Page 77 of The Cursed

The Tribunal door flew open again, and I knew in my heart who I would find stalking into the room. He still wore his suit, having wasted no time in getting to me. His face was pure, undulated fury when he found Iban leaning over me, pinning me down, and the knife still stabbed into my abdomen.

A black ball of fur surged past him, darting between his legs. Jonathan raced toward me, leaping through the air. He shifted mid-leap, his body growing as his black fur lengthened. Smooth, fair skin peeked out from his legs as they extended. His snout curved out, his teeth elongating into fangs that hung out of his mouth. He shook his head as he landed on all fours, his paws enormous as he righted himself to stand on both feet, taking his Cursed form once again.

"Please," I begged, returning my attention to Margot. I didn't know how much more time I could buy them to get out of there before I would have to succumb to the pain and death lurking just beyond the Source or fight back.

“Consort,” Jonathan said, his voice startling me. It was deeper than his human form, mesmerizing in the way it felt like a growl.

“Save her. Save Margot, please,” I begged, turning my teary stare toward him. With Gray here, I had to hope that together we would be able to close the seal.

However, I couldn’t do that until Beelzebub got her out of there.

Jonathan nodded his wolfish head, bowing low in a parting gesture. Losing him felt like losing a part of myself, but I couldn’t leave Margot to rot either. “As you wish, Consort.”

Jonathan leapt down into the pit, paying no mind to the drop that would have killed a human. He landed with bent knees, sprawling forward to lessen the impact. Curling his body to run on all fours below, I watched him fight to go to where Beelzebub still covered Margot’s body with his wings—unmoving and silent.

"Michael," Gray said, forcing me to look away from the scene below. His amber eyes turned to his twin in surprise, pain flickering over his expression as he looked between us and connected the dots. I realized he probably hadn't seen his brother in centuries since his fall. What could have been a reunion turned terrible. "What are you doing?"

"He banished you to Hell. You must go back," Michael said, his jaw clenching in something that I thought might have been remorse. Whatever had happened between them, whatever God had instilled in them, they'd been family at one point.

The closest family could be.

That didn't stop Michael from approaching Gray and wrapping his hands around his shoulders as my husband stared at him in shock. He tossed Gray to the floor, angling him to the hole in the floor. Gray fought back as he snapped out of his confusion, driving his elbow into Michael's stomach and cracking the back of his head against his face.

"The Devil belongs in Hell!" Michael shouted, grunting through the pain as he aimed his fist at Gray's face. They fought, grappling with one another as Satanus and Asmodeus burst into the room to help.

Movement from below distracted me from the fight. The sight of Beelzebub unfolding his great, leathery wings renewed my hope. He sat beside Margot, tugging her into his lap as he fought with her gag and unbound her hands.

She was alive.

He touched her face, cupping it in his grip so sweetly that I wondered if I needed to reconsider my dislike for the massive demon. She frantically wrapped her arms around his neck as he glanced above, getting to his feet with her in his arms. Jonathan fought at their side, swiping and biting at anything that moved too close. The demons were vicious, attempting to cut him down where he stood.

The burst of air that Michael sent through the room nearly sent me tumbling down into the pit. Only the connection of the seal clinging to my magic kept me steady. Iban clung to me, shifting the knife within my abdomen so that it slid a little further out of my body.

"You could be free!" Michael shouted, and I twisted to watch him fight with Gray.

Satanus and Asmodeus were caught in his storm, lightning cracking through the tornado he'd formed with the wind. It dragged them across the floor, their hands clawing and grappling for purchase as it drew them closer and closer to the seal.

Gray fought, exchanging strikes with his brother that left both bruised and bleeding. Gray never reached for his magic, leaving the Source untouched.

Saving it for me, I realized as it coated my skin in power.

Saving it because it was the only thing keeping me alive as my lifeblood dripped down onto the seal to keep it open.

"Send him back! You could be free, Witch!" Michael shouted again, twisting Gray in his arms. He wrapped his forearm around the front of my husband's throat, walking him toward the seal slowly.

I held Gray's amber stare, fearing I might forsake him far more than what might wait for him in Hell. I held his gaze as I uttered my barely audible words over the cyclone as it yanked Satanus and Asmodeus back into Hell. They disappeared down the hole, forcing Beelzebub to drag Margot to the side.

They'd never make it in time.

Still, I turned my gaze back to Gray's. "I already am," I said firmly, speaking more for my husband than for Michael. If this was how it ended, if this was how I died, I wanted him to know.

I didn't regret any of it.

He'd shown me what it was to choose.

And I chose him.

Gray bucked against Michael's hold with renewed energy, jerking his head back as he threw his brother to the floor. Michael hurried to his feet as Gray shouted to me, his eyes communicating everything his voice didn’t. "Now, Willow!"

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