12. Chapter Twelve

Power.

It tore through my veins like liquid fire as I feasted on the ample fear in the air, setting every sinew of my being ablaze. I was alive in a way I hadn"t known in over a thousand years, getting stronger by the second.

I"d done it.

I"d finally managed to break through the veil, and while I could still feel the tether connecting me to Hell, it was weak. It could no longer drag me back against my will, and it was a matter of minutes before I severed it completely.

Freedom was so close I could taste it, along with the sweet tang of terror hitting me in waves. I inhaled deeply, swallowing down as much as possible.

Stripped of my magic and cursed to the blackest bowels of Hell, I never knew if I would truly escape my prison. I"d tried for so long, painstakingly forcing my way through the veil for the last three years, and to feel my magic returning, to be restored to the glory that was so unjustly stripped from me, was an unholy blessing.

The sweetest irony? I had no clue how I"d finally managed to do it.

After countless days and sleepless nights of fighting against the veil, fighting to escape my eternal prison, all it took was seeing this disgusting male put his hands on my mortal to unleash an unfettered rage within me strong enough to tear through realms and burn this world to ashes.

He cowered before me, the smell of piss filling the air as he soiled himself. What a pathetic sack of flesh and fluids. Ending him would be too easy. A wave of my hand would tear him in half, but he didn"t deserve a quick death. Nor did he deserve a painless one.

He would pay for touching what was mine.

Mine. The word had a different weight to it this time, and I chewed on it over and over. I knew she'd belonged to me since the first moment I laid eyes on her, but it had always been for my own gain. I needed her soul to set me free. I wanted to use and abuse her, to ruin her and consume her until there was nothing left, but now…

I wanted to protect her, to save her.

I ripped my attention from the worthless male, my eyes falling to Jovie. She was struggling to peel herself off the floor. She was so precious, so fragile, and so terrified.

Fucking hell, did she look beautiful when she trembled.

I'd watched her for so long, spent hundreds of hours in her life without her knowing. I'd learned everything about her, memorizing every aspect and attribute. I knew everything about her, and clearly I knew her better than I knew myself.

How could I have been so blind to what was happening?

At some point, during the numberless days I"d spent by her side, watching her, getting closer to her, I"d fallen victim to her charm. I'd gotten too close, let her bore her way too deep into my being. At some point, I'd staked my claim on the fragile mortal destined to be my salvation.

My mortal. My deliverance. My undoing.

Dragging my eyes back to the quivering meat sack before me, I chuckled when he let out a whimper. Suddenly, as though finally regaining his senses, he turned to run, but he didn"t get far. With a wave of my hand, he froze in place, rigid as a corpse.

I tsked my tongue. "Where do you think you"re going, vermin?"

Another wave of my hand brought him closer to me, his shoes dragging along the marble against his will. His eyes widened as the distance between us shrank, and when he stood mere inches before me, I laughed again.

"You think you can touch what"s mine and get away with your limbs intact?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

I paced a slow circle around him, trying to determine which part of him to dismember first. Should I take his eyes for looking at my mortal with such malice? Or should I cut off his dick for the foul things he planned to do with it? Just the thought of him touching her perfect pussy had a fresh wave of rage burning through me, and I stopped abruptly.

"How about I cut off your hands?" I asked, bemusement in my voice. A flicker of black magic produced a dagger in my hand. Solid black from hilt to blade, it was sharper than anything forged by humans and stronger than anything known in this realm. It was a weapon of the gods, more than anything this useless soul warranted. "You don"t deserve to keep them."

I brought my arm down, slicing the blade through one of his wrists. It cut through the tendons and bones as easily as air, and the severed hand dropped to the floor, a river of crimson spilling from the wound. It quickly created a puddle at his feet.

Visceral terror reflected in his eyes, but it wasn"t good enough. Not by a long shot.

I wanted to hear his screams before I ripped out his vocal cords. I wanted to savor his pain like fine wine before I took his soul. I wanted to revel in his misery.

He brought this all on himself when he touched what was mine, and he would pay with his life.

With a wave of my hand, I extinguished the magic holding him captive, and he crumpled to the floor. A scream rang out through the silent air, reverberating off the walls. Behind me, Jovie stifled her own cries, but I would deal with her momentarily. Now, I was giving the pathetic human male the attention he so desperately craved.

He cradled the end of his arm, even as it gushed blood and soaked his clothes.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he choked out between screams, attempting to wrap the blunt end of his limb with his shirt.

"I could ask you the same. What makes you think you can force yourself on my female?" I paced around him again, entirely amused by his agony. "Tell me, human, was it worth it?"

He sobbed, unable to staunch the pour of blood leaking from him. I stopped in front of him, his blood soaking into the tattered hem of my robe, and waved my hand again. Once again, magic gripped him, compelling him to obey. His uninjured hand extended toward me without a fight, and his eyes flew open in horror.

"Please, no," he howled. "No, no, no!"

I twirled the blade between my fingers, cocking my head to the side. "Please, what?"

"Please don"t cut off my other hand. Please."

I rubbed my chin, pretending to consider his plight, but I"d already made up my mind. He would get no mercy from me, but I could play with my prey. After all, I"d been cooped up in Hell for a thousand years. No one there ever bled, and the metallic scent of his blood in the air was feeding my feral urges for more.

"Alright," I said, reaching for the hand and turning it over. The thought of those fingers touching Jovie's perfect body, caressing her perfect flesh, tore a growl from my throat. "You can keep your hand."

His expression relaxed slightly, his hopes lifting at my words, and I laughed.

"But you won"t keep your fingers."

He'd barely opened his mouth to object when I sliced off his pinky finger. It dropped unceremoniously to the ground, and he screamed until his voice cracked as I cut the others off one by one, throwing them like confetti into the air. He was sobbing, tears and snot pouring down his face and falling to join the puddle of blood on the floor.

"Beg, scum," I demanded, taking a step forward. I lifted my foot, pressing it against his chest until he toppled backward, cracking his head against the marble. "Beg, and I might end your misery."

"P-please d-don"t kill me." His voice came out in ragged pants between cries and moans. "P-please, let me go. I won"t touch her again. I swear. I'll never touch anyone ever again."

I smirked, crouching next to his form, humored when he flinched away. As if he could escape from me.

No, his fate was already sealed.

"I hope you spend the last few seconds of your pathetic life regretting your existence." I reached for his throat, which trembled beneath my fingers, and in a single movement, I squeezed hard enough to crush his windpipe. My fingers dug into his flesh, and I ripped out his trachea, leaving a gaping hole where his Adam"s apple had been.

Satisfied, I tossed the chunk of meat aside. He gagged and sputtered, trying desperately to breathe as blood seeped from the wound, slowly drowning him as he fought to survive.

"May you never know peace." I wiped his blood off on my robe, but the red stained my pale fingers.

Behind me there was movement. Jovie got to her feet, trying to be quiet, but there was no hiding her presence from me. I was so tuned into her that I could hear every one of her breaths, the heartbeat that thrummed through her veins. She could run, but it wouldn"t do any good.

She would never escape me, but letting her think she stood a chance put a smile on my face. Hunting her down like prey would make catching her all the sweeter.

"Run, my sweet mortal," I said as she inched her way along the wall, putting space between us. "But when I catch you, you"ll belong to me entirely. Body, mind, and soul."

I looked over, meeting her eyes even though she couldn"t see mine. Tears streamed down her face, smearing her makeup. She was afraid, fear pouring off her in waves as she listened to the sounds of a dying man, but there was something beneath the fear I couldn't place. Relief? Intrigue? Curiosity?

She hesitated like she wanted to say something, and I arched a brow. As always, she intrigued me. She was bolder than I gave her credit for. Was she really going to squander her chance at a head start? Or was she not as afraid as she let on?

We remained in a stalemate, staring one another down as the human male's gurgles became fewer and farther between.

"Run," I repeated. "Once I devour this man's worthless soul, I'll come for you, and there will be no escape."

With a final glance at the blood spilled on the floor, she turned and ran toward the door, bursting through it into the night and disappearing. She wouldn't get far, and thoughts of the dark things I would do to her when I found her had me salivating.

Silence fell over the room, and I looked down at the male seconds away from death. His eyes were glassy, his heartbeat slowing to a crawl. I waited several seconds, determined to draw out his peril for as long as possible, until his heart finally stopped.

I reached a hand out over the corpse, tendrils of black magic spilling from my fingertips. They seeped into his skin, latching onto his soul before it left the vessel. I absorbed it, drinking in what was left of his wretched essence, my magic consuming his body and the spilled blood until they disappeared completely. There was no sign of him left, no proof that he had even been there.

A punch of magic shot through my system, followed by a nostalgic feeling I'd only dreamed about since I was cursed all those years ago. At the same time, the tether connecting me to Hell severed, the weight of it disappearing.

With a smirk, I stood. I was finally free, and the only thing sweeter than my newfound freedom was the thought of hunting Jovie down and claiming her.

She was mine. Of that, I was sure, and very soon, she would know just how much she belonged to me.