Chapter 41
The knife felt alive in my palm, an extension of the rage burning through my veins.
I traced my thumb along the blade's edge, savouring the bite of metal against skin.
Not sharp enough to cut, not yet, but a promise of what was to come.
The hallways of Courts House stretched before me, abandoned and dim in the late afternoon light.
The girls had scattered like frightened birds at my entrance, locking themselves in their rooms as I stormed through the common area, flipping tables and shattering a vase against the wall. Good. Let them hide. I only wanted one.
"Julia," I called, my voice echoing off the high ceilings, the singsong quality surprising even me. "Come out, come out, wherever you are..." The sound bounced back at me, distorted and wrong, like it belonged to someone else. Someone unhinged. Someone dangerous. Maybe it did.
I moved silently down the corridor, past closed doors and darkened rooms. My footsteps were measured, unhurried.
I had all the time in the world. Julia wasn't going anywhere, not without passing me.
And when she did… My mind flashed with images of Cade's back, criss-crossed with angry welts, the raised brand in the centre like an obscene signature on a work of art.
My artwork. My failure. The sound of her screams still echoed in my ears, a symphony of betrayal and agony.
"You know what I'm going to do when I find you, Julia?
" I called out, letting my voice carry through the emptiness.
"I'm going to carve out your lying tongue. I’m going to cut out those eyes for the lies you made us see about Cade.
One. By. One." I punctuated each word with a tap of my blade against the wall, leaving tiny scratches in the expensive paint.
"And then I'm going to cut open your stomach and pull out your insides, and look for the cold dead stone where your heart should be while you watch.
" A whimper floated from somewhere ahead, so faint I almost missed it.
My lips curved into a smile that felt like it might split my face in two.
"I hear you, bitch," I purred, stalking forward.
"Keep making those pretty sounds. They're music to my ears.
" A flash of pink caught my eye, a cardigan abandoned on the floor, hastily discarded in someone's flight.
I knelt, lifting it to my face. I knew that scent.
Julia's signature scent, as fake and manufactured as everything else about her.
I wrapped the garment around my hand, letting the excess dangle like a leash.
"Getting warmer," I sang, continuing my hunt.
The corridor branched ahead, and I paused, considering.
Left led to the private study rooms, right to the storage closets and back stairwell.
Which way would a frightened, entitled whore run?
The study rooms had no exit except the way I'd come.
The storage area had the stairs, a potential escape route.
But Julia wasn't smart enough to think that far ahead.
She'd hide, not run. She'd always been a coward.
I turned left, knife held loose but ready at my side.
The first study room was empty, the second as well.
At the third, I noticed the door wasn't quite closed, a sliver of darkness visible in the gap.
"Found you," I whispered, pushing the door wide.
Nothing. Just shadows and silence. I moved further in, checking behind the heavy desk, under the window seat.
Empty. But someone had been here recently.
The chair was askew, a textbook open on the desk, a half-empty water bottle sweating condensation onto the polished wood.
Was it her? Had she been hiding here, then heard me coming and fled.
I backed out of the room, frustration building like a physical pressure behind my eyes.
Where was she? I needed to find her, needed to make her pay for what she'd done to Cade. For what she'd made me do to Cade.
A muffled thud from down the hall snapped my attention back to the present. My head whipped toward the sound, a predator scenting prey.
"I'm coming for you, Julia," I called, moving faster now, my earlier patience evaporating.
"You can't hide forever." I retraced my steps to the junction, taking the right branch this time.
The storage closets lined one wall, their doors identical and unmarked.
I flung the first one open, cleaning supplies, mops, and buckets.
The second, linens, neatly folded and stacked.
The third, a stifled sob. So quiet I might have imagined it, but I knew better.
I pressed my ear to the fourth door, listening.
Nothing. Then, the faintest sound of breathing, quick and shallow with fear.
"Knock knock," I whispered, and kicked the door open with enough force to splinter the wood around the lock.
Julia fucking whore bitch Latters cowered among the shelves of office supplies, her blonde hair dishevelled, mascara streaking down her face in black rivers. Her eyes widened in terror as she looked up at me, her body pressing further back against the wall as if she could disappear into it.
"Please," she whimpered, raising her hands in pathetic defence. "Ryder, please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I didn't know they would-"
"Shut the fuck up," I snarled, grabbing her by the throat and dragging her out of the closet. She clawed at my hand, gasping for air, her designer nails leaving red welts on my skin. I barely felt them.
"You didn't know they would what? Brand her? Whip her until she bled? Make me hurt her?" I slammed her against the corridor wall, my face inches from hers. I could smell her fear, sharp and acrid beneath the expensive perfume.
"Do you know what it feels like to hurt someone you love?" I hissed, pressing the flat of my blade against her cheek. "To hear them scream and know it's your fault? To watch their skin burn and know you helped do that to them?"
"Ryder, stop!" Melody's voice cut through my rage, and I turned to see her standing a few feet away, her face pale with shock. "Let her go. This isn't you."
"Stay out of this, Melody," I warned, not loosening my grip on Julia's throat. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you get in my way."
"Think about what you're doing," Melody pleaded, taking a cautious step forward. "Think about Cade. What would she want? Not this. Not you becoming a murderer for her."
"You don't know what she would want," I spat. "You saw what they did to her. What I did to her. She'll never forgive me. Never." My voice broke on the last word, and I felt something wet on my face. Tears. I was crying, and I hadn't even noticed.
Julia whimpered again, her face turning red from lack of oxygen. I eased my grip slightly, allowing her to gasp in a desperate breath.
"Please," she croaked. "I was just following orders. Williams said-"
"Williams?" I laughed, the sound harsh and broken even to my own ears. "You expect me to believe the headmaster told you to frame an innocent girl? To doctor video footage? To destroy her life?"
"Not Williams," Julia whispered, her eyes darting to the side. "Someone else. Someone higher up, I think. They wanted her gone, said she was dangerous-"
"Liar!" I roared, pressing the blade harder against her cheek until a thin line of blood appeared. "You've always hated her. Always been jealous. This was your chance to get rid of her, and you took it."
"Ryder, please," Melody was closer now, her hand outstretched.
"Give me the knife. We can sort this out.
We can make Julia pay properly, through the Trivium, through the courts.
This isn't the way." I hesitated, some small part of me recognising the truth in her words.
But then Julia shifted, trying to break free, and my rage surged anew.
"Too late," I growled, raising the knife. "She's going to pay now."
The blade caught the light as it descended, a silver arc of vengeance.
But before it could find its mark, a body slammed into mine from behind, sending me crashing to the floor.
The knife skittered away across the polished wood, and I howled in frustration, twisting to face my attacker.
Cole's eyes met mine, filled with determination and sorrow.
"Enough, Ryder," he said, pinning my arms. "That's enough." I bucked against his hold, nearly throwing him off.
"Get off me! She has to pay! She has to suffer like Cade suffered!" More hands grabbed me, Logan, and several Covenant housemen, their faces grim as they fought to restrain me. I thrashed wildly, beyond reason, beyond care for anything but making Julia bleed.
"You don't understand!" I screamed, my voice cracking. "She made me hurt Cade! She made me hurt my girl!"
"We know," Logan's voice was close to my ear, steady despite everything. "We know, Ryder. But this isn't the answer."
"Fuck you," I spat, managing to land a solid kick to his ribs. "You believed her! You dragged Cade into those woods! This is your fault too!"
"You're right," Logan admitted, not loosening his grip despite my blow. "And I'll pay for that. We all will. But not like this."
I felt a sharp prick in my arm, a needle, one of the housemen with medical training. The world began to blur at the edges, my limbs growing heavy.
"No," I mumbled, still fighting even as the sedative took hold. "No, I have to... have to make it right... have to..."
The last thing I saw before darkness claimed me was Julia's terrified face, blood trickling down her cheek where my blade had kissed her skin. Too little, I thought hazily. Too little for what she'd done. And then there was nothing at all.