Page 41 of Magic and Mayhem

Kieres waves a hand to the bush and I duck down, keeping my eyes on him while he roams. He stays close but not too close, his eyes always able to find mine as each minute passes by.

Suddenly, a large figure with obsidian hued skin appears in front of him. After a few exchanged words, they walk away together, but not before a pair of burning white eyes peer through the veil. I freeze, holding my breath and squeezing my eyes shut until I feel the dark presence begin to fade.

I take a breath, finally able to move and stretch my limbs a little. Evading Lucifer is definitely not something I want to have to do long term, but I need to understand more. I feel like I’m missing a vital piece of the puzzle, andthe second Eryx comes for me, I'm demanding to know what that is.

No more games. Not this time.

Seeing that the coast is clear, I stand. The noise of a twig breaking behind me has me spinning on my feet. A figure I know all too well towers over me, their hand rearing up in a position that makes me want to scream, but I don’t get the chance.

“I knew I would find you here, you whore.”

Master smacks me so hard, my face collides with the dirt, and my limbs no longer feel like my own as they flail around me. He’s there the second I’m down, kicking me in the gut while I try to yell out for Kieres.

Master’s head suddenly whirls around and I follow his gaze, expecting to be rescued, but a horrifying realization clicks into place.

The veil is gone and all that sits in front of me is a darkened forest.

Master grins down at me with that evil glint in his eye, the one I’ve come to fear more than anything in this world. Possibly more than Lucifer himself.

“I knew they would get rid of you eventually. Now you’re allmine.”

My head snaps back with the force of his strike this time, and the world around me slowly fades to black as I stare at the spot where the carnival and my savior once were.

Chapter 10

“My boy,” Lucifer says in a mocking greeting, his arms spread wide. His skin is as black as night, and his white, gleaming hair sways back and forth behind his back. He is perfectly polished, his white horns shining brighter than most angels’ halos and his fangs gleaming.

Still as vain as ever.

“Lucifer,” I reply, my teeth grinding together.

I can feel the moment my connection to Evolet is muted, and my heart nearly lurches from my chest. Lucifer must feel it too because his dark eyes narrow on me.

“You found your mate?”

I nod. “She rejected me and left.”

He scans me up and down, looking around the tent typically used for when Lilu speaks to the Fates. He claims it as his own when he visits and holds business here.

“Does she know the consequences of that choice?”

Avoiding his gaze, I look over at the desk in the corner. “I am a monster to her.”

That’s easy to deceive him with. Just like I can smell lies on Evolet, he can scent them on me. Technically, she does see me as a monster, she just happens to find that side of me endearing.

I saw her teeth lengthen when we were fucking against the tree in the woods, fangs she can only have if she were to mark me and seal our bond.

But she held back, and now I’m thankful she did because Lucifer would force us both to his realm to seal our fate and grant him more power.

“That is interesting,” Lucifer says, walking over to sit on top of the desk. “I can still feel her close by. Is she reconsidering, perhaps?”

I shake my head, hoping that he can buy this lie as I tell myself she cannot be reconsidering because she doesn’t even know.

Lucifer appears in front of me then, his body towering over mine as our noses press together and he growls deep in his chest.

“Liar!” His breathing grows heavy, and I assume he is going to kill me.

In a twisted way, I wouldn’t mind dying because it means Evolet would live, and the Fates won’t kill her because she didn’t technically reject the bond, I just died.

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