“Other what?” I snapped.“Are you hinting at murder? Because, yeah, I‘ve been babied, but I’ve sent plenty of wicked souls to you, haven’t I?”
I knew that wasn’t what he meant. His gaze swept over my body with too much deliberation. He wasn’t thinking about killing.
So, I twisted the knife.
“Oh,” I started,tone dripping sarcasm, “you meant carnal pleasures. Don’t worry, I’m no virgin. I’ve had men. Women.Sometimes both. While I figured out I preferred men, I spent my twenties above or beneath someone, depending on the day.”
That part was true. But the rest of it? The deeper truth hurt.
After Shadow left me, I spent fifteen years searching for the kind of fire he’d awakened in me that day. No orgasm, no lover, no relationship ever matched it. Eventually, I gave up. Exhausted.
Lost in thought, I didn’t notice the room had grown cold until I saw my breath. The Devil stood utterly still with his burning red eyes fixed on me. Tension knotted in my shoulders. The silence pressed in, broken only by the low, steady thump of his heart.
Then the cold left as quickly as it came. He exhaled slowly.
“That’s a sin, Kitten,” he murmured. “Being anything less than holy is a crime to Heaven. No wonder the Reapers don’t end up there. You’re just as wretched as the rest of the Underworld.” He paused. “But don’t worry. I’d never judge you for that down here.”
With no warning, he yanked me forward. My body jerked, and I nearly lost balance. Fighting him was pointless, but instinct had me calling my scythe. I swung it overhead. His tail caught the blade mid-air, coiling around it like it was nothing. Still, he continued dragging me toward the cell.
Defeat swelled in my chest. I wasn’t giving up, but I had to bide my time. There had to be a way out of his domain. I just had to survive long enough to find it. With my head held high, I stepped into the cell.
Chapter Seven
Shadow
The second I left her in my true form; I slipped away from prying eyes. Once I was far enough away, I shed my skin and bones, desperate to return to the one place I loathed most.
I didn’t want to reveal myself right away, so I sank into the darkness lining the cells. Kara had dropped to the floor with a sigh, leaning back against the wall. She hadn’t asked for food yet. She must have been starving.
My form pulsed as I watched her.
I feel nothing,I reminded myself. Nothing in either form.
I wasn’t one to lie. But with her, I found myself doing it increasingly.
Physically, I was empty. Hollow. But inside, something rioted. Desperate. Seeking what it could never have. Emotions were a nightmare. Feeling meant vulnerability, and that meant being consumed. I knew firsthand how easily madness could latch on. How quickly rage could devour a mind.
My destiny had always dangled in front of me. Taunting. Cruel. Just out of reach. But now, the end was coming. The world would fall, and my fate would finally rise to meet me.
Lost in thought, I stopped quivering in the shadows. For a moment, I was still.
But the instant my focus returned to her, Kara sitting there—stubborn and too lovely—I came undone all over again. The sensations inside my shadowed form ran amok, no matter how tightly I tried to contain them.
It was more than maddening.
Having no control over my reactions to her made me want to destroy her—and everything she held dear.
But I didn’t have to. The wheels of fate were already turning for both of us. One story was beginning while the other was ending. The bane of my existence would soon vanish from every world, as if she never existed. I wouldn’t need to fight myself anymore to stay away from her. I wouldn’t have to resist the urge to see her.
She’d be gone.
As it should be.
I froze when I realized I’d crossed into a place I never allowed myself before.
I was her shadow in this form. Nothing more.
But lying had become a habit. It sank into my bones until it felt like truth.
