I'll wait.

I left the house, pulling my coat closed and looking up at the morning sun. As the screams grew louder from within the house, I felt something roil up in me. A sense of regret, maybe something like self-loathing. A feeling that, maybe, I'd gone too far.

I probably had, but that just meant there was no point in turning back. I was a merchant's son, and I'd already invested too heavily, in time and sin, to back out now. I leaned against a nearby tree and closed my eyes, feeling tired, and when I opened them again it was late in the afternoon.

I looked around, bleary, and caught sight of Theo laying nearby. His head was resting on the bloodstained lap of his sister with his feet resting on the back of his kneeling mother, as if they were merely furniture. His arms up to his elbows were absolutely crimson, and his face and chest were speckled with red gore.

"The hell did you do?"

"Turns out," He held up his hands, flashing me a smile, "Cutting someone's heart out is even messier than you'd expect."

"You cut it out?"

"Yeah." He shrugged. "Figured I'd try it, you know? Didn't know what to do with the damn thing, though, so I threw it into the fields."

"Alright."

"Gotta apologise a bit, sir." Theo may have blushed under the blood. "I kinda lost my head in there. Long-time fantasy; always hated my father."

"I figured."

"The look on his face when I stuck this fat bitch. . ." He raised a leg and thumped it on May's naked back. "I'll never forget it. I owe you everything."

I looked at him, at this frank vulnerability, and felt a growing headache. I didn't know what to make of him, if partnering with him was at all a wise move, but something moved in me.