Page 33 of Ashes to Ashes

Leviathan stepped closer, his hand reaching out through the bars in an attempt to trace a line along her jawline before cupping her cheek gently. Her skin felt soft against his rough fingers—far too soft for someone who should be standing before him like this. She pulled back, snapping him from fantasy to reality as to what he’d touched.

A growl rumbled in his chest as he needed answers now more than ever before.

The Prince of Envy would not find his downfall in a human.

The mission was different now.

Leviathan roamed with a feral intensity through the dank and musty dungeon, his massive body trembling with a mixture of rage and longing for the forbidden. The scent of human blood lingered in the air, igniting a primal desire within him that he fought to suppress. But as he thought of the demoness he spent the last week hunting, his anger boiled over once again, knowing that she was likely dead and gone. His claws dug into the stone wall as he roared in frustration and lunged. The sound echoing off the walls and reverberated down the corridors.

Leviathan did not understand the rush of sensations through him. He should be reduced to some measure of sadness knowing the silver demoness was not an option, but he couldn’t stop seeing Ashe in the place of the demon from the ball as he walked.

Something wasn’t adding up, and he was not going to sit around and wait for answers.

The Prince of Envy was going to take any female that was brave enough to come next, because he knew he could not spare the silvery demon or Ashe another thought.

CHAPTER 17

Adank, musty smell hung heavy in the air as Ashe shivered in the damp, cold dungeon. She couldn’t help but compare her situation to less than a fortnight ago when she was trapped in Belial’s ownership. At least there she’d had interaction with others and the ability to go outside. Here she was alone, save for the occasional food drop. It seemed Leviathan killed rather than kept his prisoners.

The flickering torchlight cast eerie shadows on the damp stone walls, illuminating the modest space that had become her prison. She huddled in the farthest corner, arms wrapped around herself seeking out warmth that didn’t often come.

Time had lost all meaning in this underground prison, but she knew it had been too long for Lily to come for her. The angel had sworn she’d be safe, but Ashe had to assume Leviathan had moved too quickly, preventing Lily from intervening.

“You could have been happy in that tiny cabin.” The bitter words received no response from the emptiness.

She’d been so caught up in going home, in saving Lily, she’d believed she could do the impossible.

And you wanted to feel his kiss.

The dirty thought was one she’d had countless times she’d last seen Leviathan. His body against hers for those brief moments had been enough to trigger all the desire their dance had days prior.

There was something about the prince that threatened to drive Ashe into a grave. He was sinfully sexy and more skilled than any human lover she’d taken since her stepmother paid her no mind.

Prince Leviathan had taken Ashe’s world from shades of gray to bursting color and it nearly got her killed.

But it wasn’t enough for him to listen—not enough for her to feel his attraction to her, which had shocked her into silence at first. She’d assumed his attraction to the demon-enchanted version of herself had been due to physical beauty, but he’d responded in a similar way when she was just herself.

The heavy iron door she’d come to know was the dungeon entrance creaked open, startling her out of her dark thoughts. Ashe tensed, expecting the familiar, terrifying figure of Leviathan.

He’d come down only long enough to snarl or pace while looking at her. It was almost as if he could see the other enchantment when he got too close to her.

Finally, he entered. His dark silhouette framed by the moonlight through the terribly small window. He had shed his armor, revealing a chiseled form that seemed at odds with his icy demeanor.

Ashe’s breath caught in her throat as she remembered the last time she’d seen his exposed skin.

“Tell me,” Leviathan held a silver key up in his hand. “Did you murder the demoness who owned this necklace?”

Ashe recoiled.

This was the first time he’d come and those were the words he chose.

“You still do not believe that necklace is mine?”

He was pressed against the bars before she could blink, a feral snarl peeling back his lips.

“I know the necklace is not yours.” He dangled it in front of her. “This is a demon collar. Something that only a demon may wear.”

Ashe’s knees went weak at the sight of her mother’s ring on the necklace. Even altered, it seemed to bring her a calming peace.

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