“How do you know she was wearing heels?” I arched my brow, and he covered his mouth with his hand quickly. “As for Reed, he’s better than you, and I would pick him over you every single time.” I shook my head with a sarcastic laugh bubbling up my throat.
“She’s not worth fucking, Nightwind. Do you really want a pussy tainted with lowly demon dick?” Voidfire wrapped her arms around Nightwind’s waist, peeking out from behind him. A flash of that night smacked into me at the sight of her face. She’d been there when they beat me; she was part of it.
“You’re right,” Nightwind sneered at me. “She’s clearly got bad taste.”
“He was only nice to you because he wanted in your pants,” Voidfire giggled. “But that’s okay. I’ll let him into mine instead.”
I shook my head in disbelief at the two of them. “What’s your goal here? I don’tcareabout Nightwind. At all.”
“No, you care about demon scum.” He curled his lip in disgust. “Like Nyx and those three dumbasses you seem to keep defending.”
A rage bubbled up inside of me, uncontrollable and fierce as my power surged through me, out of my mouth, and into theirs as I drew in half of their souls.
Their limp bodies hit the sand, and their essence filled my reserves as I stood over them.
“Oh, fuck,” Hemlock slurred. “Did she kill ‘em?”
Skel pinched his brows and smoked his pipe again. “Nah.They’re alive.”
With the taste of souls still lingering on my tongue, I fled out of Serpentine Stadium with a cold seed of anger in my heart.
Why was it that when one thing went right for me, everything else fell apart?
48
SKEL
Icouldn’t get the sight of Nyx kissing Pandora’s cheek this afternoon out of my fucking head. It didn’t matter how much fae magic I smoked or how high I was. What was worse was that I didn’t hate Nyx. I wanted to, but more than that, I wanted tobehim. She’d been on my lap, getting high and being fucking cute, and then…I got scared of her.
Terror of death clouded my judgment of her, and now, I was reaping what I fucking sowed.
But what was worse was knowing that Darkmore’s fear may not have been made up. It might’ve been something true. Seeing Pandora bloodied again that night changed something inside of me. But more than that, it just pissed me off.
It pissed me off how much I fuckingcared.
Bram, Dex, and I were headed to Occult Arch to just hang out this evening, trudging through the sand. I was wrapped in the lethargic embrace of my fae-induced haze when everything seemed to rip apart.
The scent of decay filled the air as we approached the arch, sickening and sweet like rotting fruit, and we stumbled upon a fucking dark magic-infected body. It lay within the confines of a dark magic circle, its edges dark and shimmering with an aura of malevolence. The stench of sulfur was tangible, clawing at the back of my throat.
Dex's scream pierced the air as he dropped to his knees, clutching his head, and it was laced with raw terror. His face is twisted in agony. “Fuck,no!”
The guy's usually fucking off, but this was weirder than usual.
Bram's voice cut through the air, sharp and commanding, even though he’d definitely been drinking. “Skel, get Dex the fuck away from it. I'll go get fucking Darkmore.”
With a slow nod, I tried to focus and put an arm around Dex. I could feel the fear magic itching under my skin, eager to seep out and create illusions from the depths of anyone and everyone’s mind. But I pushed it down, therainbow smoke from my fae pipe encircling us both.
I dragged him all the way to our room before rushing back, but as I approached the arch, I noticed Pandora walking this way.
Jealousy burned hot in my veins, but I shoved it down. “Don’t come over here!”
Pandora’s frown on her pretty lips deepened, and she stomped closer. “What is your problem with me, Skel? I know for a fact that the night you comforted me after my nightmare meantsomething.So why do you?—”
She dropped to her knees in the sand, her head turning toward the dark magic circle and body enclosed. With a violent burst of her magic, death smoke tumbled from her open mouth and covered the scene. Utterly fucking covered it. Everything was consumed by dark, viscous clouds.
The body inside had looked dead, but maybe there was a soul inside. She was drawing in what seemed to be the dark magic like a siphon, and her body convulsed with each second that passed by.
“Pandora,” I blurted her name, fear paralyzing me. I was rooted to my spot, unable to do anything.
