Page 23 of To Crave Deeply
Her eyes widened as the wisps began to wrap around her limbs.
“No!” she screamed before flooding the connection with more dark energy. I pushed back against the pain, against the connection and against Iveri. It felt like my body was being ripped apart, but I kept pushing the shadows until they started to consume the Sin Reaper.
I watched in horror and amazement as Iveri started to blend with the shadows that were wrapped around her. She screamed as she fought them, but it was to no avail. I pulled the shadows back into me, feeling the power of the Sin Reaper entwined with the tendrils of my magic as they merged with me.
Holy. Shit. I was actually doing it.
“I’ll get you back for this!” Iveri roared as the whispers of my shadows reached her shoulders. “You can’t get rid of me this easily.”
“I know,” I replied. “I wish I didn’t have to be this way. You could just ask for help.”
Her face contorted with rage. “Never. I willneverask for anything from you.”
I sighed. She was too deep in her own hatred that she couldn’t see that, even though she’d lied to me, taken my body and pretty much stabbed me in the back, there was a part of me that wanted to help her.
“I hope you change your mind,” I said sadly as my shadows claimed the face that mirrored my own. I really hoped she did. “I don’t know your story, Iveri, but I hope that one day, you’ll share it with me.”
I pulled the shadows back to me and felt the last part of her blend with me. I didn’t know how long I could keep her contained in the shadows, but at least I could work out a plan with my team to find some way to unbind her from me.
Now, I just needed to find a way to wake up.
***
My eyes opened to a swirling vortex of gold and silver sitting under a dark brow in a deep scowl. Relief rushed through me as a sob burst from my chest at the sight of Torsten.
“Lori?” he whispered, uncertainty lacing that deep, soul-quivering voice of his.
“Hi,” I managed to squeeze through the tears.
He went to kiss me but stopped about an inch from my lips. Confusion swirled in his eyes as he pulled back.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I can still feel Iveri’s command in place. I cannot kiss you.” His jaw clenched and I swear I could hear his teeth grinding audibly.
Anger rose deep in my core and I cursed her name again. “Can I undo it?”
Torsten shakes his head, and his dark hair falls into his eyes, blocking them from my view. “No.”
He said that single word with such certainty and such venom that my determination to free him from this eternal servitude bond rose anew. “Once a command is uttered, it cannot be undone unless the one who issued it dies or the bond is severed.”
“I will free you from this. I promise.”
His eyes found mine and there was such a sadness welling in them that my heart panged.
His fingers trailed along my cheekbone and wiped away a tear. “You cannot. The cost is too great.”
I clasped his hand in mine. “Torsten—”
“Well, isn’t this a touching reunion,” a sugary voice twittered from my right side.
I turned to see the Witch Queen propped on her throne, legs crossed with one elbow resting on her knee and her face cupped in the palm of her hand.
Fuck, I forgot she was there.
Torsten grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. My head spun and I stumbled forwards. Instinctively, I reached out to grab onto Torsten and I felt his hands wrap around my waist as he steadied me. His eyes darkened and smouldered as he stared down at me before his brow pinched in a frown.
“What is it?” I asked.
