Page 6 of To Crave Deeply
Time to quash those hopeful dreams. “I hate to break it to you, but he’s bound to the heart beating in my chest. Your girl is gone. There is no way back from death by angel sword.”
The faces in the room sank with the weight of crushed dreams. I didn’t care if it was true or not. I didn’t want them going on a quest to bring her back.
“We will discuss this with Levi. I am sure he will be able to figure something out.”
All eyes turned back to the vampire I had just sent to the brink of death. He was going into commander mode, and everyone was waiting for orders. The ballroom was still in chaos. People were tending to the wounded, counting how many witches and mages had gone missing.
Camael and the angels were up to something; that much was clear. But it wasn’t my fucking problem. My goal was to get out of here alive, but I had a feeling they weren’t going to let me go so easily.
My eyes found Torsten’s, and a wicked thought popped into my head. Could I order him to get me out of here? Did I still have enough power over him that I could force him to do my bidding? The thought of having a Shadow Fiend at my beck and call was absolutely mouth-watering. The things we could accomplish together… I just didn’t know if the bond of eternal servitude was tied to the heart, soul, or both. If just the heart, then I’d have complete control over him but if the bond was to both the heart and soul, then my sway over him would be limited.
“Oh, Torsten,” I crooned. His jaw twitched as he tightened it. He knew exactly what I was about to do, and a little thrill ran up my spine at making this powerful demon be my bitch. I wasn’t going to ask him to kill anyone.
Not yet, anyway.
“Get me out of here.”
“No!” Jasper shouted. “She is not to go anywhere until we figure out what the Hell is going on.”
“I am sorry,” Torsten replied. “But I cannot refuse her. She is still my Mistress and as such I am bound to comply with every request. Do not make me fight you, vampire.”
“I can’t let you take her. She… I…” His words faltered.
“I know,” Torsten replied simply. “You will just have to trust that I will keep her safe. My life is still forfeit if she gets hurt.”
Jasper didn’t look pleased with that at all. A snarl started to curl his lips and I could tell he was on the cusp of doing something forceful to keep Torsten away from me.
“Besides, I hate to get off topic here, but we have a bigger problem,” Alec said as he strolled towards Jasper and Torsten. Such a gorgeous man to look at. Thick raven locks framed a face that was absolute perfection. His honey-coloured eyes didn’t shine with their usual lustre, and I knew he was feeling Lori’s loss just as much as everyone else — despite not even having a heart.
I was gutted that Lori never found out that whole story. I was definitely intrigued as to who stole it. Only one of the most powerful witches could perform magic like that. It took a great deal of skill to remove a heart and keep the victim’s body alive and suspended in constant animation. It was also pure torture for the person without a heart. To know that you should be feeling something but feel nothing is a cruel punishment.
My mind turned to my witch, and I suddenly wondered if they knew each other. The spells certainly seemed to have the same sort of wicked flare to them. I knew it couldn’t be my witch that cast the spell because she was… well, she wasn’t really around anymore. But perhaps Alec’s witch could help me with my little Lucifer problem?
“What do you mean?” Jasper asked Alec.
“Well, for one, the Witch Queen told me that she sacrificed her witches to the angels. She said that the sacrifice of a few outweighed the loss of the whole.” Alec spat the words out like they were laced with venom. He clearly had no love for this witch, which meant she was probably the one who cursed him. She sounded like fun. I was going to make visiting her my first stop, after finding some new clothes. Evening wear wasn’t exactly subtle.
“Shit,” Jasper seethed. “What has she done?”
“And that’s not all. Lucifer’s lifeforce is tied to the Under Realm and its protections. If he dies, so do the wards and forces that keep all the bad souls locked away.”
“But he’s not dead,” the vampire replied quickly. “No, but he’s not really alive now either. He looks like he’s in some sort of coma. The longer he’s in it, the weaker he will get. The weaker he gets—”
“The weaker the protections get. Fuck!” Jasper was pacing now. The Witch Queen issue I had no control over, but I kind of felt a little guilty over the whole Hell-breaking-loose thing. That was definitely my bad. But there was fuck all I could do about it now. And besides, who doesn’t like a little Hell and havoc to liven the place up once in a while?
“This is all mighty fun, guys, but I think I am going to leave now. Torsten, get me out of here. Now.” I was still pinned against the wall with Fenris’ magic, and I’d had enough now. None of this shit mattered to me. I needed to see the Witch Queen, sever this soul bond, and then I could go on my merry way, skipping into the sunset.
Jasper’s eyes turned to mine, and I could tell he was barely holding on. The edges of his electric-blue irises were edged with the black of his beast, and I was suddenly worried I might actually have to kill him if he didn’t let me go.
For some reason, that thought bothered me.
“Fenris, let her down.”
“What?!” the mage exclaimed. “No way, Jasper. You can’t let her—”
“Fenris! Put her down this instant!” The vampire’s eyes went completely black as he stared at Fenris and barked his order out.
He was letting me go. He was actually letting me go. Well, colour me fucking surprised.
