Page 96 of Her Blood Revenge

‘We have something in common, you and I,’ I tell him. ‘We both very much enjoy watching those weaker than us cry.’ I grip his arm and start to pull. ‘And scream.’ He cries out as his bones dislocate. But I keep pulling until the flesh begins to rip. ‘And bleed.’

I drop his severed arm to the floor and look behind him to the others who stare in horror. I laugh as Archie locks the door, sealing them inside with us.

‘How long until they light the fire?’ I ask.

‘An hour,’ Bensen whispers in reply, utterly frozen with fear.

I look at the other men. ‘Plenty of time. Now would be a good time to start screaming.’

Chapter fifteen

The Necromancer

Those images of the goddess Hel and the flashbacks of the murdered queen plague me. I stand with my face to the sky, letting the rain wash over me and feeling the burn of every inch where Dorian ravished me. My entire body still vibrates with pleasure. Our union was one of desperation and a strange sense of finality.

He gave me the opportunity to run. He offered me an escape. True. To get it, I would have needed to end his life.

I chose to stay. I chose them.

That revelation has hit me harder than I expected. Not that I was ever expecting this.

When I truly faced a life without them in it, I felt just as lost and hopeless as I did the night before the Rite. As I sat in that sheer dress, watching the clock tick away every minute of my life. That’s how I felt. The same dread. The same emptiness. The same fear of what was to come.

I had a choice. I could run. Run into that dread and emptiness.

Or stay.

I stayed. I gave up a life without them in it because, for some reason, it didn’t seem like a life worthliving.

I stayed. I willingly agreed to be his. To be all of theirs. And as I stand in this blood-soaked wedding dress, coated in mud and sweat and tears, I’ve never felt more free.

I lean down and scoop up the torn chain he ripped from my neck. My leash. His hand cups mine and curls my fingers around it. The Shadow Master with a hundred souls ready to do his bidding. And he kisses my neck. His other arm lies flat across my stomach as he pins me to his broad chest. His fingertips dig in deep, and I’m pretty damn sure he would happily squeeze the soul from me and tuck it safely away inside with the others he’s taken.

It must be crowded in there.

My mind is being pulled a million ways.

Do I love this creature truly? Am I just so used to being a prisoner that the idea of being free has now become the real threat to my sanity? Am I safe? Is my heart?

‘I want you to wear my charms,’ he says as he holds me in his arms. He slides off his charms and wraps them around my wrist and fingers. ‘Your powers are getting stronger. Soon, no charms will be strong enough to protect you from the spirits. You’ll need to practice controlling them and keeping them at bay, but we don’t have time for that now. Take the protection. Please.’

They settle on my wrist, and he shudders.

‘What about you?’

‘I’ll be fine. You’re what matters.’

I lean into him. I wish this moment could last a little longer. But I know it can’t. Things are happening too quickly.

‘We need to go tothe coven,’ I tell him.

All the uncertainties must be pushed aside for now. Neve is out there. Cole too. And the dead queen’s last words were for me to get to my old coven. So that is what I need to do.

‘I need to bend you over and fuck you senseless.’

Apparently, Dorian has other ideas.

‘Already done that, Shadow Daddy.’

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