Page 76 of Cursed Heirs

In my peripheral vision, I saw some of the acolytes coming at my father, going for the Orb. He blasted a couple of them back, while cradling it in his free hand. But he didn’t have the stamina or strength to keep it up in his current state, and in moments, he was dodging blows and resorting to hand-to-hand.

He wouldn’t last like that.

“You are outmatched, Dark Prince,” Constantine called to me.

In the next moment, he threw a bolt of black magic my way.

I braced myself, then shot out my hand and caught it in my palm.

His eyes went wide and I smirked. “Am I?”

I felt it burn my skin upon contact, felt its urge to burrow deeper, to join with me, for me to let it in.

I gritted my teeth, then levitated it in front of me, swirling it around and around, gathering speed, upping its intensity. I swallowed down the need to choke as I wielded it, growing its power, feeling it touching me within, wanting a master in me.

That was exactly what I gave it.

I wouldneverbe a slave to it.

I shoved my shield forward with a roar, breaking Constantine’s crimson stream, and then I fired the black magic back at him.

It blew him off his feet and through the solid stone wall behind him.

“Fires of Hades,” I heard my father say, and I spun to see him looking out at me in awe, even as he battled the acolytes.

I rushed to him and handed him my shield.

As my blood family, he could wield my magic in this way, at least temporarily.

“We can’t run. He’ll just chase,” my father warned me.

“I agree. We need to defend. But you’re in no state to fight. Stay behind my shield with the Orb.”

“To take him down wholly, son, you’ll need to ingest a great deal more black magic. I won’t have it.”

“We just need to hold him off untilExemplargets here. Marlowe will get word.” I gave him a withering look. “You know, the guy you had spying on your son?”

“I make no apologies. If you actually thought I could truly let go of you for three years, you were sorely mistaken. You are myson.My everything, Orpheus.”

“How disgustingly touching,” Constantine’s voice sounded, a moment before he burst from the rubble.

I reacted quickly, decimating the rest of his acolytes so they were no longer an irritating added problem, or a threat to my father while I dealt with their false god.

I eased my father into the corner with my shield, then I stepped forward, both my palms aflame with my purple power.

“Speaking of touching, you should know that Alena Rose now belongs to me.”

I scoffed. “Trying to get under my skin to trip me up is a disappointingly pedestrian tactic for you.”

“It’s merely a statement of fact. I’ve made her mine and she’ll remain so.”

“You’re brainwashing her, controlling her. There’s no meaning in that.”

“No meaning? I’m not so sure about that. It certainly feltmeaningfulwhen she opened her sweet little thighs for me and welcomed me deep.”

I started, a chill running down my spine. “You didn’t.”

“Didn’t what? Take her? Like I said, she’s mine.”

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