Page 78 of The Hellkeeper

All I want to focus on is the future. One where Damien and I can finally have our happily ever after.

Epilogue

Amelia

Darkness lives inside me now. It grows, festers, and invades me until the only thing I know is sin and shadow. But I couldn't be happier.

It's been a month since I last stood here. A month since I returned to Hell.

Thirty days of Damien's devotion. Thirty nights of his worship. He's given me everything; more than I ever imagined I could have. I've been drowning in his love, suffocating in the way he touches me, in the way he claims me. It's been heaven.

But sometimes, we crave a little hell.

I turn, and he's there. Damien, my dark god, my executioner, my salvation. He stands before me, his eyes reflecting the ruin we left behind. Our breaths mingle in the space between us, thick with more than just desire.

We came here to play. To defile the graveyard we built.

I smile, slow and wicked, and reach for my necklace, the one he gifted me months ago. Damien once confessed he placed a tracker inside it.

"Now, that would be cheating," I murmur, holding his gaze as I wrap the chain around my fingers. I rip it straight off. The diamonds snap, and I let it fall to the dirt at my feet.

His nostrils flare, obsidian flashing behind his eyes. I see the moment he decides exactly what he's going to do to me.

I spin on my heel and run into the village.

The first few seconds are silent.

Then I hear a dark chuckle.

He gave me a head start.

The ground is uneven beneath me, dirt mixing with the ashes of those who once lived here. There's nothing left. No people. No animals. No vegetation. Just ruin. Just death. Just the memory of the village that tried to bury me; and the man who burned it to the ground.

And God, I'm wet.

The night air burns against my skin as I push forward, dodging the remains of crumbled cottages. I listen intently, waiting for the sound of his pursuit.

Nothing.

It unsettles me. Thrills me.

He's here. I know it. He's waiting. Watching.

The question is: where?

I risk a glance over my shoulder.

Nothing but darkness.

My heart pounds, adrenaline making me dizzy. I lunge forward, aiming for the shattered remnants of the place of worship ahead: the elder's shrine. Its skeletal remains stretch toward the sky like twisted fingers. If I can just—

A shadow shifts in the corner of my vision.

Too late.

I pivot hard, barely dodging his grasp. The thrill of the hunt, the chase, the inevitable capture makes me soak through my panties.

I duck behind the shrine, my chest rising and falling in uneven breaths. I peek around the edge, searching. Waiting.

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