod of his head toward the closed door.

“For now,” I grinned.

Jaxon crossed the distance between us quickly, scooping me up into a hug, and clung to me tightly as if we hadn’t seen each other in weeks rather than days. I let myself relax into his hold as I inhaled his smokey scent.

He smelled like home.

“I missed you,” he whispered.

As he let me go, he took a small step back and held my face delicately between his hands, wiping specks of blood from my cheek with his thumbs.

“Can I see?” His voice was still drenched in anger and I couldn’t tell if it was because he was upset with me or if it was Erik’s nearness to me that was setting him off.

I took a deep breath before twisting the knob, opening the door to reveal a sniveling Erik as he whimpered and groaned in pain.

“Oh my beautiful, violent Maritus ,” Jaxon exclaimed softly from behind me.

He wrapped his arms around my stomach and placed a kiss to the side of my head. I had no idea what he’d called me, but whatever it was felt right.

The sheer excitement in his voice made it seem as if I’d just given him the best Yule gift imaginable and I fought to control the wicked smile on my face at our mutual insanity.

“I’m so glad I got here in time to watch the light leave his eyes before I damn his soul,” he said, sadistic pleasure and vengeful wrath darkening his tone.

I turned my head to look up at him, staring deep into his whiskey eyes as he slowly dissolved his glamor and took the form I loved most. If Erik thought he was getting out of here before, he had no chance in Hell of surviving this now. I snorted at that thought. Fitting.

“So you see, Erik. This is where it ends for you,” I chuckled, stepping out of Jaxon’s embrace to stand in front of Erik.

I jabbed the pocket knife between his ribs, hoping like Hell that it pierced his lung to repay him for the times he’d broken my ribs and punctured my own.

“I’m going to put you six feet in the ground and no one will mourn you. No one will even fucking notice you missing.” I repeated his words back to him from the night he almost killed me.

I’m sure his pack would notice, but by then he would be long dead and I would be ready for them, too. Knowing that his pack was the one holding Killian hostage, made this all the sweeter. I was killing their Alpha and together, Jaxon and I would take them all out one by fucking one to get his revenge as well.

Taking a step closer, I gripped the handle of the pocket knife tighter and plunged it deep into his chest. It took a lot more strength than I thought it would. Not because I was scared or even because of my morals.

Fuck that. No, this took physical strength. Actors made it look so damn easy in the movies, but now that I was doing it myself, I realized just how much hate and spite it took to break through skin and bones.

The metal rose of the handle protruding from his chest looked almost beautiful as his blood seeped from the wound. Erik’s wide eyes grew heavy and his weightless body slumped in the chair as a sob of relief left my chest. It was finally over.

Jaxon stepped forward, tugging my pocket knife from Erik’s chest and hovered his other hand over him as he spoke under his breath.

“May he rot in the pits of Hell for all eternity,” he growled like a prayer.

Pushing me behind him, he snapped his fingers, setting Erik ablaze with a fire so hot that it felt like an oven. A shiver and a forgotten memory danced on the edges of my mind, but I shook them away as we watched Erik’s body engulfed in flames until he was nothing but ash.

“Fuck, Sweet Witch. Murder looks so fucking good on you,” he said, looking over the blood covering my skin and taking me in for what felt like the first time.

It was as if my crazy fit his perfectly in this moment and I wanted to dance in his darkness.