Page 70 of Dark Souls

“How. The. Fuck. Do you let something like that happen?”

“I was distracted,” I answered calmly. “There was an owl. You know how I feel about owls. They freak me out. It’s their heads. No creature should be able to turn their head exorcist style like that.” I shook my shoulders for dramatic effect, pretending to shudder. He snarled, curling his upper lip above his fangs as I had to fight the urge not to laugh at his anger.

“If you let me out of this bind, I’ll rectify the issue right away. No need to get your Calvin Kleins in a twist.” I stood up, folding my arms across my bare chest and releasing my wings from my back. My skin was crawling with the urge to fly to my angel. It had clearly been far too long since I’d been freed, and she’d be wondering where I was. She’d be missing me and thinking I’d abandoned her. I needed to know she was safe and that she’d walked away from that event unharmed.

“No need,” The Devil said, turning away from me and picking up the grimoire in his hands. I eyed it with trepidation. No. No, I didn’t want to go back to the emptiness. The black hole of nothingness. “Luka handled the situation. He made quite a spectacle of it which he’s been punished for, but at least she’s no longer breathing.”

My eyes widened. What did he mean by that? What did Luka do? I needed out. I needed to see her. Right fucking now. But I didn’t have a clue how to get him to free me for a few hours. Not after admitting my so-called mistake.

“He’s been eager to take on a lot of your responsibilities recently,” he stated, while rubbing his sigil between his thumb and forefinger, causing a pain in the back of my skull to throb. “Maybe I should let him. Seeing as you are clearly slacking in your own department.”

My brain was frantic, trying to think of anything to keep me from the void. To keep me present. Why the hell would Luka take on my murderous jobs? Why would he be trying to keep me locked away on purpose? What the hell was happening? The frustration of knowing nothing, of losing so much time in the void, had red-hot lava spewing through my veins.

“I’m sorry,” I rushed, hating myself for pleading with The Devil. Of allowing him to see even an ounce of my weakness. But that was how I felt right now. Weak in body. Weak in mind. “I fucked up. But it won’t happen again. Let me out. I’ll do whatever you need. But I really need to feed. I’ve been kept away for too long without a kill and I’m growing weak.”

I tried my best to make my body look less intimidating, slouching my shoulders and allowing my wings to droop. I was always hungry. The thirst for blood and organs never eased. I could still function, but I’d kill just to see Snow again. I’d kill every damn soul on the planet if it meant I’d know she was safe.

He stared at me hard. “Fine.” He finally broke the silence and I tried not to look too ecstatic. “I’ll give you an hour. Go and feed, but don’t be seen. I mean it, Heathen. You need to earn back my trust, or you’ll be facing the darkness a lot more than you’d like.”

I nodded, my wings twitching with the anticipation to feel the wind beneath them. He chanted the Latin scripture and drew a line through the chalk with his foot, breaking the bind he had me in. Without so much as a word or glance, I raced for the window, climbing onto the ledge and taking off into the sky. I didn’t have a minute to waste.

As I soared higher above in the darkening sky, becoming hidden by the stormy clouds, I closed my eyes and focused on the Romano Castle. Transporting myself above it, I swooped down and landed on the pointed spire. I crawled across the roof like an animal as the rain pummelled against my back and prayed I’d find her in the safety of her room. If not, I’d head to the palace next. Then that quirky apartment. Then there was her uncle’s house. I’d try every place until I saw her face, even if it meant I only had a second in her company. But I really hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

Opening the window latch with my mind, I tugged and jumped onto the uneven floorboards of the attic, dripping rainwater and creating a puddle at my feet.

“What the hell, Heathen!” The whisper-yell from across the room was followed by a pillar candle being catapulted towards my head. I dodged it just in time as it disappeared through the open window and into the dark.

My whole body relaxed when I took in her furious little face. Her fluorescent pink eyes narrowed into that adorable glare and her finger pointed at me with savageness, but the only urge I had was to suck it into my mouth. “Now you decide to show your face! Where have you been, Demon?”

I smiled. She’d missed me. She seethed even more. In a split second, I was in front of her, grabbing the sides of her face in my huge talons as I took in her delicate features, checking she was unharmed. How was she more beautiful every time I saw her? Her little hands wrapped around my wrists, attempting to rip me off her, but I didn’t give her an inch. Instead, I leaned down and kissed her lips softly. It was our first kiss. And though I wanted more, just the feel of her supple, pillowy flesh beneath my hard lines was enough for now. She froze, clearly not expecting it. I pulled back and stared into her eyes. And then her hand connected with my face. Hard. My head whipped to the side from the impact. Damn, the little firecracker has some strength in her. I turned back to face her, peering down with a delighted smile.

“You’re angry,” I whispered the most obvious statement possible.

“Uh-huh, you think?” she replied sarcastically, slamming her hands against my chest and trying to push me away. I let my hands fall from her face, and she stormed around me, tugging her worn leather rucksack onto the bed. I studied the bedsheets and the lack of silk drapes. A low growl rumbled from my chest.

“You changed the sheets.”

She paused her throwing of items in her bag to give me another one of those looks that could kill. “You expected me to sleep on cum-stained sheets?”

“Yes,” I replied immediately. She rolled her eyes. “At least tell me you fucked yourself on them first?”

Her cheeks flushed a slight shade of pink as she avoided my eyes and continued grabbing some clothes from a drawer. I had my answer. I chuckled darkly, knowing my dark angel was as twisted as I was. “Did you use your fingers or that monster dildo in your top drawer, imagining it was my cock as you got off to the scent of my cum?”

“Stop it,” she hissed. “You don’t get to say shit like that to me. Not when you sent me to an Underground event with a dead woman’s membership card. A woman that you killed.”

I frowned. “How do you know that?” She scoffed, zipping up the rucksack and I finally took notice that she was packing. “Where are you going?”

“So it’s true? You killed her?”

“Yes,” I answered honestly.

“Why? Did she deserve to die? Did she do something unforgivable?”

I didn’t like her tone. Or the way she was looking at me. Even though she’d seen my true form several times now, she’d never once looked at me like I was the monster I am. Not until now.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I prefer not to know details. It doesn’t make a difference either way.”

She put her hands on her hips and looked at me as if she was about to detonate. But I didn’t find her anger entertaining anymore. Because this felt personal. She was angry with me. Hurting, and it felt like it was my fault. And I didn’t like it one bit.

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