Page 112 of To Crave Deeply
Then there was a flash of blinding white light, and the wind blew outwards, dissipating through the room. Silence fell. The pain disappeared, fading into a memory I never wanted to relive. Lucifer then fell forward with a groan.
“Lucifer!” I called as I caught him in my arms before he hit the floor. “Talk to me. Tell me you’re okay.” I patted his cheek to try and rouse him, but he said nothing.
I looked up at Selene. “What did you do?”
She was breathing heavily and sweat peppered her brow. “I fixed the bond. I had to fool the mark into thinking he was dead. I only took him to the point of death, just long enough for the soulbond to think the balance restored. He will be fine. He just needs to sleep it off.”
A clap echoed through the room. Slow and deliberate. The sound bounced off the walls and I turned to the lone figure walking down the aisle towards the dais.
“Well done, Selene. My Master will be impressed.”
Chapter 34
LORI
Jasper stopped in the middle of the room and tucked his hands in his pockets. His eyes were still a bright ruby red, which meant Mordecai still had a hold over his mind. His face contorted into a grim smile, and I feared that any trace of the man I loved was buried so deeply in his mind that he would be forgotten.
I had to save him.
I lay Lucifer down gently and stood to face the vampire. I took a step towards him, but Torsten materialised at my side, grabbing my arm, and pulling me to a stop.
“Don’t,” he said firmly. “He shouldn’t even have gotten through the wards to this place.”
I frowned. Torsten was right, which meant… I looked at Violette, but she looked just as confused as I felt. She hadn’t let Jasper in. Then my eyes landed on Selene and my stomach dropped. Her eyes lit up with manic glee and her wry smile twisted her lips.
“What did you do?”
She laughed. “Only what was asked of me.” She strolled towards me, her true nature finally revealing itself. “Do you really think we’d spend six centuries in that Hell hole and not plan something? We have the perfect—”
“We don’t have time for your little ego trip, Selene,” Jasper cut in. “My Master wants her now.”
Selene hissed at Jasper. “You are not my equal. You do not get to tell me what to do.”
He laughed harshly. “I’m not telling you what to do. Just trying to make sure you stick to the schedule.”
She clucked her tongue at him in disdain but stayed silent. I turned back to Jasper and found him watching me curiously, his head cocked to one side as if trying to figure out what I was going to do next. It was so strange seeing his handsome face tainted by Mordecai. He looked like a completely different person, even though he was still Jasper.
“Protect Lucifer,” I whispered to Torsten. “Please.”
He nodded and let go of my arm. The rest of the team had moved themselves to strategic positions around the room, waiting for the moment the shit hit the fan. Because it most definitely would. There was no way we were getting out of this without some kind of drama. Selene had clearly been playing us from the start, having cooked up some massive plan with Mordecai. I didn’t know if Iver was involved; no one seemed to have mentioned him yet. I had a feeling that out of the three of them, he was probably the most well-rounded. That might just work in our favour.
If we could find him, and if we made it out of this alive.
“Is the plan still to take Lucifer down?” I asked Jasper as I approached him in the middle of the room.
His grin widened. “My Master has evolved since his younger years. As have his plans. Time to go, little one.”
I flinched at the term of endearment that Mordecai had used.
Fenris stepped forward. “She’s not going anywhere with you.”
I flicked a glance his way. “It’s okay. He won’t take me. I know Jasper is still in there somewhere.”
The vampire in question snorted. “You won’t find your precious love, Lori. He’s gone. There’s just the beast left now. And he wants to play.” Jasper licked his lips as he looked down at me.
“I’m not going with you, Jasper.”
He snarled and I felt Fenris take another step closer.
