Page 65 of Baneful Magick

‘Hehurtyou!’

‘I made him. Taunted him. He hasn’t been able to feed off of me this entire time. Passive isn’t working with him. He needs something different. He won’t hurt me more than I can take.’

Cassius paused, and I could almost feel him considering what I’d said. Hopefully, he listened. There was a time that he wouldn’t have, so I just had to hope that he trusted me now.

‘We are going to discuss your complete lack of self-preservation after this,’he growled in my head.

‘Deal,’I replied breathlessly. Relief filled me when he stepped back to let me have control of my body again.

‘I’m not shielding this time.’

‘But—’

‘It looks like he gets to fuck both of us.’

ECHO

Anger and lust simmered in my veins in equal measure as I smelled Isla’s blood in the air. A frustrated growl spilled out as I tried to rein in the feral side of my nature but every push from Isla made my precarious hold slip even more.

If I had thought I was starving before this, now I was ravenous. No matter how much I fucked her, I couldn’t feed. It was like there was something blocking my magick every time we came together.

The laughter earlier had jolted me. The sound of it was just slightly different, and her stance had become looser and more relaxed. In the blink of an eye, the difference was gone. She stared up at me, licking at the bright red blood that wet her lower lip.

“You have a death wish,” I whispered, mesmerized by the scent of her sweet blood.

“You’re not the only one to say that to me.” She reached out and gripped my wrists. The pressure of her grip drew my eyes to hers, rendering me unable to ignore her and the words that sought to sneak inside my mind, insideme. What did she want from me? What did she think she was going to draw out of my ravaged soul?

“Trust me?”

I couldn’t manage any words, so I simply nodded then pulled back enough to see what she would do.

She slipped out of my hold and put a few feet of distance between us. A cocky grin filled her face before she crooked her finger at me.

“I don’t know much about incubi, Echo, but I do know predators like to hunt. So hunt me. Chase me down and show meand my magick that you’re the stronger predator. Earn the right to feed off of me.”

“Isla,” I cursed her name even as my cock became unbelievably hard. Just the mental image of chasing her down made me want to come.

A taunting laugh, then she was gone, running through the greenhouse. Magick stirred in the air, and the smell of earth became so strong that I couldn’t sense anything else for a moment. Then the plants started to stir. Vines rustled, slithering along the glass panes to block the sunlight until we were in complete darkness.

If the witch wanted a hunt, that’s exactly what I was going to give her.

We were ready to hunt and claim the witch that called to us.

The predator that I held in check so often stretched, purred in excitement as I slipped into the darkness.

Chapter 25

Isla

WEDNESDAY

Icouldn’t hear him.

Crouched down behind a few bushes to remain hidden, adrenaline pounded in my ears and excitement made me almost jittery as I tried to listen out for the incubus stalking me. Not a footstep or brush of a plant being pushed aside to give a hint at where Echo was in the greenhouse. Part of me played with the idea of leaving the greenhouse, but that thought was dismissed by Cassius’ wave of displeasure.

‘Can you tell where he is?’I asked as I carefully made my way around the giant hogweed. No need for him to end up with blisters or irritation by messing with the plant in his search.

‘No. He’s staying silent.’Cassius sounded begrudgingly impressed with the other man.

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