Page 37 of The Fearless Witch

The hound kicked and howled while it floated above me, its limbs spreading apart as if some invisible hands were pulling on them. At first, I thought I was doing that, prompting my magic with my fear, but then I noticed… them.

Shadows.

I pushed myself to my elbows, trying to catch my breath when I realized that there were even more hellhounds around me. My eyes widened while I watched them hover ten feet into the air, trashing against their constraints. Nym was standing on all fours not too far away, pressing a hand to his bleeding side. I opened my mouth to shout his name, relieved he wasn’t one of them, when I noticed he was staring at something behind me.

Slowly, I turned my head, and in my little, galloping heart, I already knew what I’d see. I knew and yet… a gasp still escaped my lips when I saw Cyrus standing a few feet behind me. More shadows than I’d ever seen him conjure before floated out of his back, looking like giant, semi-transparent wings that pulsed and twisted with power. He was pale, cheeks sunken like he had been sick for weeks, but his posture was rigid. The runes beneath his skin glowed, making his tattoos even more menacing, but it was his eyes that triggered my fight-or-flight response.

Black. His eyes were black.

That wasn’t Cyrus. And I… I was done running.

“Nobody touches what is mine,” he sneered as he held my gaze. He squeezed his hands into fists and howls of agony filled the air as the hellhounds exploded into pieces. I instinctively covered my head when a big chunk of black flesh landed beside me. There was no way to avoid all the blood and gore that rained on us, but I still tried, shrinking into myself while I trembled from the sickening feel of it sliding over my skin.

By the time I lifted my head again, Beleth was standing above me and the look on his face made me wish that hellhound had finished what it started.

Chapter 15

Beleth

‘Please, don’t hurt her!’ Cyrus begged as I stared at the woman who was the beginning and the end of all our problems. The shirt she had been wearing when I grabbed her was hanging in ribbons, her hair matted to her head from all the red and black blood that had drenched this place. I had seen her at her best and her worst, but this image… this image was one I was sure I’d never forget. Not with the way her eyes burned with fire that made Hell feel cold.

Her gaze slid down my naked body and the thrill of having it focused on me had my cock stiffening. The problem was, this time, it wasn’t Cyrus’ fault. Her attention returned to my face, and she tried to get up, but my shadows shot toward her, eager to do all those wicked, devious things I had warned her about.

‘She didn’t mean to put herself in danger! With the way you’ve been acting, she must have thought this was the only way she could be free!’ Cyrus droned, his voice sounding especially annoying at that moment.

I couldn’t fathom how he could defend her after everything she had done. Even if he could forgive the fact that she literally snapped his neck, how could he not see that everything she did was to manipulate him into lowering his guard? She might have wanted this body, but she didn’t want him, didn’t care about him, not the way he did for her. She was a cunning, backstabbing viper who was ready to do anything to get what she wanted.

‘Shut up,’ I snarled, and he cowered at the back of our mind, but he didn’t leave.

Celeste continued to stare with the same look of defiance even as my shadows slid over her legs and wrists, lingering there in warning should she try to move. She was like a demon herself, like one of the princes, beautiful beyond reason and wicked to boot. And that silent promise in her eyes that she wasn’t done even if she had failed… that was what shattered the chains of my restraint completely.

‘Beleth, no!’ Cyrus pleaded. ‘Don’t kill her! You can’t—’

‘Oh, I won’t kill her,’ I snarled, smiling at her. Her throat bobbed, and she clenched her teeth but still didn’t look away. ‘I’ll give her exactly what she wants.’

‘What does that—’ Cyrus started, but I interrupted him.

‘Every word that comes out of your mouth from this moment onward will only bring her more pain. So I suggest you shut up and let me do what you should have done.’ Cyrus said nothing, but I could feel his uneasiness growing. For her, not for us. I scoffed, lifting my hand and motioning her up. “Now fucking pray that she learns her lesson, because I’m going to destroy her the next time.’

The shadows tightened around her arms and she snarled, fighting against their hold, but it made no difference as I ordered them to put her on her knees. I waited until she realized her struggle was pointless before sliding my hand into her hair. The blood felt warm and sickeningly familiar against my fingers, but it was her thick, red locks that got my senses tingling with excitement.

“Did you really think you could escape Hell and all of its abominations before I came back, Red?” I murmured as I leaned down, bringing my face to hers. “Or did you just want to piss me off and see what I’d do?”

When she didn’t answer, I yanked her hair back, leaning closer until my lips almost brushed hers. A soft groan of pain escaped her mouth, and it was the most delicious sound I had heard in my life.

“You’re starting to regret it now, aren’t you?”

Her magic wrapped around her, eager to protect her, but I urged more of my shadows to spread until they bound her arms behind her back, fastening her fingers together so she couldn’t move them.

“Yeah,” she smiled. “I should have broken your neck.”

The monster inside of me, the darkness that gave me life, roared in response to her challenge. “And how would you have done that?” I teased, tracing her sharp cheekbone with my finger before pausing on her cracked, bloody lips. “Your antics wouldn’t have worked on me. You would have ended up gagged and tied up again before you even—”

“You dare say that to me,” she smirked, opening her mouth and biting my finger. A sharp sting spread from my knuckle where the skin broke, but I didn’t bother pulling back until she released me. Celeste smiled, flashing me her bloody teeth. “With that rock-hard dick in my face? Even Cyrus needed longer to get this worked up.”

Her eyes lowered to my cock, and the damn thing jerked in response, almost like she had touched it.

‘Fucking witches!’ Even after almost dying, she still couldn’t ignore a dick in her face. Well, she was in luck, because for once, I was going to give her what she wanted. Just like I promised Cyrus.

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