Chapter 34

Silence hung heavily in the air, broken only by the remnants of Cassandra's screams echoing in their ears. Marcus stared at Nathan's lifeless body, seemingly lost in thought. With a gesture of his head, Anastasia followed him out of the room. They stood, neither of them speaking. Finally, Marcus broke the oppressive silence, "You don't think I should have killed him." Anastasia hummed softly but didn't immediately respond. She glanced at Marcus as if pondering his words. "Anastasia," he repeated, turning to face her. "I can't tell you how to go about it, Marcus," she said,"But killing him was unnecessary. He was just a human who got tangled up in the mess of our kind." "You love the thrill of taking a life," he said, studying her intently, "Why is this any different?" She met his gaze with a calm, unflinching look. "Not when there's no end point to it," she replied, gently pushing past him. His grip on her hand tightened, and he implored, "What is it, Anastasia?" "We need to be