Chapter Twelve
Keirth had been wandering around in the area around the brothel for quite some time when he finally found it. Risciter’s ship. His heart sank immediately. Risciter was here? Okay, so he’d known he was alive, but he hadn’t expected Risciter to follow him. He guessed he shouldn’t have been such an idiot. He and Ariana had obviously angered Risciter by getting away. Now Risciter knew who he was and knew that Keirth was seeking revenge. Of course Risciter would want to find them and finish what he’d started.
The worst of it was that he’d left Ariana alone.
Keirth ran all the way back to the brothel, scolding himself the entire time. How could he have been so stupid? She’d said there was someone in the cabin with her. It must have been Risciter. Ariana had barely escaped death tonight, and he’d had the gall to give her attitude about wanting him to stay in the same room with her. If he’d known her life was in danger, he never would have let it become an issue. But his conversation with Lilla had gotten under his skin. He’d been so focused on whether or not he had feelings for Ariana that he hadn’t he hadn’t bothered to worry about her safety.
Now, as he rushed back to the brothel, he knew he’d never forgive himself if something happened to her. She could be annoying as hell, but he didn’t want her hurt. He... Damn it, he liked having her around. And he could still remember the way her small body had felt pressed up against him, the way her breath caught in her throat when he touched her.
He shouldn’t have been doing that, of course. He should have controlled himself, but—
None of it mattered if she was dead. Risciter was already at the brothel, and he’d left Ariana there alone with no one to protect her. Keirth didn’t even want to think about what might have happened to her while he was gone.
He crashed into the kitchen of the brothel the minute he arrived, not worrying about noise. He tore into the pantry, threw the door open, and stepped into the room.
He was greeted with the sight of a dead little girl. The child who’d been sleeping in the room with him earlier. She hung off the bed, her eyes dull, her hand dangling over the bunk.
What had happened?
He spun, taking in the rest of the room. Ariana wasn’t there.
Risciter had found her. This hidden room hadn’t offered her a bit of refuge. How could he have let this happen? Why hadn’t he kept her with him?
Keirth didn’t want to think about what it meant that the little girl was dead. He pushed it from his mind, only focused on Ariana. Where would Risciter have taken her? Had he taken her back to his ship? If so, he must have missed Risciter and Ariana outside the brothel.
Keirth walked out of the kitchen and into the main room.
The first thing he saw was Lilla.
He made a strangled noise in the back of his throat and stumbled out of the room.
No. Not Lilla.
Keirth leaned against the wall in the kitchen, barely breathing, trying to process what he’d seen. Risciter had killed Lilla. Why? What did Risciter want with her when he had Ariana? Of course, the little girl had been dead in the room too, hadn’t she?
Feeling cold all over, Keirth stepped back into the main room. The sight of Lilla held his gaze for a long time at first. She’d been brutally stabbed over and over. There were slashes and cuts all over her body. Her head flopped back and Keirth could see the incision that had nearly severed her head from her body. Her bloody neck was open in front of him, glistening. The way she was arranged wasn’t an accident either. It was sickly provocative, something only a monster like Risciter could think up.
When he could finally tear his gaze away from Lilla, he noticed the other girls. They were dead. All of them. Most were still dressed, but some had their clothes pushed out of the way or removed, as if Risciter had enjoyed leering at them. But each had their throats cut.
That was what Risciter had done to his mother. Cut her throat. Keirth remembered seeing the movement, the flash of the knife. He’d run forward out of his hiding place, screaming. Risciter had stood up, picking up a nearby chair and clubbing Keirth over the head.
Keirth ran for the steps. Were they all dead? He pushed open doors on the top floor. Here, some of the women had been with clients. But everyone was dead. The men had been stabbed to death, the women’s throats slashed. There was blood everywhere, dripping off of satin sheets, running in rivulets down naked flesh. He checked every single room. There was no one alive.
But where was Risciter? And where was Ariana? Was she dead already too? God, how long had he been gone? How had Risciter managed to kill all of them?
He didn’t want to check in the cottages, but he did. Everyone dead there too. The same way.