Cut Me Down by Winnie Brooks

Ashia
My fears have finally come back to life. Masked by a man who believes he’s my savior. The city may see him as that, but I’m not so convinced. He watches me from afar, courting me in ways that seem innocent enough, but this man is anything but irreproachable. He stalks, he kills, and he hunts in the same way a predator would. Though, I seem to be the only prey that matters to him now. Every ounce of rational sense screams at me to run and hide, while my need for affection and healing pushes me to give myself over to him. He forces me to shed the skin I hide behind until I’m raw and exposed. Making me question my own nature and desires. While leaving me to wonder what will be left of me once he claws his way into my soul.

Damien
I see her. Nothing but her. Everything she shows, everything she hides, and the darkness that resides within her. She calls to me. Invading my dreams and haunting me while I’m awake. I’ve never needed anything the way I need her. Her golden beacons pulled me in, and her soul attached itself to mine. There is no line I won’t cross. No burden I won’t bear. I will wage a war with her mind and tear through every last line of her defenses until there is nothing left. Through the violence, torment, and atrocities that plague not only this city, but my mind, she is the only thing that stands above it. I will have her, and not even her own pleas for mercy will stop me.