Chapter 40: Mercy Is Death
Alex
My whole body felt like it was crashing in on itself. My ribs felt broken every time I tried to take a breath. My back burned with a deep, sharp pain where the wooden rolling pin had struck me earlier. My vision swam and turned blurry from the pain, the hunger, and the total exhaustion. The kitchen floor felt ice-cold beneath my palms as I struggled to push myself up from the ground. I felt weak, but I forced my muscles to move. I could not stay down.
Seraphine stood over me. Her face was twisted with a look of pure satisfaction. She looked like she was enjoying every single second of my suffering. She looked at me like I was a bug she wanted to crush under her boot. She thought she had already won.
I forced myself to look up at her through the haze. I f
