Page 26 of Can't Bite This Feeling
“She loved me,” I growl.
“Sheshamedus!” he bellows. “She died a disgrace!”
I lunge for him, teeth bared.
Lucifer flicks a hand, and I slam into the marble tiles. “Ah-ah. Not yet,” he says, almost bored. “We’re not done playing.”
He flicks his wrist again, and I’m yanked to my knees like a puppet with cut strings. The tiles grind into my bones. My power thrums inside me, burning to be unleashed, but I can’t move. Not yet.
“Now, now,” Lucifer purrs, toying with a blackened grape from a silver bowl beside him. “Let’s not make this about old grudges, Rapha. This is a test. A bit of sport. Your precious little beautyis still tucked away in that lovely manor you made for her. So charming. Sovulnerable.”
My stomach clenches. My pulse surges.
“What are you saying?” I snarl.
Cassian steps forward, the weight of his presence like a rot spreading through the air. “She’s mine to reclaim. You stole her. Defiled her. I’m taking back what was promised.”
“You have no claim on her,” I snarl. “She chose her life. She choseme.”
Lucifer smiles wide enough to show his black-stained gums. “And now she gets to choose again. Or not. Depends how quickly you get there.”
My magic surges, but still I can’t move. IfeelDrusilla. She’s close… but veiled. Something’s muffling the bond.
“She’s not defenseless,” I grit out.
“Oh, I’m counting on that,” Lucifer croons. “I know you warded the manor with magic to protect her. She’s bound to the manor now, did you know? The longer she stays, the more the magic becomes a part of her. Sweet little thing might even surprise Daddy.”
His voice hardens, losing its lazy cadence. “But let’s be honest, Rapha. You’ve been too busy bathing in mortal corruption to notice the bond fraying. And now? You’ve waited too long.”
I roar, fighting his hold with everything I am, sparks of flame crackling along my arms.
Lucifer smiles. “You’d better hurry if you want to save your precious Drusilla.”
He lifts his thumb and middle finger. Snaps.
Cassian vanishes.
The spell breaks.
I stagger to my feet, but I feel it in my bones.
Cassian’s already there.
I try to blink to the manor. To her.
Nothing.
Lucifer's laughter echoes in my skull as I sprint through the streets of Screaming Woods, terror mounting. I burst through the manor’s front door, calling her name.
“Drusilla!”
No answer.
I search every room, every door, even the ones sealed by ancient magic. She’sgone.
When I finally stumble into the back garden, the sight before me stops me cold.
A message, carved into the stone wall in massive, deliberate strokes.
