Chapter XIX
Cassandra
Emotion chokes my throat as I slip on the thin nightgown, the same one I wore the night Izcacus took me. Dark crimson blood stains the once pure-white fabric, and the hem is unraveling. Yet it will still serve as my armor, a symbol of my resilience, and a tribute to the girl I once was.
My eyes turn down to study my hands, tracing the burn marks, the tip of a finger that Clayton had sliced off.
Before, I hated every part of myself, because hate was the only thing that I knew. For so long I believed that I wasn’t built to exist in this world, that there was no place for someone as weak and broken as me. Everything in my life seemed to steer me towards misery.
But pain is temporary, and like the seasons changing, I will learn to bloom and grow. I know I will discover that there are good things out there for me.
As autumn gives way to winter, I will become more skilled at simply existing, until I can stand in the moonlight and be glad that I’m still here.
Although I had to fight for it, I discovered a place for myself. I now feel that I deserve to be here. To exist.
A single tear drops down onto my hands.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper to myself.
I’m sorry that I was so hard on myself when that girl I was had gotten me through my hardest days. She is the reason I survived and can now know peace.
But first I need to get my revenge, both for the girl and the monster I am. The townspeople, the men, will fear me, and I will be the master of my own life, bending to no one.
It’s then that I will truly succeed in becoming monstrous.
They’re coming.
After Dalton’s appearance, I sent Izcacus out to scout. I knew the others wouldn’t be far behind. According to his report, there are two men making their way through Deadwood Forest.
The end is coming, but it isn’t coming fast enough.
“They will come to us. We just need to wait, to have patience, my love.”
“No.” I shake my head, drumming my long fingers against my arm as I pace across the already worn rug. This will not do.
“I won’t have them think that they have the upper hand, that they are the predators. No, I want them scared, and I want to catch them off guard. I will find them.”
With my decision set, I turn, moving past Izcacus, now on a mission.
The dagger that I found hidden within the music box on my bedroom mantel shines, newly sharpened. It’s ornate and beautiful, the handle the color of pomegranates and encrusted with ruby-red jewels.
A dagger fit for the queen that I have become.
It is heavy in my hand, but feels as if it were made just for me. While staring at my reflection within the blade, becoming more and more comfortable with the sight of myself, I tilt it to see Izcacus standing behind me.
“What shall you do to them?”
“I’m going to make them atone for their sins.”