Page 101 of Shadows of the Soul

“Enough,” my father boomed. The earth shook beneath our feet. “You will work alongside the Principal,your mate, to avoid exposure, and if that fails you will preserve life at all costs.”

“Fine.”

My father nodded with a smirk. “We will be watching your progress, daughter. Fail and you will forfeit your life.” The chairs disappeared, and the angels swooped up into the air. They cast one last judgmental look at Hudson and I before soaring into the sky and blinking out of existence.

I was being backed into a corner - again.

Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty One

Tasty mortals.

Hudson and I surveyed the damage in silence while we picked our way through the wreckage and debris. Furry limbs were scattered amongst the carnage, their lives taken in a brutal sacrifice that in the end served no purpose. My pulse pounded in my ears and my body trembled. Stephen Proctor would pay.

“Now can I eat him?” Indigo asked.

I sucked in a steady breath and my vision narrowed on Stephen’s frozen form. The darkness in me stirred in anticipation. It was time to stop hiding, no more suppressing my true nature out of fear of rejection. If I was looking down a loaded barrel, I would do so with my eyes wide open. I stalked closer to Stephen.

“Yes, this one you can eat,” I answered Indigo.

Hudson’s head swiveled toward me. “What?”

I side-eyed him as I prowled closer. “You want to know how far my darkness goes? Buckle up, buttercup, this is about to get Hitchcock scary.”

My footsteps were steady and my shoulders relaxed as I reached Stephen. His form was frozen, only his eyes moved, because when death marked you, there was no running, no hiding, no reprieve.

Indigo pushed forward. I let her out and sank into the back seat to watch. She tilted her head and studied Stephen. A slow grin crept across her face, displaying her razor-sharp teeth as Stephen’s fear scented the air. She inhaled like it was a sweet smell. The atmosphere was taut with anticipation. Hudson stayed close but silent. Part of me wanted him to look away, another wanted him to watch so he could grasp the horror I held inside me.

Indigo’s right hand twisted and curled, her six-inch claws growing. “Don’t overdramatize it,” I muttered to her alone.

“I have been starving for so long, I am going to savor it. I will make us stronger, Cora, invincible. Hudson will worship at our feet because no other can match what we offer.”

“Or he will run screaming because you look like you are enjoying it too much.”

“Enough, he will accept us or not. If he doesn’t, he’s not worthy.”

Her hand whipped out, and she dug her claws into Stephen’s chest. She twisted her hand, reveling in the pain he couldn’t vocalize. That was poetic justice. She squeezed her fist around Stephen’s heart and constricted the blood flow while tears leaked from his eyes. Indigo leaned forward and licked one. “That was unsanitary.”

She smiled as she tugged on Stephen’s blackened soul, drawing it into his heart. It was an oily, slick sensation that made me grimace. Indigo tipped her head back and tore Stephen’s heart out of his chest. Blood poured from the wound as the life left his eyes. Indigo spun to face Hudson and devoured the heart in three bites. He didn’t move an inch, transfixed by the warmth that spread down my chin and coated my chest.

Indigo shrank in size so we were back to my human height and her teeth retracted. Our wings trailed on the floor as we prowled closer to Hudson. He tracked her movements with his vertical cat eyes. His head tilted down toward us as she stopped a few inches from him and then retreated, allowing me to come forward.

My stomach roiled, and I swallowed the lump in my throat. His eyes trailed from my face down my blood-soaked clothing to my feet. I raised a brow and waited. I would not retreat, it was too late. I laid my soul bare for him to judge.

His hands flew out and clasped my face, his mouth descending onto mine in acceptance as he kissed me. I sank against his body and clung to him. He was my lifeline, my anchor to the world of the living and light. Without him I would drown in the oblivion. That was a terrifying thought.

He pulled back and gazed at me. “I am in love with you, Cora Roberts.” I blinked. “I don’t care that you eat the hearts of our enemies. You are my mate, my equal, my soul.”

My chest tightened. “I am in love with you, too. But there’s a darkness in me I can’t escape. To be with me means you must accept the horror.”

“I accept all of you.”

Movement caught my eye. I spun as Maggie came wandering through the gate in a dazed, naked state, two young boys stumbling behind her.

I launched myself toward her and wrapped her in my arms, the relief making my knees wobble. She hugged me back. “Thank God you made it,” I mumbled into her hair.

She clung to me tighter. “You too. I thought for sure the satanic guy got you when you disappeared down that hole.”

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