Free Web NovelChapter 209: Chapter 209
Riley’s POV
I raised the knife.
For a brief second, everything lined up. Emberkin on the ground. The guards standing by the doors. Ethan, Daphne, and Wendy frozen where they were and Summer just behind me.
I was about to drive the blade down when I stopped.
The movement came suddenly, like something in me pulled back at the last second.
I turned my head and looked at Summer.
She was still watching me, her expression calm but focused. She understood what I was about to do. She had seen enough already.
I held her gaze for a moment, then I gave a small smile.
"I do not want you to see such things," I said.
Her eyes searched mine, like she wanted to argue, but she didn’t speak.
I straightened slightly and called out to other guards standing without looking away from her.
"Guards."
They responded immediately.
"Take her to her room," I said.
There was no hesitation. Two of them stepped forward at once.
"Come, my lady," one of them said gently.
Summer looked at me one more time. There was no fear in her face, only understanding. She gave a small nod, then allowed them to guide her away.
I watched until she was out of the hall.
The doors shut behind her.
Silence followed.
Now it was just me. And them.
I turned back slowly.
Emberkin was still on the ground, trying to steady his breathing, his body weak from what I had already done to him. Blood still spread across his back from where I had carved the mark out. His fingers pressed into the floor, but they didn’t have much strength left in them.
Behind him, Ethan, Daphne, and Wendy stood close together now. None of them spoke. None of them moved.
Four of them. I could already sense their fear.
I didn’t hesitate again. I stepped forward and dropped down beside Emberkin. freёwebnovel.com
Before he could react, I grabbed his shoulder and forced him onto his side. His body resisted weakly, but it didn’t matter.
"Wait-" he started.
But the knife went in. Straight into his ribs.
The blade sank deep, and I felt the resistance give way as it pushed through. His body jerked violently under me, and a hollow scream tore out of him, raw and uncontrolled.
I didn’t stop there. I twisted the knife.
His scream broke into something sharper, his entire body tightening as the pain hit him harder. His hand shot out, grabbing at my arm, trying to push me away, but his grip had no strength.
"Stop-please-" he choked out.
I leaned closer, my voice steady. "That’s one."
I pulled the knife out slowly.
Blood followed it, spilling out from the wound immediately, darker and heavier now. It spread across his side, soaking into his clothes and the floor beneath him.
His breathing turned uneven, his chest rising and falling too fast.
He coughed, and I saw the strain in his face as he tried to hold himself together.
I didn’t give him time. I grabbed him again, this time forcing him flat onto his back.
His head hit the floor with a dull sound.
"Don’t-" he tried again, but his voice failed him halfway.
I adjusted my grip on the knife. This time, I didn’t aim for the same place.
I drove the blade into his lower abdomen. Harder. Deeper.
His entire body arched off the ground as the knife went in. The scream that came out of him this time was louder, more broken, like his body couldn’t handle it anymore.
His hands shot down, trying to grab at the blade, but I held it firm.
I didn’t let him stop me. I pushed it in further.
His voice cracked completely, turning into a strained, desperate sound that barely held together.
"Stop-please-stop-"
I looked directly at him. "You didn’t stop when he was stabbed did you?," I asked.
His eyes widened slightly, but there was no strength left in him to argue.
I twisted the knife again.
His body jerked sharply, then trembled as the pain spread through him. His grip weakened, his hands falling back uselessly to his sides.
"That’s two," I said.
I pulled the knife out again.
More blood followed, faster this time, spreading across his stomach and down his sides. His breathing was unstable now, shallow and uneven, like he couldn’t get enough air.
His eyes struggled to stay open.
Very good.
I stood up slowly, looking down at him. He was barely holding on now but I wasn’t done.
I stepped around him and then crouched again, this time near his upper body.
He saw the movement. His eyes shifted toward me, unfocused but aware enough to understand what was coming.
"No..." he whispered.
There was no strength in it.
I reached down and grabbed his jaw, forcing his head to turn slightly so he had to look at me.
"You should have thought about all of this before," I said.
My grip tightened slightly before I let go.
I lifted the knife again. For a second, everything went quiet again.
Then I brought it down. The blade went in just below his chest, angled upward this time.
The impact forced the air out of him completely. His mouth opened, but no sound came out at first. His body jerked once, hard, then stilled for a brief moment.
Then the sound came. It wasn’t a full scream this time.
It was weaker, broken. Like his body didn’t have enough strength left to react properly anymore.
I pushed the blade in fully.
His eyes lost focus, his body going slack under the weight of it.
I held it there for a moment. Then I leaned in slightly, my voice low.
"That’s three."
I pulled the knife out one last time.
Blood followed, spilling freely now, covering his chest and soaking into the ground beneath him.
His body didn’t react much this time. His chest rose once. Then again and weaker.
His eyes rolled slightly as he tried to stay conscious but he couldn’t.
His body gave out. His head turned to the side, and his eyes closed.
And he went completely still.
I watched him for a few seconds, making sure there was no more movement, no resistance.
Just his shallow, fading breaths.
But even that slowed and in a blink, he passed out.
I stood up slowly.
The knife was still in my hand, blood dripping from the blade onto the floor.
The hall was silent again. No one moved. No one spoke.
I turned.
Ethan, Daphne, and Wendy stood exactly where I had left them.
But they didn’t look the same anymore.
Their faces had changed to horror. The confidence they had earlier was gone.
Now there was fear. Clear and visible.
Their eyes moved between me and Emberkin’s body on the ground.
They had seen everything, perfect!
I took a step toward them then another. The sound of my footsteps echoed through the hall slowly.
None of them tried to run because they couldn’t anymore.
There was nowhere to go.
I stopped a short distance in front of them. For a moment, I didn’t say anything.
I just looked at them. One by one.
Ethan first. Then Daphne. Then Wendy.
I let the silence sit long enough for it to settle in.
Then I smiled, It wasn’t wide but it was enough.
"Now it’s your turns," I said.
My voice was calm and final.
I lifted the knife slightly. "Who would go first?"
