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Rhea loved her.
That was the one thing she was sure of, despite the fire and betrayal, Evelyn Laurens remained the one stable thing in her life, and so rhea wouldn’t kill her like she did the others. The others had been dull copies in comparison, made of a smoke and glitter that ultimately held little substance compared to her. No, her little darling would receive the world, her miracle deserved a grand death, a spectacle, the kind of passing that left an impression until the world crumbled, people would speak her name in hushed reverent tones for all time, as they should.
Rhea sighed as she scrubbed the blood off her hands; it was annoying how it stained her nails if she neglected to wash it off for a long enough time. The most recent kill had been boring too, a waste if she thought about it too long, it only mattered to satisfy her cravings and tomorrow’s lunch date with Evie. Tomorrow would be the grand start of her plan, and lunch needed to be perfect. As the last trickle of red washed off her hands, rhea decided on the dish- braised stuffed hearts. She snickered to herself, feeding hearts to your lover how romantic; maybe she’d cook eyes next so Evie would see her. She mentally made a list of all the ingredients she would need to purchase before tomorrow’s festivities, thyme and parsley would add a freshness that would heighten the freshness of the meat. The meat. Once beating, and life-giving now diminished to just another ingredient, she’d have to trim off the fat of course, and remove the gristles, her dish needed to be perfect, for her sweetling. She would have to stop by the store to buy some onions and garlic; she was running low after her last dinner party considering Dominik and Damien always insisted on exclusively garlic heavy dishes with no thought to how that affected flavor.
Flavor was king. It had to be the perfect harmony of all the ingredients, carefully preselected for the ideal balance. None could overwhelm the others, and none could be so subtle that they went unnoticed, just like her kills. Rhea always made they were even, as many women as there were men, with a perfect age distribution, old meat had the tendency to be less flavorful, while younger meat was often tougher to chew due to the higher muscle mass. So rhea, ensured to pick people that were just right, not too smart, not too stupid, not too fat or thin, although each had the opportunity to be perfect, her hands could make any meat sublime, if the dish demanded it.
As she packed her bags of fresh produce into her truck, she made a mental note to have her car taken to a car wash in a week, lest the smell began to fester. As she made herself comfortable in the plush leather seat her thoughts drifted to Evie, as they always did the second she had any free time. Rhea wondered what her skin would taste like, sweet or salty. Maybe there would be a tartness to it, Evie did have that side to her, a sharpness, a coldness, a cruelty, it was the side of her that Rhea loved the most. While her darling was the sweetest most charming thing, there had been moments when Rhea saw it, the unbridled cruelty that led to a willingness to destroy anything and anyone that came in her path and the satisfaction that came along with it. Rhea reveled in the feeling. The knowledge that she had seen something in Evie that most others could spend years trying to find and still be none the wiser. She loved that Evie was so good at hiding it; at dulling herself, just enough that most others wouldn’t think twice about her, but Rhea was better. She had been the only one to see the little shifts, the way her eyes darkened, the way the corners of her mouth would twitch ever so slightly when she was displeased, and the unfortunate accidents that befell whoever caused those reactions. She wondered if Evie saw her in the same way, if she caught the ways she let her true self shine through. If she didn’t, it was of no importance, soon enough her treasure would be at her side forever with no pesky boyfriend to muddy her thoughts.
He, of course, was an obstacle, and the ultimate betrayal in Rhea’s eyes. How could somebody as perfect as Evie sully herself with the likes of him? He dulled her, Rhea was sure of it, made her soft, removed that killer instinct that Rhea loved her for. He would be gone soon enough she reasoned, she had all she needed and soon enough he would be nothing but an unpleasant memory at the back of both of their minds.