Page 66 of To Crave Deeply
LORI
Iveri was Iver’s wife? And she’d been created by Lucifer himself?
“Why, Iveri? Why would you want to destroy the person who created you? Gave you life?”
“Because he didn’t give me a choice!” she shouted, and I could feel the pain circling through her. “Because he created me for the sole purpose of loving Iver. I was the perfect mate in every way, and it was only after I fell in love with him that I realised the truth. That my path had already been written, already decided, and it was useless to fight against it.”
“And then you persuaded us to turn our backs on Lucifer, and where did that get us? You ended up dead and the three of us got thrown down here with nothing but madness to keep us company!” Selene roared, and the air crackled with her barely restrained magic.
Iveri stepped us closer to the witch. “From what I recall, you didn’t need much persuading. And don’t you remember the rumours circling around court?” Iveri dropped my voice to a menacing whisper. “They’re all mad. Surely His Majesty will do something about them. They don’t deserve to live.”
“I remember,” Selene hissed through clenched teeth. “I also remember your crazy scheme to destroy Lucifer and take his place. We all knew you were powerful enough to do it. We just hadn’t counted on one tiny little detail.”
“That none of his creations could destroy him,” I said.
Selene nodded solemnly.
Wow. This was all starting to sound like a fucked-up family feud that I did not want to get in the middle of. But I wanted to help Iveri. There was something about her and her story that had my heart clenching for her. I got why she was upset with Lucifer, and I understood her need to lash out. When I found out about the prophecy, I hated that it sounded like my fate had been set in stone. I fought against it and refused to believe it. Even now, I disliked that it hung over my head, just waiting to come into play. I know Lucifer laughed it off as the madness of an old witch, but Millicent Blackwood’s little books of prophetic revelations had caught the attention of so many people that a large number feared her words. Hell, even the angels believed in it enough that they wanted me gone.
I knew one thing for sure, though. Lucifer and I needed to have a long chat when I saw him next. I had a lot of questions.
“Iveri,”I called softly.
What?she snapped.
“Do you want to find Iver?”
She went quiet, and I could feel her start to withdraw from me. I felt sorry for her, and Torsten was right. I was humanising her. I saw her as a real person with real feelings and, as much as she frustrated me and annoyed me, she also made me see the potential she had in her. There were moments, beneath all the sass and sarcasm, when she actually did something helpful. I wasn’t sure she even realised she was doing it.
I do, she began slowly,but I’m not sure he will want me to find him.
“If he loved you, I am sure he would want to know you’re alright. Does he even know you cheated death?”
She shook her head. Shit. The poor man had been sitting down here for six centuries thinking her dead. That settled it. We were going to find him.
I looked at Selene. “Where is he? Where’s Iver?”
A manic grin spread across her face. “Are we off on a rescue mission? How fun.”
Torsten grabbed my arm and spun me to face him. “No. We don’t have time. We need to deliver her to the Witch Queen before the time runs out on your deal.”
His eyes were hard and determined, and I knew he would force me out of here unless I ordered him not to, and I was never ordering him to do anything against his wishes.
“I think you’re forgetting that I stole her crown,” Selene said musically as she pointed to the purple monstrosity on her head.
“Whatever. My mistress is still bound by the blood magic. We still need to deliver you to her.”
Selene scoffed at his disrespectful tone, her bright blue eyes blazing with indignation. “Fine. But I am going to knock that witch down a peg or two. I don’t care who she thinks she is; she is no match for me, and I am going to richly enjoy tearing her a new one. Let’s go.”
She looked expectantly at Torsten, but he just stared back confused.
“We will come back for him, Iveri. I promise.”
If you say so,she whispered softly, but I knew she didn’t believe me. It was sad that she didn’t trust anyone, but that just made me more determined to prove that she was worth helping.
Selene was still staring at Torsten, and it was starting to piss me off.
“What is it?” I said shortly and brought her attention to me.
