His extended incisors pierced my throat, the sharp pinch causing me to jolt in surprise, then moan at the delicious sensations that followed. Noxia demons were known for their ability to pleasure their prey through a bite. I’d been in too delirious a state our first time to understand it.
Now I did.
And now… now I wanted more.
Except images spiraled through my mind as Grigory coaxed my memories out of hiding.
I saw it all through my eyes, talking to Cyprus and the other guard in the hallway, walking back to my room, going into my closet to change. That was where the edges grew fuzzy, darkening until a piercing pain inside my head forced the memory to clear.
There was a thump of a sound.
I walked out to investigate.
And something pierced my neck.
I lifted my hand away from Grigory to touch the spot, but his palm against my nape covered the location.
Then my eyes widened at what came next.
A masculine voice hissed instructions in my ear, telling me where to find Yakariah and how to kill him. Scaly green fingers met mine to curl my hand around the throwing blade I’d retrieved from my closet moments ago. The second one was missing, giving me pause.
Some voice in my mind screamed at me to fight, to locate that other knife and stab the male behind me. But another prick to the back of my neck had me nodding in agreement.
I don’t understand, I thought. When did this happen? How?
But as the memory continued, it became clearer and clearer that I’d fallen victim to some sort of hypnosis. The voice gave me a flash bomb to use against the guard in the hallway. I did exactly as he said, then wandered through the palace in search of Yakariah.
He was on his way back to his rooms when I found him. I didn’t hesitate, my fist connecting with the back of his head to send him forward a few steps. Then I pounced.
He begged me not to kill him.
He pled with me for his life.
And I stabbed him in the heart.
Repeatedly.
Carving a hole.
And taking the organ out with my opposite hand.
My stomach churned at the wrongness, my breaths shallowing in my chest.
I tried to shake my head, but I couldn’t move with Grigory bent over me, his lips on my neck. He was no longer drinking from me. Yet he held me in place, his forehead buried against my throat as he focused on my mind.
Tears trailed down my face as Yakariah stole his last breath, his blood bathing the hallway.
Then I went to my knees beside him to stare at the wall, just as the voice had told me to do.
And waited.
Something began to tingle inside me, my spirit resurfacing as if awaking from a dream, and then the screaming started.
This was the part I remembered—being found covered in blood.
Grigory pulled out of my head at that point, his dark gaze capturing mine. “You were compelled by a water demon, but I don’t know which one. You never saw his face. However, venom hypnosis is rare. We’ll be able to isolate the culprits rather easily.”
“He begged me not to kill him,” I whispered. “And… and…” I couldn’t finish, my heart in my throat. I killed him.