Black blood trickled as he tugged at the weapon. His lips curled, nostrils flaring.
“So, what happens when you’re mortal again? Will you beg and plead once I get a hold of you?” His gaze burned. “Looking at you truly infuriates me. How could something exist that repulses me so much?”
He kept broadcasting his loathing for me as if he couldn’t help himself.
Suddenly, the Devil was upon me, and a soul-wrenching ache bloomed inside my chest. I was certain he’d done somethingor used some kind of chaos against me. It took every ounce of strength not to tremble beneath the pressure of his madness.
The scent of burned marshmallows filled the air, and I could no longer deny it. That was his scent.
He was too close. I could feel his breath against my face as he said, “Even with that face—so full of hatred as you seethe—looks hand-carved from an angel. You belong there, in Heaven, don’t you, Kitten?”
“You know that’s not a place I’ll ever go,” I muttered. “And it’s a place you’ll never return.”
“Finally, something we can agree on,” he said, his red eyes roving over me. “I’ll find your fear, and I’ll carve you up with it.”
I almost snorted. He didn’t have to try that hard. I was already living a nightmare. Dad was gone. I was in purgatory with a mate hellbent on hurting me for simply existing. From every angle, my family appeared doomed to fail. But I held my tears back like they were meant to fill an ocean someday. I had the Devil to thank for that. He didn’t let me cry. Around him, I got to be absolutely mad.
Chapter Six
Kara
The Devil stared at something behind me, his shoulders tensing as his grip tightened on me.
“Your family has come for you.”
“As you knew they would.” I turned my head but was met with nothing but darkness.
“They won’t enter,” he said, just as I faced him again. “And you’ll never leave. You had time to say goodbye. I wonder… Did you?”
I thought of Shadow. He told me to accept my fate. Had my long-time companion known the future before I did? It seemed like everyone wanted me to say farewell. But I was far too stubborn to believe I’d never see my family again.
“I really don’t feel like talking anymore.”
I tore myself from his grip and tried fading out of Hell.
It was hopeless, of course. Still, I had to try.
When that failed, I tried to fade again within the same room. That worked. I reappeared a few feet away and raised my blade.
But all too soon, the weapon was ripped from my grasp and sailed into the Devil’s waiting palm.
“I don’t think you want to keep picking fights.”
“Oh, but I do.” I dematerialized my blade and summoned a dagger instead. The moment the sword vanished from his hand, the dagger materialized in mine. I threw it, aiming for his chest.
The monster didn’t flinch. The blade struck with a sickening crack, and at that moment, I saw exactly who Harvest mimicked all his life. The same terrifying stillness. The same inability—or refusal—to feel pain. Like father, like creation.
The Devil pulled the knife out, and black blood poured from the wound. “I feel nothing, Kitten. No matter how many blades you throw, or what words you speak, that will remain the same.”
I shrugged. “It might feel like nothing to you, but it’s therapeutic for me.”
“Will that be the case when I get my hands on you?” His voice struck its intended chord, and a fresh swell of unease filled my chest. “Will it still calm you if I change my mind and decide to kill your family before everyone fades?”
His tail shot toward me, but I caught it. My pulse pounded in my ears as I gripped the tip. Revulsion crawled under my skin again, but I held tighter, yanked harder—then heaved. I slung him over my shoulder, the impact jarring through my feet. The blackened bricks beneath him cracked and buckled, scattering like ash as his body hit the ground.
Then everything changed.
The surrounding darkness twisted into a long, narrow cell. The Devil vanished. A terrible sound followed— like bricksgrinding against one another. My eyes widened when I realized what was happening.
