Tear Me Down by Winnie Brooks

Ashia
A dark aura, one that embodies those that work for Dust, has taken over the city. The pieces are slowly coming together, colliding at a pace that is both too fast and slow, and Damien is taking every hit as they’ve come. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted, but now I feel that I’m losing him. His consuming need for revenge holds his thoughts in a cruel grip, driving everything he does. While I came out on the other side alive, it’s like he’s slowly decaying. So enraptured in guilt and self-deprecation that he’s fading away, leaving only the dark God I see him as to take his place. He’ll be the last one standing, but he’ll be a sculpture in flames. I’m finally ready for my place at his side, even as his inferno scorches me.

Damien
My mind is clouded, trapped in nothing but a dark haze that encircles us like vultures. No matter how closely I hold her, there’s another blow that manages to land in the most excruciating places. On top of the escalation from the vile criminals that came after us, her recovery is agonizingly slow, serving as a constant reminder of my failures, and I don’t know how to control my urges anymore. It’s like I’m being controlled by a force that I can’t see, one that is cruel and demonic, almost ethereal, but I cannot drag her down to hell with me. She will always stand above anything and everything else, even if I have to reduce it all to ashes.