No, it’s my Amoro, not me.
“I’ll remove it.”
I hyperfocus on her eyes that are beginning to glow from the specks of gold in them.
If she removes the damnation, Tali won’t be able to control me.
“For what in return?” I ask, knowing that nothing in my life comes without a cost.
We are so close I can feel her breath against my lips. “When I summon you, you come.”
I have way too many deals going on right now.
“Not for Belial, but for me. He has Lucifer, but I never had a direct daughter.” Before I can even respond, my back is against the wall, and she’s placing the hand that was behind my neck over my chest. “I’ll break our laws and remove it just for your loyalty to me.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I’ll need you. I can also ensure his soul stays yours.”
“His… soul?” My breathing escalates. “I don’t understand, I’m not even that strong—I’m not fully?—”
“You are much stronger than you give yourself credit for. Yes, or no, Xeraphine, you need to get back. Your Mark is in danger.”
My breath catches, and without another moment of hesitation, I whisper, “Yes. I’ll come when summoned.”
Her grin is diabolical, and I truly wonder if anyone in these three worlds has a decent bone in their body. “Very good. I promise that I am your ally, Xeraphine.”
Her mouth meets mine, and it feels as though a silver thread wraps around my entire body, stitching me together like a broken doll being mended.
Then… I suddenly feel free.
I releaseall the air in my lungs just as Tali slams into the parked car. It bows inward, and I revel in the look she gives me as her head lifts. It’s a blend of shock and fury, something I’ve come accustomed to. When she called my name, I could’ve stood my ground, but I wanted to elicitthisabove everything else. A beautiful mixture of control and patience.
Kairhyse comes to stand at my side just as my mother is pulling herself from the wreckage.
“I see some laws were broken…” she seethes. “We don’t help each other;our kind. Proserpina has always been too soft. I told Belial to drop the Hybrid bitch.”
As she pops her head from side to side, she looks up to Kai and then back to me.
“This doesn’t have to happen.” I take a single step in her direction. “Separate from this world and go to the Beyond, Tali. Leave me alone.”
She narrows her eyes. “Just because I can’t control you, doesn’t mean I won’t get what I want. I’ll take your head, Xeraphine, incapacitate your Mark, and just have one of my Necroth kill him.” Her tongue comes out, its long, forked tip drawing across her lips. “Or maybe I’ll just torture him for you togiveme what I want. Make him watch as I have Incubus afterIncubus fuck that tight?—”
Rage and fury are often classified alongside a lack of control. Kairhyse, has always had the latter.
However, I’ve seen the former simmering within his crimson eyes. Each emotion as deadly as he is, and the moment his fist connects with her jaw, breaking it on contact, I see the bottled up—angry as fuck—Vampire I’ve fallen in love with.
Tali goes flying so fast that I nearly lose her down the street. Just as Kai goes running after her, I do as well. Both of us making it to her as she stands and readjusts her jaw, popping it back into place.
“Well,” she huffs and rolls her shoulders back. “I see we won’t be coming to any sort of agreement.” As she speaks, her black horns pierce through her forehead and curl outward, unlike mine which go inward. Hers arelongand continue until they are closely related to that of a ram. Black seeps from her skin, and a light dark fog creeps around her like she is summoning a storm.
I swear I blink and she’s gone.
The pain registers immediately, and as if I’m hit by a semi-truck, I’m tossed hundreds of feet away. I’m unable to even stop myself from rolling over and over until at least the dozenth spin. I’ve got asphalt between my nails and I just know I’ve got road rash across my face.
I’m attempting to clear the small haze over my eyes, looking for Kai, when I hear a grunt and soon smashing of metal on metal.
I push off the ground and run back in their direction. Dust in the air of the Crimson Dawn is so much thicker, and it’s difficult to see anything until I am merely ten or so feet from them. There is car stacked on top of another, and when I find Kai, he’s surrounded by his shadows.
