Page 13 of Queen of the Wicked
Even now, his broad shoulders flexed beneath the t-shirt he wore, and no matter how far ahead he walked, his woodsy, intoxicating scent still made its way to her nose. She despised how quickly she was to inhale it when he gave her no reason to be so drawn to him.
“A lot of sighing back there,” Erebos noted, proving said point. “Getting tired?”
Eight words were all it took to clear Alessia’s head of any remaining lust towards the demon. The man was attractive, sure, butanyman would be appealing when this was the first one she’d ever been around.
“No,” she sneered, vowing to ignore his appearance for the rest of eternity. “I run three miles every morning, thank you very much. I’m doing just fine.”
“Then why the sighing?”
Should she tell him about the random communication? What if she was speaking to someone she wasn’t supposed to? What if they were an enemy of his? It was doubtful, but if they were, she’d be in deep shit. It was better to keep her mouth shut. If those people came to rescue them, then great, but she wasn’t saying a word to Erebos about any of it. He didn’t need to know. Either way, they had to go to the witch’s cottage to get answers.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe I’m upset over this whole fucking situation? Perhaps the fact that I know absolutely nothing about my family, my past, or the reason I’m consideredimportant? Or the fact that I have your stupid powers flowing through me and don’t know how to use them?They’re useless.”
He scoffed. “You have the highest power in all of the realm running through your veins right now. Watch it.”
“Doesn’t feel very strong to me,” she said. “I can’t feel shit.”
His shoulders tensed beneath the t-shirt, but he continued walking ahead of her, gracefully avoiding rocks and tree stumps without ever looking down. “Do you know who your father is? I mean, you had to know that two women couldn’t have created you.”
“No,really? I must have missed that biology lesson.”
He whirled to face her. Almost seven inches taller, he loomed over her body as he glared into her eyes, and at that moment, she began to realize why people feared him so much. His eyes were so dark they were almost black, but not as black as when that seraph attacked them.
They continued staring at each other for what felt like an eternity, and the blossoming sensation in her chest began to stir, awakening the buzzing that erupted at the top of her head and traveled to her toes.
“Relax,” Erebos coaxed gently, continuing to scan her eyes. His power must have taken over her again because she could discern the energy just begging to be released. “Take a deep breath, Mortal.”
“It’sAlessia,”she corrected, but the voice that came out of her was not her own. It was otherworldly, possessed even. “Alessia Eastwood.”
He blinked a few times, until finally, he whispered, “Alessia. Take a breath.”
Although her name on his tongue sounded sweeterthan she expected, she wanted to rip his head off for whirling around like that in front of her in the first place. She was tired of him acting like an ass and not helping her and treating her like she was some stupid, brainless girl. She had so much power that it was laughable. She had the power to destroy him and this entire fucking world.
Whoa, where did that come from?
She shook her head as she attempted to clear her thoughts, but the evil inside of her continued to linger. It clawed at her insides, latching onto each muscle and organ until it was climbing up her throat, seconds from exploding into the forest surrounding them.
“Fuck,” he muttered when the ground began to shake.
The rumbling echoed through the trees, and surprisingly, she didn’t need to think about how to use her power. She already knew how to use it—like it had been ingrained in her for years, waiting patiently for its host to cooperate. With a swish of her hand, a tornado of leaves swarmed both of them, a security barrier to ensure her enemy had nowhere else to go.
“I’m not your enemy,” he answered, seeming to read her thoughts. Maybe by using his powers, they’d transfer back into him instead. She didn’t want them. She didn’t need to be filled with this much evil, but when she took a look behind her, through the tornado of leaves, the sight before her stole her breath away.
Alessia knew it was a mirage, but she relished in it anyway. She reveled in how much torture she’d be ableto bestow upon him for the pain he cast upon her. The seraph who killed her mom and attempted to killherwas nailed directly to the tree in front of them, his head hanging in the middle of his chest.
Tears pricked the backs of her eyes as she tried to find common ground between right and wrong. She shouldn’t feel this way, but the magic inside of her was too strong. It wanted to murder him all over again. It tried to show him no mercy. It wasbeggingher to kill him.
But then a shimmer of warmth flickered in her chest, like a match trying to light a fire in the middle of a snowstorm. It was small, but she latched onto that flame with all of her might, enjoying the feeling it brought her.
It kept her grounded.
With the wind still whipping her hair in disarray, she jumped back when she noticed Erebos’s hand clamped down on her arm. He watched the tears rolling down her cheeks, but he didn’t share a lick of what was going on in his mind. For whatever reason, she knew she could read his thoughts if she wanted to, so she tilted her head to the side as she stared at him, his thoughts flowing just like the ravaging wind around them.
Breathe,he repeated.
Shit. He knew she was in his head.
This will all be over if you just take a breath, Alessia. Listen to me.
