“What did they do to you?”
A lump formed in my throat at the dark bend in his voice. When I didn’t answer, he swooped down and gripped me by the shoulders, shaking me. Liquid fire tore through my veins at his touch.
“Did they enter you?” The flames in his eye sockets glowed with malice, and his deep as Hell growl had the corpses shrinking back into their cells. “Did they touch what’s mine?”
Chapter7
BELIAL
Unholy,sinful sounds clawed up from my throat as I recited a string of dark magic. The black mass, an execution spell that would make every unworthy soul in here die within seconds.
I prided myself on being better than my brothers, but maybe I wasn’t better than them after all. Not if the sight of a few bruises had me wiping out dozens of souls, as if they’d never existed at all. I couldn’t bring myself to care.
The only soul that mattered in the entire God forsaken dungeon washers.
All around us, the corpses slumped to the ground, dropping like gassed flies. The thief’s eyes widened as she watched them die, then she peered into the oubliette to find the limbs limp and unmoving. “What happened to them?”
“I gave them their final Judgement. They’d been waiting for some time.”
Her eyes flicked to mine, the black stains from her makeup leaving dark trails down her cheeks.
She was weeping.
Bleeding Hells.Seeing her puffy cheeks coated in tears did dark things to me, but I hated knowing I was not the cause of them.
“Why did you kill them?” she asked, her tone rife with disbelief.
“They touched you. Defiled you.” I gritted my many teeth. “Just as I will make you suffer for defiling my Catherine, I will make anything and anyone suffer for defiling you. I protect those who belong to me.”
“Catherine…That’s the woman from the portrait, isn’t it? You were in love with her. That’s why I’m being punished. Because I took her necklace?”
Anger possessed me like a demon at her words. Was she really downplaying her crimes?
“You snapped her neck! You’ll be lucky if I don’t snap yours in return.” I shouldn’t have made any quick movements for her–not after she’d been violated by those forgotten souls–but my claw flew out to grab her.
She was prepared, jumping back and brandishing a knife so small, I hadn’t noticed it before. “Don’t touch me you fucking bastard.”
I was barely listening to her now. My attention was on the little blade clutched in her trembling hand. “Where did you get that?”
“In my room…But fine. Take it. It tried to have me killed anyway.”
I snatched her wrist, my iron grip making her cry out in surprise. I wrenched the blade out of her hand, and felt the despair of the soul within.
How had I been so stupid? I’d been so careful not to leave any sharp items in Catherine’s room yet I left this knife—of all things—for my little thief to stumble upon?
Fury and loathing churned inside me like a storm. This was my fault.
When Catherine had been alive, I’d done my best to “child-proof” the castle to keep her from killing herself. I’d placed bars over the windows, nailed down the various trap doors scattered around the palace. After she’d died for the last time, I’d removed it all in a sad attempt to brighten the place.
I could put it all back. No. I knew from experience that that wouldn’t stop my thief from trying to escape me. Something told me she was more innovative and stubborn than Catherine.
This time would be different.
I’d keep a closer eye on her.
I’d chain her to me if that’s what it took to keep her close, to keep her safe from the perils of my castle.
Because when the time came for it, I wanted to be the only thing in her nightmares. I’d be the sole cause of her agony.
