War of Prey

22)Lust to Love

"He never knew love, only what its consort was."

***

The door to the Den opens easily. Everything is the same, except for the gang sleeping all over the lounge, some on the sofas, on the chairs, on the floor, and even Finn on the bar counter. She grabs the bottle of Jack on the counter and takes a swig before holding it out and dropping it. The glass shatters on the floor, and everyone startles and leaps up, swords and guns in hand.

"Shit, Sàvia, we could've killed you! Don't sneak up on us like that!" Finn hisses, picking himself off the ground. "Where's Lucas?"

"Lucas is not here. Nor will he be coming back," she replies, brushing dried blood off her dress and hands.

"Where is he?" Caleb asks.

"He is dead. I killed him," she announces, smiling when everyone gasps and takes a step back. Caleb is the first to fall to his knees. Brock, Dominic, Eli, Axel, Jordan, and Oliver follow. Aaron and Randy, Louis, Benji, and Ric fall reluctantly, bowing their heads to Rhea. Only Isiah and Corbin remain standing.

"You killed Lucas? Why did you kill him?" Isiah says, his face contorting with anger.

"Yes, I did. He conspired with the Mafia to kill me; I had no other choice."

"Conspired to kill you? The man was head-over-heels for you! There was no way!" Corbin defends.

"Lust is not the same as love, and lust was all that man felt. Were you the one to sleep with him? Were you the one who was constantly undressed with his eyes? I had no care for him, nor do I for any man like him, with morals pulled from his ass. Lucas is dead. This will no longer be a drug Den. I have had enough with my family's business, and if anyone has a problem, there is the door."

"Who declared you the Den leader? Last I heard, you were just some prostitute on the streets," Corbin chortles. Rhea flicks her wrist, and Corbin's spine snaps, a deafening crunch vibrating through the room.

"Is there another problem we should address?"

"How the hell did you do that?" Isiah asks, his jaw hanging open.

"It does not matter. I have no problem with bloodshed if that is what you wish. The Mafia was built on blood and bone; yours would just add to the collection," she replies, not at all fazed by how she killed Corbin nor the joy coursing her veins. A blinding pain shoots through her head like an ice pick mutilating her brain. Her hands claw at her head, trying to get to the source of the pain and end it. Her vision blurs, and she uses the counter to stabilize herself before she falls, dizziness making her go sheet white.

"Sàvia?"

"Shut up."

"What—"

"Shut up!"

"Do you—"

"I said SHUT UP!" she hollers, her hands lashing towards the Den. Everyone erupts in flames. The alcohol lights and the Den starts to burn. The bastards scream as fire consumes them, as it slowly burns them to death. The fire surrounds Rhea and engulfs her, burning her but leaving no marks. The pain blooms in every part of her body. Her bones ache, and her head splits. In the middle of the fire forms an image. An angel with broken wings.

"Rhea!"

She collapses with a gasp, the pain illuminating her in a fiery glow. "Ángel!"

The mamba slithers up to her and strikes her neck, a calm river flowing into her veins, feeling so lovely until it erupts into a blazing inferno.

She screams, and the world goes black.