"This was supposed to be a prank," he said, his voice rough but carrying meaning with every word, watching her face carefully as he spoke. "A stupid, thoughtless test. I wanted to see... I don't know what I wanted to see. How people really felt about me, maybe. Some ridiculous assessment of loyalty or affection that seemed clever when I was still foggy from medication and not thinking clearly."
He paused, his eyes tracking to the blood still dripping from her arm, to the knife that had been at her throat moments ago, to the devastation written in every line of her body, in her wild eyes, in the way she was shaking uncontrollably.
