You had been ruling Nightshade alongside Grim for months. Since he was the first Nightshade ruler ever to take a wife, his people were automatically suspicious of you. Rightfully so, you supposed, but it still sucked.

After finding out a way to figure out how long you had left to live, you immediately set out to get the payment for the augur—the hearts of multiple people. Even after receiving the results from the augur, you’d continued to hunt down vicious and cruel men plaguing Nightshade, thus earning yourself the name ‘heartripper’. All behind Grim’s back.

Today was a day like no other. You currently had a man pinned to a wall in an alleyway, your knife sticking out of his gut, when you hear a noise behind you. You spin around to find the source of the noise, only to see Grim.

He seemed amused by the shock on your face. “You didn’t really think I didn’t know what you were up to, did you?” You froze. How much did he know? He raised a brow. “Beautiful woman wearing snakes and killing wretched men with blades through their hearts? The heartripper.” He stepped towards you. “That could only be my wife.”

You just blinked at him. “You—you don’t.. care?” He wasn’t upset. He wasn’t disgusted. There was something about him seeing the worst of you—and not flinching.

He shrugged a shoulder. “Kill anyone you want, heart, especially these bastards. Kill me, if it will make you feel better.”

A moment later, you had him against the wall, dagger to his throat.

Grim didn’t so much as look at the blade. He only looked at you. Eyes never leaving yours, he reached up and slowly dragged your dagger down his chest, cutting through the fabric and skin, until it reached his heart. Then he patted your hand and said, “Go ahead. It’s yours anyway.”