Page 75 of To Crave Deeply
“Okay,” I said, my heart clenching at the thought of abandoning Jasper. “Let’s protect our home and then we will find him. Like you say, he may have already turned up.” I gave Alec what I hoped was an optimistic smile, but he didn’t seem entirely convinced.
His lips pressed softly to the top of my head. “Thank you,” he whispered before returning to the rest of the group. My heart felt incredibly heavy in my chest. There was too much pain and sorrow lurking in the cavern of my chest and all I wanted to do was break down and cry. It wouldn’t solve anything. I wouldn’t miraculously feel better, but right now all I could think about was the fact that Lucifer was dying, and Jasper was missing. I needed to dosomething. To save them. To bring them both back to me.
“I will take Lori,” I heard Torsten say. Shit, I hadn’t even been listening to the plan.
Alec gave me a pitying look. “Okay, the rest of us will travel via portal. We will head back to base and take it from there.”
Everyone sprang into action and disappeared into Fenris’ portal, leaving me and Torsten with the witches and Iveri. I looked over at the woman who recently resided in my mind.
“Are you going to be okay?”
Iveri’s eyes darkened. “I don’t know. Selene is going to help me find a scintillam vitae wielder, and hopefully I will be able to get my demon back. Take care of her. Make sure you feed her. She will get real bitchy if you don’t.”
I chuckled. “I remember.” I looked longingly at Torsten. “I just wish I could, well, you know…”
Iveri rolled her eyes. “Lori, my soul is no longer trapped inside your body. We might still be tied together but I don’t have any command over the Fiend anymore.”
My heart skipped a beat. “What? Are you serious?”
She folded her arms across her chest before focusing on Torsten. “Torsten, hop on one leg and touch your nose.”
He just stood there and scowled.
“See. Nothing. No control whatsoever.”
I jumped and squealed before wrapping my arms around her.
“Urgh. Get off me,” Iveri grunted as she dislodged my arms from her neck.
At least that was one less thing on my shit list to deal with. The thought of having Torsten bound by a command made my insides squirm. And not in a good way. I wanted him to have free will, and while he was bound to me, I would make sure he never felt constricted like that again. I would make sure he always had a choice.
Iveri fixed me with a serious stare. “Don’t die. Well, don’t die again. I’m not sure how well I’d survive a second time.”
I grinned. “I’ll do my best. Let me know if you find that scintillam vitae thingy. I’d like to help if I can.”
She frowned at me, a puzzled expression deep in those demonic eyes. I expected her to say no, but she nodded, and I took that to mean she would keep in touch.
“Keep an eye on Selene. I don’t trust her or the Witch Queen. This whole thing has disaster written all over it.”
Iveri gave me another nod before walking her elegant frame back towards the witches.
I looked up at Torsten and smiled. “Let’s go home.”
He returned an answering smile and was about to respond, but Selene crooned my name.
I rolled my eyes and sighed. I had been hoping to escape without any more interactions with the original witch. I guess I wasn’t going to be that fucking lucky.
Torsten gave my arm a reassuring squeeze as I turned to face Selene, and I silently prayed that this was going to be a short conversation.
“Look, I know we aren’t going to be the best of friends, but thank you for releasing me from the Pit.”
“I didn’t really have a choice,” I grumbled.
She snorted. “Nevertheless, I will help you with your soulbond issue. It won’t be easy to fix, and Lucifer will have to be on the mortal plane.”
Shit. That meant I’d have to consume either a soul or a ridiculous amount of dark energy from tortured souls to provide the soulbond with enough power to allow Lucifer to manifest on earth.
Selene’s eyes darkened. “You should embrace the demon, Lori. If I can’t find the power to fully separate Iveri from you, you’ll be stuck with it.” She narrowed her eyes. “Secretly, I think you enjoy having the demon inside you. You like the thrill.”
