Page 7 of To Crave Truly

A hush descended on the crowd as Mordecai looked out at them. “We are at the point of no return. Now is the time to commit. To push forward with our plans and take what we are owed.”

The crowd roared an almighty cheer. Were we at a pep rally?

“Too long we have been cast out and punished. Too long we have been kept hidden down here, serving time for sins we didn’t commit. Now, we have the ultimate weapon.”

A hush fell at Mordecai’s words before murmurs started spreading. All eyes suddenly snapped towards me.

The fuck?

I turned towards Mordecai only to find he’d disappeared. There was a gust of wind behind me before his claws wrapped around my throat. Stupid fucking vampire speed. I tried to buck out of his hold but that only made the crowd cheer louder.

“Get off me,” I hissed, but he wasn’t listening. His attention was firmly on the hungry, thriving crowd in front of us, his ruby eyes gleaming manically.

“I give you the Devil’s Triune.” His free hand grabbed the collar of my shirt and bared the mark that showed my bond to Lucifer. The crowd roared again.

“Now is our time. The time of monsters.” His voice lowered by my ear. “I’ve got a surprise for you, little one.”

He pointed off to the side of the dais and my heart plummeted.

“Jasper!”

My vampire mate was being led onto the raised platform by a beast of a demon. The demon must have been seven feet tall with blue skin and horns that curved above his head. He was a monster and he dragged Jasper behind him like a dog. A chain was wrapped around his neck and his features were covered in grime like he’d been shoved in a dirty hole for days. But that wasn’t what scared me the most, it was his eyes. Normally, they were a bright blue that shone with an electric glow, but at the moment the were a bright red and completely vacant. He was being controlled by Mordecai and I hated it.

I bucked in Mordecai’s hold, but his grip was unrelenting. There was a sharp sting as his claws scraped against the skin of my neck, but it was nothing compared to the pain that was splitting my heart open.

“Hush, little one,” Mordecai whispered placatingly. “I will make this quick and painless for you.”

“No. Let him go, please. I’ll do anything. Please don’t hurt him.”

The demon holding Jasper kicked the back of his legs and his knees slammed into the floor. Panic spiralled in my stomach as Mordecai walked me closer to Jasper. God, I couldn’t breathe.

“I’d say it’s nothing personal, but I’d be lying.” Mordecai brushed my hair behind my ear. It was supposed to be soothing, but all it made me want to do was cut his fucking fingers off.

“Fuck you.”

His tongue ran up the side of my neck and I shivered in disgust. “Soon, little one. Soon. But first I need to remove your True Vampire Bond and, for that, Jasper needs to die.”

“No.” I renewed my attempts to break free of Mordecai’s hold, but his fingers merely tightened around my neck. Tears of impotence flooded my eyes. How could I be this useless? I looked at Jasper and he didn’t even recognise me. He just stared straight ahead, not even realising what was about to happen.

“Executioner, make him ready.”

The hordes roared at Mordecai’s statement, their thirst for blood echoing around the cavern and drowning my screams. The horned demon yanked on the chain around Jasper’s neck and pulled him to the centre of the dais. Two chains appeared on the floor and the executioner locked Jasper’s wrists into them, stretching his arms wide as he knelt on the floor. He didn’t even fight.

I could see Selene laughing across the dais, her blue eyes glinting with manic joy. I was going to be sick. Why, of all moments, was now the time I couldn’t access my magic or my demon?

No. I couldn’t give up. I suddenly went limp in Mordecai’s arms, and it forced his hands to loosen his grip slightly. It wasn’t much, but it gave me an opening to throw my head backwards. I heard a satisfying crunch, and I jabbed my elbow backwards into his ribs. A string of curse words left his mouth and I took the opportunity to break his grip. I darted forward and launched myself towards Jasper.

I fell to my knees in front of him, grabbing his face in my hands and imploring him to look at me. His eyes met mine but there was nothing. Not even a spark of recognition. My heart stuttered.

“Jasper, please,” I begged. “Come back to me.”

Still nothing. I pressed my lips firmly against his, but it was like kissing a statue. Cold and unyielding. I couldn’t give up. I needed to do something, but I was running out of time.

Something flickered behind my solar plexus. It was achingly familiar but somehow different. Warmth spread through my gut as the Sin Reaper unfurled, flickering to life for the first time since I awoke as a vampire. The power still felt muted, but I heard one word ring through my mind with blinding clarity.

Blood.

Of course. Without thinking I elongated my canines – which was still weird to feel – and sank them into my lower lip. Blood immediately coated my mouth, and I pulled Jasper towards me for another kiss, praying that this would work. It had to. I couldn’t even imagine my life without him in it.

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