The Cage of Thorns

“No one will touch her. No one will see her. She belongs to me and me only.” He set the brush down, breathing heavily now, not from exertion, but from the twisted satisfaction of bringing his fantasy to life. The monster in him wasn’t sleeping anymore. It was wide awake, watching… waiting. And it had found its muse. "I’ll make you beg, not for mercy, ashen—but for more of the pain that feels like pleasure."