Page 27 of The Demon's Sinful Serenade
I screamed inside my head, throwing everything I had against Julian's control, desperate to stop the words coming from my mouth. Julian twisted at one of the bracelets, managing to loosen it just enough that it slid partway down my hand. The protective magic weakened immediately, and I felt his control strengthen, helpless to prevent the cruelty being unleashed.
Zane scanned my face in disbelief. "You don't mean that."
"Don't I?" Julian scoffed. "Poor Zane. Sorry to break it to you, but you were convenient. A nice distraction while I got my shit together." He leaned in, dropping my voice to a cruel whisper. "But I don't need you anymore."
I felt Zane's eyes burning into my back as Julian walked my body away, heading deeper into the backstage area. His satisfaction pulsed through our shared consciousness, and I recoiled from the dark glee he took in crushing Zane's heart.
This isn't real. This isn't me. Zane, please, you have to know this isn't me.
CHAPTER EIGHT
ZANE
Something was wrong.
I stared at River's retreating back. I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. My muscles locked into place as my brain processed what was happening. The warmth that had been building between us, the connection I'd felt—all of it shattered in the space of a few cruel sentences.
But it wasn't right. None of it made sense.
Not just the words, but everything else, too. The way she'd moved, the flat emptiness of her voice, the distant glint in her eyes that I'd never seen before. The River I knew, even at her most sarcastic, had a warmth that radiated from within. This…thingdidn't.
My entire body screameddanger. The instinct to follow her, protect her, save her, warred with the agonizing rejection that had ripped open a gaping wound in my chest. I needed answers. And I needed them now.
Because whatever was wearing River's face right now, it wasn't her.
"River!" I called, shoving past a group of sound techs breaking down equipment.
I glimpsed her blue curls disappearing around a corner. Cursing under my breath, I hurried after her. She darted around another cluster of staffers, turning sharply. My foot landed on something slim and metallic. I glanced down to find one of River's bracelets lying on the ground, several charms loosened to the point of nearly falling off.
Alarm bells blared inside my skull. I snatched up the bracelet and bolted after River. "Hold on. We need to talk."
I rounded the corner and found her casually leaning against a trailer, as if waiting for me.
"Following me already?" The cruel smile that twisted her lips was all wrong. "Pathetic, even for you."
Something dark threaded through her usual rain-washed scent. Decay and rot and smoke, like a forest fire raging through a graveyard.
"You're not River," I growled. I approached slowly, hands raised in a non-threatening gesture. "River would never be that cruel."
"River" cocked her head, eyes gleaming with malicious amusement. "And you think one mediocre fuck means you know that?"
"Get out of her body." I took another step forward, fighting to keep my voice level. "Whatever trick you pulled to possess her, it's over now."
"Her body?" The thing inhabiting River laughed, the sound all wrong coming from her throat. "Oh, you poor, deluded creature. Do you have any idea what it's like? Being trapped in darkness, watching her live while I rotted?" The thing ran River's hands suggestively down her sides. "She owes me this."
Realization snapped into place with bone-crushing force.
Julian.
The possessive gesture with River's hands made bile rise in my throat. My muscles tensed, ready to lunge, flameslicking between my fingers. I could burn him out of her. One concentrated blast of fire...
And hurt River in the process.
I forced the flames down, clenching my fists to contain the scorching energy. "Get out of my mate."
Julian's lips stretched into a predatory grin across River's face, the expression twisting her features into something unrecognizable. He trailed her fingers along her collarbone in a parody of seduction.
"Your mate?" he sneered. River's fingers reached for me, playing along my jawline, and it took everything I had not to flinch away. "That's adorable. She can hear you, you know. Screaming inside her own head, begging for help."
