ound; it was a presence, pressing down on my ea

g at the ornate plasterwork of the ceili

he air conditioning, I fel

the heavy silk covers and

andle, expecting the

he latch c

otten to turn the de

o the cavernous,

ing against my bare feet,

ded to walk, to feel some sembla

d me down a long corrid

old oil paintings of men who look

shut, but a small, barred ventilation grate near the

echoed from the unsee

lse picking up its rh

shold-a sharp, metallic, rusty smell that

h bl

I held my breath, catching the heavy steel plate before it could l

hed in the harsh, sterile

room, a man was bou

en, unrecognizable m

od in fro

nd the sleeves of his crisp white dre

ic was splattered with

Dante pulled his fist back and

of bone giving way ec

ping both hand

ath, but in the dead silence of the

roze mi

s head, his gaze tr

ed directly onto mine thr

urprised. He did

his irises-he looked like a wolf who had j

wn here,

refused

to run back to my room and hid

ice dropped an octave, carr

e come up ther

vy door wider and slowly began th

nothing to do with the

fixed on the stained cloth of Dante's shirt, entir

e and grabbed my chin wi

ping against the concrete, but the half-dried film of

iron vise as he forced my h

k at

shut, tears sting

," he commanded, his

d my ey

thick rivulet of blood drippin

outfit," Dante said, his voice completely

t the bitter bile

ou showing

ace back to him,

d a thick streak of blood acros

d the kind of filth that runs

uthlessly looking for weakn

phia. There is only loyalty

k eyes, the cloying scent of copper fil

going to

es

ression hardening as he stepp

k to yo

stairs as fast as my sh

inside my bathroom, frantically scrubbing my ch

and raw my flesh became, I could still feel the phant