By the time I come back to myself, it is nearly morning, and the blood has dried, and all that is left is to wash up and clean up. And breathe. It is harder than it has been in a long, long time. Part of me wants to remain on the floor and simply let myself die. I could do it. No one would find me if I didn’t want them to, not even Guiren. I could end this now. I could surrender. Maybe it should have happened a long time ago. Maybe I was never meant to live in the first place. I should have died on the killing floor. I should be dead. Really, truly dead. But . . . what would have happened to Wen last night if I was? The thought is whispered into my ear like it comes from somewhere else, someone else. One way or another, that man would have killed Guiren’s precious treasure-box girl. If I hadn’t stopped him, right now Wen would be living the last few terror-filled days of her life.
