4. You called for me in the end

“Take them all down!”

Silence. Like the air itself was holding its breath. Then … everything changed.

The ceiling lights started shaking, buzzing like they were breaking from the inside. Wind blew—though there was no open window. The room filled with a sharp, burnt smell of sulfur, followed by a faint vibration creeping up from the floor, like something huge was rising from underground.

The guy who just injected me froze, his face pale. “What the hell is going on …?” he whispered.

The others started seeing it too—Ash, slowly solidifying right in front of them. Before, he was just a shadow in the corner of my eye, but now he was fully there, real, alive, and deadly.

“There’s someone there!” one of the men yelled—the one who’d yanked my hair.

“Who the hell are you?! How did you get in?!”

Ash didn’t answer. He just grinned, those glowing red eyes of his reflecting the growing panic on their faces. He stepped forward slowly, and each step sounded like thunder pounding in my chest.

He raised a hand. The man who injected me lifted off the ground, suspended in the air like some broken puppet. He screamed. Then there was a crack—his neck twisted, and his body was thrown across the room like trash.

I wanted to scream, but my throat locked up.

Another guy tried to run, but before he could scream, Ash was suddenly in front of him, moving faster than any human should. His claws pierced through the man’s chest like it was paper thin. The sound of cracking bones echoed, followed by a scream cut short.

“Don’t look, don’t look ....,” I whispered to myself. But my eyes opened anyway, and I saw it.

Ash ripped the next body apart like paper, then threw the pieces against the wall like they weighed nothing. The man beside me, the one who had pulled my hair, now crawled backward, his face ghostly pale. He begged—hands raised, voice shaking. But Ash didn’t listen. Sharp claws sliced his throat, and blood sprayed like hot rain on my skin.

Everything in the room … was destroyed. Flesh scattered, blood pooling and creeping around my bare feet. My breath caught, my whole body shook uncontrollably.

And Ash … stood in the middle like a great devil straight out of hell’s painting. His breath steady, claws still dripping blood. His eyes then locked on me, glowing embers as he wiped the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

“You called for me in the end, little lamb.” He walked toward me, quiet and slow. “And just like I promised … I came. Always”

Somehow, the chains around my wrists were already gone. But I still couldn’t speak.

Ash crouched in front of me, eyes dark now, but that damn smile was still there. “Look at you,” he whispered. His fingers were cold on my cheek, wiping away tears I didn’t even realize were falling. “Shaking and soaked in blood … and still sweet to see.”

“You son of a—” My voice cut off as he wrapped those long fingers around my throat.

Ash grinned, leaning in close. “Come on, little lamb,” he murmured. His breath warm on my neck, dangerous but almost tempting. “It’s time to take you home.”

Before I could say no—or even turn away—everything changed.

The air around us pulsed like it was being pulled out of the real world. The room spun, walls melting into swirling black shadows. My body felt weightless.

Then, in a blink, we were back. The soft rustle of fabric in the breeze, the faint smell of lavender, and a mattress beneath me. I was back in that room. His room. Ash Ravencroft’s goddamn room.

He was still there, standing before me—perfect, clean. unbothered—like nothing had happened. That smile hadn’t faded.

“Welcome back, Ruby.” He said my fake name with a sweet voice that cut deep. “You look even more at home here now.”

I pulled my knees to my chest, trying to wrap myself in my trembling arms. My body was back somewhere warmer, safer physically, but my mind stayed trapped in that bloody room.

Ash slowly sat on the edge of the bed, making the mattress gently shake under his weight. He hadn’t touched me yet, but just his presence felt like a touch crawling on my skin.

“You’re trembling,” he said softly, almost gently. “Don’t worry. They’re all gone. No one’s going to hurt you again.”

“Except you,” I whispered.

His smile grew slow and sure. He lifted his hand, touching my cheek with a cold but steady palm, his fingers brushing softly like trying to erase the fear that hadn’t faded.

“I’m giving you a better choice.” His voice almost sounded like a dark song. “I can give you a new world, Ruby. I can help you get everything you want. Reputation, power, revenge … whatever. You just have to say yes.”

I closed my eyes, swallowing hard the words almost slipping out. That offer … sounded tempting. Too tempting. And he knew it.

I knew I shouldn’t even consider it. I knew I should say no, fight, run as far as I could.

But a part of me that was quiet, broken, and furious whispered, “How bad could it really be?”

“Not bad at all,” he breathed. “Not if you enjoy it. Not if you’re mine completely.”

In the end, I gave in. Not out of weakness, but exhaustion. Because that part of me wanted him. Wanted something more than just a reputation or power. And Ash, that bastard devil, was offering it wrapped in destruction and seduction.

Revenge.

I was going to use Ash.

And I was getting back at everything that’s hurt me

***

What do you think? Is she slowly losing her mind, or finally waking up to her true self?

250525, Anne Joyce