But even as Asmia sat on the hard dirt floor, surrounded by titanium bars, more earth, and a solid wall of rock, she felt no more alone now than she had when Taayin had turned his back on her, walked away without giving her a chance to apologize. Maybe this was her punishment for betraying him the way he believed she had.
Or perhaps this was the damnation she’d always heard about, the one strictly reserved for Fae, God’s cast-outs.
It hadn’t been enough that she’d been enslaved to the angels, handed to them on a silver platter to maintain their existence, keep them strong? That had been God’s punishment, right? His means of extracting vengeance for the sins of her ancestors? Well, it hadn’t worked out too well for Him. Somewhere along the way, Asmia had found pleasure in that subjugation, a place she belonged, a family who cared.
Maybe God hadn’t approved of that. Not enough pain to be considered penance. Better to be enslaved to the damned. After all, her life was to be one of servitude, wasn’t it? Only now she would be chained to a demon for the rest of her existence.
From outside the cell, she could hear voices, though Asmia had no idea who they belonged to. Well, other than Perfidious, that was. His dark tenor was unmistakable. When she’d first gotten here—hours, days, however long ago that had been—she’d heard a shrieking female, but thankfully, that one had exited the building. Whether she’d been pissed to leave or upset Asmia was there, she didn’t know. Nor did she care.
Truth was, Asmia didn’t care about much of anything at the moment. When she closed her eyes, she still saw Echo’s pained face, and she could only imagine the agony he was enduring believing he was responsible for her being taken. He was a good male, he didn’t deserve to bear the brunt of that. Thankfully, time would ease his torment, give him new memories to crowd out the pain of the past.
She briefly wondered what Taayin thought. Had they even told him? Did he even care? More than the others, that was. She knew he cared. He was a noble male, one who did not shirk his duty. Because she was a member of thefiestreigh, he would be searching for her if they asked him to. But aside from that duty, was he concerned? Did he miss her?
Because she missed him. More than she wanted to admit.
Asmia expected tears to fall but they never came. Perhaps she’d simply cried too much lately. Not once since Perfidious had walked her out of that apartment had she felt the urge to spill tears. Granted, the anger was building, and God forbid that demon stroll in here with his arrogant ass. She was saving every last ounce of her strength so she could take it out on his hide. If Perfidious thought she was a helpless female, he had another think coming.
And if he thought keeping her naked down here was going to intimidate her … well, he could get fucked, as Eclipse would say. Thinking of the male made her smile sadly. She hoped that things were going well for him and Orianna. She’d sensed how good they were together, how much they cared for each other even in the short amount of time since they’d met. Then again, it wasn’t time that made the heart grow fonder. No, that was absence, or so she’d heard. At some point, she figured she’d look back on the family she’d left behind with fondness, remembering the good times without the sorrow equated with not having had the opportunity to say goodbye.
Footsteps sounded on the hard-packed earth, and Asmia knew who was coming before Perfidious made an appearance. That haughty air of his was stifling, circling him, choking out all the air in the room. He believed he’d won even though no one else had been playing the game.
“How fare thee, gorgeous?”
Asmia didn’t bother looking up. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Instead, she sat on the ground, legs crisscrossed. She was naked, and this position gave him a glimpse of all her private parts, but it didn’t matter. He thought he’d beaten her by stealing her clothes. Truth was, she didn’t care. Not if he looked, not even if he touched. This was merely a vessel she was encapsulated in. Her soul was elsewhere, her heart safeguarded because it belonged to another. He could physically hurt her, he could force her to touch him, but he could never take what was most precious to her.
She’d been a victim of his mind control before, and she knew it was only a matter of time before he trapped her within the confines of it again. Before long, Asmia would be his slave in every sense of the word. She had no illusions that she was getting out of here anytime soon. This was her own fault, so she was going to get used to it. And when he forced her into his bed or wherever a creature like him laid his head, Asmia knew she would have no say in the matter. But she refused to let him win.
Before he could begin to break her with his magic, Asmia would lock up all those memories, those good feelings, and tuck them deep within her heart, hidden from him. Even if she remained in his clutches for the rest of her immortal life, he would never take those from her.
“Stand up and greet me appropriately,” Perfidious ordered, the door swinging open.
Asmia bided her time, remained where she was, head down, fingers clasped in front of her.
“Did you hear me?”
Oh, she heard him. Unfortunately.
A firm hand curled under her chin. She took a deep breath, then another as Perfidious slowly lifted her head so she was forced to meet his eyes.
She gave him what he wanted. Her lips curled up in a smile, and the instant she saw approval in his eyes…
Asmia lashed out, dragging all of her nails down both sides of his face, scoring his flesh, his precious blood seeping out of the wounds, essentially ruining the human suit he was wearing.
That would teach him.
“I don’t know about you guys, butI’m thinking we should hit the hay, regroup at sundown and…”
The rest of Aphotic’s words were drown out by the roaring that suddenly filled Eclipse’s head. It was compounded by the blistering heat that slammed into him from all angles.
“I… Oh, fuck…” He didn’t even bother with an explanation as he disappeared himself, resuming form in his private quarters. There, reclining on the leather chaise lounger, was the most luscious female he’d ever had the pleasure of seeing. Her eyes were wide, her body writhing as though trying to scratch an itch but not quite making contact.
“Eclipse … what is going on?”
He could feel the heat pulsing through her, knew her body was aching for his, so he didn’t waste time with the whole undressing ordeal. Instead, he willed both of their clothes off as he moved toward Orianna, then used the power of his mind to ignite the flames in the fireplace. Partly for warmth, more so for ambience, because on some level, he was still trying to impress the girl. Granted, he wasn’t sure Orianna noticed anything as she writhed and moaned, her hands sliding over her bare skin, which, Heaven help him, was almost too much.
“Come here,sezari,” he crooned as he joined her, lying on the chaise lounge and sliding his hand behind her head, pulling her mouth to his.
Instantly, Orianna’s tongue sought entrance as her fingers slid into his hair. Shards of pain morphed into a delicious pleasure as she jerked him closer, her breaths rasping against his mouth as her lips mated with his. She was liquid fire in his arms, rubbing herself against him in the most delicious ways.
