Page 64 of Grave Devil
“Aries.” Draven’s eyes darken when he looks at us. “Help Mia get some rest.”
“Okay, baby girl. Drink this for me. It’s your favorite.” He puts a vial to my lips, and I can’t resist the sweet invitation. As soon as the liquid hits my tongue, I’m a goner. Everything goes numb, my face, my hands, my legs… I can’t even feel my throat. The room peels back, revealing darkness.
I try to hold onto the light desperately. But whatever Aries has drugged me with is far too powerful to resist.
I try to form words, but I can’t move my lips. I’m out of body, floating above myself. It’s pitch-black, cold, and empty. And all I can do is think over and over again,please don’t hurt him.
BONES
The last time I was in the infirmary at Harker Mansion was when I first met Mia. Back when we were still trying to bully her into signing away her property. When the only thing we thought we wanted was the baneberry fields. Before I was willing to admit that the only thing I wanted was her.
I had thrust my fist through a car window after shaming myself over losing Sonny for the thousandth time. Then that made me horny, so I broke into her house and helped myself to her whiskey while I waited for her in the library.
As angry and annoyed as she was, it was her idea to stitch me up rather than let me bleed all over her carpet. She didn’t even know her house had an infirmary at that point. The poor thing was so lost in this massive estate that she only knew the path to the kitchen from her bedroom.
A knot forms in my throat. It threatens to choke me. The room is silent except for the heavy breaths coming from their slackened bodies. Side by side in dual cots, my little lamb and my baby brother. Both sedated for fear that they will hurt themselves or each other.
I can’t wrap my head around it. His face… he’s not human anymore. The last time I saw him, he was a giggling mess ofbouncy black curls, rosy cheeks, and big, beautiful brown eyes.He was right fucking there. So close. I turned my back on him, annoyed that he was infringing on me getting high.
I didn’t need to see the scar on his leg to know it was him. These are things that you just know. You sense your own blood. You never forget it. The dread that enveloped me the second we locked eyes… I knew in my soul that it was Sonny. Even despite the deer skull fused to his face and the fact that he towers over me at six foot four. The devil created a monster of him. That sweet little boy is gone, and in his place is a harrowing, dark entity forged from bone and fire and shadowy brimstone.
And yet my heart couldn’t be more full. That mourning is lessening, fading into something else. Remorse. Sadness as well. I don’t know how I’m going to prepare Lettie and Felix for this though.
My gaze flits to Mia, and I have to bite back a sob as I take in the sight of her. Those same inky-black splotches mark her body, covering almost every inch of her. He did this to her. Every time he touches her, he inflicts pain and disease.
My stomach turns when I inspect her cheek. It looks like he’s stitched a piece of bone into it. I have no doubt it’s a piece of him. And yet the only thing she cared about washissafety when we came to save her.
I’ll never forget the sound of her screams, the terror in her voice, begging us not to hurt him. As if I would ever lay a violent hand on my own brother. But she didn’t know for sure. The fear in her voice was palpable.
He’s done something to her that cannot be undone. And now we will all have to live with it. We will have to make it work, or we’ll lose them both.
I use the hem of my white muscle tee to wipe the sweat off my brow.And maybe a few tears I don’t want anyone to wake up and see.I look down at my own tattoos, reflecting on theirpermanence. The one on my belly in particular… Pulvis et umbra sumus. We are dust and shadow.
I got it for him. In remembrance. But also as a reminder of the guilt and shame I will always carry.
He groans dramatically. “I can feel your pity party from here. You’re sucking up all the oxygen in the room, Bones.”
I chuckle. I used to say that to him when we were kids. Whenever he would cry over something stupid. But it wasn’t stupid to him. I’m realizing that now.
I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees. “So you are still him… You remember me?”
His gaze hardens on the ceiling. “And Felix. I remember how neither of you could be bothered with me.”
I bite down on my lip to stifle a sob. That pain in my chest returns tenfold, threatening to crush my lungs into dust. “Sonny, I’m sorry,” I blurt out.
“Lettie was who Ma and Papa paid attention to. So that left me to my own devices. No one cared when he pushed me into the river.No one believed me.” He clenches his fists and twists his arms inside the restraints.
I notice for the first time that his veins are pitch-black. “I cared, Sonny. I promise I did. I was just young and reckless.”
He snickers. “No, you were too busy eye-fucking your best friend. Was it him who kept you from coming after me, hermano? Hmm? Was Aries Thorn the reason you failed to look after your baby brother?”
The sob I’ve been holding escapes. A gurgled cry unleashes from deep inside my chest. The one I’ve been repressing since the day he went into the woods and never came out. I rush over and kneel beside him. I bury my head into the bed and weep. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“Stop that. Bones. Don’t… Fuck.” His voice is softer and quieter now.
I can’t stop. I haven’t cried in over fifteen years, and now I can’t fucking stop. I fist his sheets, shaking as I relive that day over and over in my mind. “It should’ve been me. I’m the oldest. He should’ve taken me. I’m sorry. So s-sorry. I don’t blame you for hating me. I hate myself.”
“I don’t hate you. I’m just sad and angry all the time. Please stop. I just said I don’t hate you. Bones, please.” He writhes on the bed, forcing me to look up and meet his gaze.
