Page 4 of Her Personal Demons (The Seven Sinners of Hell's Kingdom 1)

My life is over, and there is nothing more I can do.

Joel beats the fight out of me.

“Hey, asshole! What the fuck are you doing?” a rich, smooth voice shouts. “You can’t do that here.”

Joel’s hand loosens from around my throat, and he shoves himself off. “You better not fucking say it was me, Raven,” he mutters in my ear. “I will kill you.”

“Hey!” a man shouts. “You can’t just leave her.”

My mind refuses to process what’s going on.

All I can do is stare up at a strange man as he looks down at me.

His eyes glow red.

Chapter 2

As the World Burns

RAVEN

“THAT FUCKER. I’M going to rip out his bowels and feed them to him.” A man peers down at me like I’m the grossest thing he’s ever seen. Scruff covers his sharp jaw, and it’s hard to get a good look at him because of the broken lamppost. “What a damn mess. Shitty mortals.”

The glowing red of his eyes flickers and dims, turning into an indistinguishable shade I can’t seem to recognize. They’re just dark, shadowed by the low light of the world around me. Fisting his hands, he flexes his biceps, and the colorful lion tattoo on his arm looks as if it comes alive with his movements.

“Save it for later, Kase. We don’t have time for that. They made too much of a commotion.” Another man steps to my other side and peers down at me. “If a savior doesn’t show up, then some fucking flesh bag with a hero-complex will.”

Emerald green eyes pop against his tan skin and ruggedly handsome features, obscured somewhat by his beard. His hair is dark like mine in the lighting from the orange glow of one of the porchlights flicking on, but I think it might be more brown than black with warm undertones instead of the midnight shade that makes my hair look bluish in the sun.

“Then what do you think we should do, Dante?” Kase asks, locking his gaze to mine. His eyes glow red again, and I wonder if what I’m seeing is from head trauma. Because fuck. It’s unnatural.

I try to shift under Kase’s scrutiny. His stare burns over me but leaves me cold. His skin ripples and he flares his nostrils, inhaling a deep breath. He drinks me in from my head to my bare feet and has the nerve to nudge me with his boot. Who is he? Am I that injured that I’m seeing things?

Ice floods through me at the thought, the intensity of his eyes making my skin crawl. My whole body screams that these men are dangerous, and I should fear for my life. If I were on my feet, I’d get the hell away from them. But I can’t move. My body hurts too badly. My vision blurs no matter how much I blink. I realize how wrong I was, thinking I was dying before. I’m certain I’m dying now. It’s hard to even breathe.

Squatting down, Dante hovers his hand over my bra like he’s contemplating touching my boobs. But he doesn’t. Heat radiates from his palm, sending a strange glow illuminating from his hand. “She’s a pretty broken soul, but pure. Too pure. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was assigned a savior, but she’s not blessed. Only a pathetic mess probably too boring to do anything fun or naughty. Useless to us. We should just let her die.”

“Die?” I open and close my mouth, trying to process his comment. What does he even mean? “No. Please, help me,” I whisper, tasting the tangy metallic grossness of my blood on my lips. “Please.”

Dante doesn’t react to my words, training his gaze on Kase.

“We should move her. It could take a couple hours for her to drop dead,” Kase says, nudging my ribcage with his boot. He ignores my pleas, despite keeping his eyes on mine. “The fucker could’ve at least put her out of her misery.”

A whimper escapes my mouth. Who the fuck are these monsters?

“There’s a dumpster around the corner. Drop her inside, and I’ll go make sure everyone else in the complex minds their damn business.” Dante swipes his finger over my cheek, rubbing his finger over my blood, sweat, and tears. He pops it in his mouth and sucks on it. “Throw some of the trash on her. She’s disgusting enough that she’ll fit right in.”

“No,” I whisper, their conversation igniting full-blown panic in my chest. I thought these men were here to help me, not finish what Joel started. “Please. I don’t want to die.”

Two hot arms sink beneath me, and I gasp as pain shocks me to my soul. Kase lifts me up and dangles me in his arms a foot away. Every inch of me screams in anguish. Sobbing, I cry out, my voice finally echoing through the cool night with my desperation. What have I done so badly in my life to deserve this? Who are these monstrous men, and why are they doing this?

“God, please. Help me. Save me.” I sputter and hiccup, my panic giving me the strength to fight as best as I can, even if I can’t move a muscle. “Please, Lord. I can’t die like this.”

Kase stiffens, his eyes blasting with red light. His nostrils flare and hot fingers sear my lips as Dante slaps his hand across my mouth from behind. Heat radiates from their bodies like they sandwich me between two furnaces, but it doesn’t burn me. It helps ease the cold ice shivering through my body. Now that they’re so close, I can smell the warm fragrances of burning pine needles, leather, the woodiness of vetiver, and something sweetly gourmand like vanilla. I can’t distinguish and separate the array of scents between them, but they’re seductively intoxicating to my senses.

“What the fuck? Are you praying?” Dante asks, his hot breath tickling the hair around my ear. “That’s not going to change anything.”

It’s my turn to ignore them. “God, please. Give me the strength. I need your protection,” I mumble against Dante’s hand. Whoever—whatever—they are, obviously don’t like me begging God for help. It makes me want to rebel and yell louder, fighting with my voice instead of my broken body.

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