Page 164 of Hell Bound

I truly questioned what the point of pulling me to my feet had been when he immediately yanked me off balance. I went down hard, but there was no time for the pain to set in.

He dragged me through the graveyard, only jerking harder when I got caught on gravestones and raised roots. Sticks and rocks gouged my skin, several of them embedding deeply as we went.

When we reached the farthest edge of the wall that separated the garden from the rest of the castle grounds, I wondered if he was about to simply chuck me over the side. Instead, he outstretched a hand and pushed with unfathomable strength. Part of the wall swung open.

There was a fucking door.

I could never have opened it on my own, but fuck if I wasn’t pissed that I’d been unable to find it.

It only took several strides for us to reach the bank of the lake, the deep, crimson liquid gently lapping at the shore.

My heart thudded, my hands trembling with increasing panic.

Blood. I fucking hate blood.

He hauled me up again, this time releasing my hair once I was on my feet.

“I want you to remember this when you come back. I want you to know exactly what’s in store for you.” He stared at me with his one good eye full of vitriolic hatred. It would probably heal, but I still smiled inwardly.

Not so pretty now, are you, dick?

Shivers stole over me, both from anxiety about being this close to a body of blood and from the steadily growing pain from our journey down to the lake’s edge.

But I still met his gaze.

There’d be no bargaining my way out of this, no fighting, no cajoling. So I wouldn’t let him see me be weak right before he exerted his power over me.

“I guess I’ll see you soon,honey.”

His sneer turned absolutely menacing and once again I was toppling as he shoved me into the lake. The warm blood surrounded me and I only narrowly fought off an instinctive gasp.

When I surfaced, he was stalking toward me.

Despite my determination not to show my fear, I couldn’t resist my instinct to back up. I scuttled backward, going from my backwards crab walk to my knees when the blood got deeper.

He cut my escape off when he snatched the floating ends of my hair and yanked me back.

Next life, I’m cutting this shit off. It’s nothing but a goddamned handle!

I sucked in the biggest inhale I could just before my head went below the surface.

Fighting. Flailing. Praying…

He ripped me upwards, and I heaved in a huge gasp of air, choking on the thick, salty liquid filling my mouth and nose. The blood streamed over my eyes, gluing them shut.

And he plunged me under again, his snarls audible even with the blood pouring into my ears.

Nothing made a dent in Asmodeus’s grip or in his determination to see me dead. I twisted and jerked away, trying my best to rip my hair free of my head so that I could escape his hold on me.

It made no difference.

My lungs began to burn, my head pounding like it was about to burst. The copper taste filled my mouth, slid down my throat.

I fought like hell not to draw in a breath that wouldn’t be there, but it was reaching the point of impossibility. My lungs would take over and force me to inhale, filling them with blood.

Things got dimmer with each passing second, consciousness fading in my oxygen-starved brain. Pain pounded in my temples as I struggled.

I’ll find a way, I thought as the last vestiges of my oxygen were used up.

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