Page 98 of Angel's Kiss
“Get away from her, fool.”
Raoul had no time to react before Erik had him by the throat, a beast of pure shadow emerging from the trees with eyes of fire.
“No! Please!” Christine screamed, horror rushing through her veins.She could not watch another man die. “Not him!”
At the sound of her voice, Erik turned, the fire in his eyes still burning, but mixed now with unfathomable pain. With terrifying force, Erik lifted his rival and threw him so that he crashed into the trunk of the nearest tree. Raoul fell limp to the ground. Christine wanted to scream, but no sound came from her throat as she rushed towards the two men.
“He’s alive!” Erik said, catching Christine. “I promise you, he’s alive!”
Christine looked for herself, watching Raoul’s shallow breathing as he lay unconscious on the muddy ground. The snap of a branch and the sound of heavy breathing somewhere in the dark made her heart seize again.
“We have to go. He may not have been alone,” Erik commanded. Once again, Christine did not resist as Erik pulled her away into the night. They rushed to the brougham, and the driver startled from his seat as they clamored inside. “Back to the Opera! Now!”
Christine was worried she was going to be sick as the carriage rumbled away from the Bois and Erik glowered out the window beside her. Was he looking for pursuers? What had just happened?
They rode in silence through the city, traveling swiftly through the quiet streets. Christine tried to stem her panic and anxiety, tried to breathe, but it was useless. The delicate dream they had lived in was shattered once again.
The horses snuffled as she and Erik passed through the stable to the hidden door. Christine paused on the threshold as Erik lit his lantern, dizzy with the idea of descending to the dark with her ghost once again.
“Why was he there?” Christine asked, leaning on the cold wall. “How could he have known?”
“He was informed we would be there. By the Daroga.” Erik’s voice was clipped and cold, but it didn’t stop Christine from looking at him in horror.
“How did Shaya know?” Erik did not look at her, and it gave Christine her answer. “You told him?”
“We need to get home,” Erik said, taking her hand. She wanted to pull away, but she could do nothing but follow. “He wanted to be assured of your safety,” Erik added as they descended a flight of stairs.
“Then he should have bloody talked to me!” Christine cried, rage rising to match her fear.
“It’s too late now. Your little friend knows you’re a monster’s captive,” Erik growled, and Christine shuddered.
“We don’t know that,” Christine breathed. They had reached the lake. She could tell by the smell and the heaviness of the moist air. It was so different from the freshness of the Bois. Why was she here? She rushed after Erik to his home, the place he had fled so many years ago when another noble had tried to take his life from him. “He might not even remember or understand what he saw.”
“He’ll remember, Christine,” Erik cried as the door slammed behind them. “The fool loves you: he will remember. And he – he saw me.” His voice broke as he said it. Christine spun in time to see him crumble to the floor, his hands upon the mask. “He knows a living corpse keeps you here. And now! Now they will both come. The Daroga and that boy. They will take you from me. I should have—”
“No!” Christine rushed to him, kneeling beside him on the ground. Erik recoiled as he looked up at her, his hair falling in disheveled locks, black against white, one mask over another. His eyes were as pathetic as she had ever seen them.
“You saved him.” Erik said it like it was the worst accusation he could hurl at her, but Christine shook her head, fighting through her panic. “Even after hesaw.”
“Because I told you: that part of your life is over,” she gritted out, trying to let him see how she was trembling. Was she mad, to pretend she had not just locked herself in a tomb with a killer?
“Then how? How can I keep him away?” Erik asked, each word more desperate than the last, as he grabbed Christine by the fabric of her cloak, knitting his hands into the dark material and pulling her to him. “Tell mehow, Christine, and I will do it. I cannot lose you!”
“I’ll make him forget!” Christine said with a force that shocked her as the words passed her lips. “I’ll write to him. And you’ll contact Shaya, and we’ll tell them to come to the masquerade. I’ll make him go away. And Shaya – he’ll see I’m safe and free. And no one will be hurt. No oneneedsto be hurt. We’ll all be safe!”
“How can you say that?” Erik demanded. Christine could see the tears in his eyes even behind the mask, and her heart broke. “How do you know?”
“Because I command it. You said you could never refuse a command from me.” A strange sort of strength welled up in Christine as Erik blinked at her. “You said I could trust you. You are mine, aren't you?”
“I am,” Erik replied breathlessly without hesitation.
“As I am yours. And so, they cannot take me from you as long as that is true.” Christine rose, pulling Erik up with her before throwing her arms around him. “I promise I will make this right, Erik. Trust me.”
Erik pulled back from her, doubt and danger still in his eyes. “Christine...”
“I am yours as you are mine,” she repeated and lifted his mask away before she kissed him. He recoiled, but she followed him, lips locked to his until they were against the wall, and he had nowhere to run from her. “You are mine and you will not harm anyone, unless it is at my command,” she said, low and dangerous, before she kissed him again.
He gave into the force of her lips, his mouth opening for her tongue to explore. The sound he let out, low and wild in his throat, made Christine shudder with need. She pressed herself against him, her hand slipping between their bodies to his groin.
