I knelt beside Anya and listened. The softest of breaths spilled from her parted lips, and her heart barely trembled in her chest. I glanced up at Valac whose face had gone a shade paler. “She’s alive, but barely.”
“We should take her to the hospital. Maybe they’d be able to save her.”
But her heart barely beat. Her lungs struggled for air. By the time we got her to the hospital, she’d be dead. Just moving her might cause her death. I closed my eyes and slumped forward. This was going to destroy Eva.
That was when I noticed the note pinned to the ground beside Anya’s head. I ripped it up and glared at the words.
This is for what you did to Andrea. Back off now. Or we’ll come for Eva next.
32
Eva
The darkness took over. When Sarah whispered to me what had happened, my heart couldn’t take it. I let go, letting the demon wash over me. Moments passed as a raw angry hunger ripped through my gut. The cult had attacked my roommates while they’d been out having a few drinks with the shifter bartender. No one had thought the cult would go after them, but it made a hell of a lot of sense in hindsight.
They were angry we’d taken one of theirs. So, they’d decided to hit me where it hurt the most.
It had worked.
Maybe we should stop fighting.
Caim’s concerned eyes hovered in front of me. I could barely make out his words as he took my arms in his warm, firm hands and tugged me out of the alley. My roommates hadn’t been attacked outside, but I could still smell Anya’s blood.
“She’s shut down,” he murmured to the others. Blurry bodies moved just in front of me, backlit by the city lights. “Did you tell her what happened?”
“Yeah.” Sarah’s voice wavered. Deep down, I knew I needed to fight against the oppressive weight on my mind and soul, but I didn’t have the strength within me. Sarah needed me right now, just as much as I needed her. She’d had to witness it...
My heart shattered. Grief raged through me. I gritted my teeth and let the darkness block it out.
Soothing numbness flooded my bones.
But in the back of my mind, the human in me curled up into a ball. She hid away in the corner, pulling the blanketing numbness over her head. We’d tried so hard to fight against the Cult of Lilith, but our every move had done nothing but give them the ammunition they needed against us. We were playing a game of chess, and we didn’t see far enough ahead to win. They’d outmaneuvered us every time.
What was the point of even trying anymore?
If we kept at this, more people would get hurt. Sarah could be next. Hell, the cult might find a way to destroy everyone I knew and loved.
And for what? It wasn’t like they could actually find a way to open the gate to Hell. Lucifer had shut it. Only he could open it back up again. Might as well let them try.
I sagged against Sarah. She pressed her forehead against mine.
“That’s odd,” Phenex said with a grunt. I could recognize his voice even through the haze of my oblivion. “She’s not acting like she was the last time she let the darkness take over. I’m kind of shocked she’s not trying to rip you to pieces, Sarah. No offense.”
“Eva would never hurt me,” Sarah said in a clear voice that cut through some of the haze.
“Of course she wouldn’t. But Eva and the monster are two very separate things.”
“It doesn’t matter how much of the monster she is. She’d never hurt me.”
Something in her words brought me back to the surface. The demon in me hunkered down, letting me take control. Huh. That was new.
I met Sarah’s eyes. She gave me a sad smile, her cheeks red and splotchy from her tears.
“There you are,” she whispered.
“I don’t know for how long.” It hurt to even speak.
“Please stay with me,” she pleaded, wrapping her hand around mine. “I can’t do this without you.”
