Anabel.
The floorboards under my hands were freezing cold, but my face felt like it was on fire.
I was still sitting on the wooden floor right behind the locked door, my knees pulled tightly against my chest, my body trembling with a fresh wave of uncontrollable sobs. Every time I breathed in, the lingering, metallic scent of Vincent's blood on my lips burned the back of my throat.
'How could I? How could I be so disgusting?'
I buried my face deeper into my knees, pulling my hair until my scalp stung, trying desperately to scrub the memory of his mouth from my mind. Adrein was dead. Adrein had turned into golden dust on a cold floorboard, and I had just let his killer kiss me in a dungeon cell. I hadn't just allowed it—for a terrifying, sickening second, I had kissed him back.
A sharp, heavy knock suddenly slammed against the outside of my wooden door.
I froze instantly, my breath catching in my throat as my heart slammed against my ribs like a trapped bird.
"Anabel?"
