Page 77 of To Crave Darkly
No, no, no. I stretched out my fingers, futilely reaching for the hilt of the dagger.
But I was too late.
Alec’s eyes went wide as the dagger pierced his chest.
Tears blurred my vision and a scream burned my throat. “You bastard! Lucifer, you fucking bastard!”
Lucifer let go of Alec, and he crumpled to the ground like a stone. I sank to my knees beside him and a vice gripped my chest as I looked down at the eyes that once held so much mirth and life. They now stared back at me with all the emptiness of a void.
I placed my hand on his chest, hoping that I could save him like I’d saved Fenris. But my demon was gone. She had slunk away, and although I could feel the energy I had stolen pumping through my veins, without the help of Lucifer channelling power into the bond, I didn’t have the strength to save Alec.
Tears choked me. I smoothed his hair back from his face and I let the tears fall. I’d failed to save my friend. He was dead and it was all my fault.
I’d let him die right in front of me.
Rage swept through me like an inferno and my scream ripped through the silence of the night. I charged at Lucifer, my anger and agony fuelling my attack. I could barely see through the tears, but my rage was too big, my pain too incomprehensible that I barrelled into Lucifer with everything I had. I could feel Lucifer draining my energy through the bond and, without the added power boost, I was back to being merely human. My attack on him was pathetic. I knocked him backwards a few paces, but he stood his ground. I was determined to wipe that smug smile off his face, but he blocked every one of my hits. It was like he knew my moves before I made them. And he wasn’t fighting back. Not really. He just stood there, taking the beating like he knew he deserved it.
As my energy faded, so did my anger. Gut wrenching sobs wracked my body as Lucifer wrapped his arms around me. I didn’t want to like it, I wanted to shove him away, but I didn’t have the strength to fight him. So I lay there, wrapped in his embrace, and sobbed into his chest. I hoped I ruined his fucking shirt.
“Come on. Time to go home.” Lucifer picked me up in his arms and carried me like his most precious thing. I had no fight left in me. I wasn’t worthy of being saved so I let him take me. His wings unfurled behind him and I couldn’t even marvel at the beauty of them. Grief had numbed me and in my sorrow I couldn’t care.
We launched into the air and together, Lucifer and I disappeared into the night.
Chapter 30
FENRIS
I heard Lori’s scream and my heart clenched. No. Where was she? What happened?
I turned in the direction of the sound and saw Alec drop to the ground.
Shit. I forced my legs into action and ran to Lori. What the fuck was Cassian playing at? Why wasn’t he doing anything?
I could see Lori kneeled over Alec. She thought he was dead, but I knew something she didn’t.
Why was I moving so slowly?
Lori threw herself at the man who’d thrown the dagger at Alec and my blood ran cold. Lucifer, how was he here? This wasn’t possible?
Unless….
Oh, god. He was Orion. He’d tricked Lori and somehow she had managed to give him enough power to manifest here. This was all kinds of fucked up. I cursed myself. How did we not see it?
Lucifer wrapped her in his arms and took to the sky. He’d taken her. He’d won.
Dread settled in my bones as I reached the spot where Alec lay dead on the ground. I didn’t stop running until I had slammed my fist into Cassian’s face.
“Why didn’t you stop him?” I roared as the rest of the team came to join us.
“And end up dead like Alec?” he seethed. “I’m not that stupid.”
I ran at Cassian again, but Jasper held me back
“Enough,” he ordered. “Fenris is right, Cassian. Why didn’t you do anything? You know what’s at stake.”
“You didn’t see the way she kissed him. She’s already lost.” Cassian spat the words at us in disgust.
“You don’t know that,” Jasper bellowed.
