Page 32 of Our Sins in Shadows (Coven of Sin 2)

Now my thoughts drifted to the silver-haired, opal-eyed beauty of a man. Could he be waiting outside right now? Would Corry be with him? Were they just sitting around, waiting? Feeling as helpless and anxious as me?

That’s it. I couldn’t wait a bloody second longer.

“Sorry, Lavinia,” I mumbled to myself as I made my descent down the last flight of stairs that would lead into the basement, “but you were bound to find out sooner than later that I’m no good at following instructions.”

When I pushed open the heavy door to the basement, I found myself in the main prison where the cells were.

Only a single guard paced in front of Eros’ cell, facing away from me.

Eros was sitting on the floor with his back propped against the cheap pine coffin. He clutched his head in one hand, with a cigarette pinched in his other. He lifted his head when I entered the prison, noticing me before the guard.

My mate didn’t waste so much as a breath, instantly creating a distraction. He lurched to his feet and pressed against the bars, snarling at his jailer. “Hey, Boston trash.”

The security guard swiveled in the prisoner’s direction, pulling what looked to be a silver-plated baton from his belt. I didn’t hesitate for so much as a sliver of a second. My vampiric instincts took advantage of the distraction Eros provided. Before I could fully process what was happening, I was on the guard’s back, plucking his head off in a gush of blood that was accompanied by the sickening crack of bone.

I rode the man’s body to the ground as it collapsed lifelessly on the concrete, a pool of black blood swiftly spreading around us. Clutching the guard’s head by his hair in one fist, I used my free hand to search his belt. I remember when I’d been dragged away by Erik that the cell had been closed with a key card that they swiped over a control panel on the wall.

“Yes!” I said as my fingers brushed against hard plastic dangling on a pull lanyard. I snapped it free and rushed to where the panel sat, swiping the card over the black plate.

There was a flash of blue light and a loud clink as the lock on Eros’ cell sprung open.

I fixed my attention on my mate, who stood in the open mouth of the unlocked cell, gaping at me like I was a siren or something. It was like he couldn’t decide whether to flee or fuck me.

“Look at you,” he said on a rasped groan.

Taking a tentative step toward me, Eros’ chocolate eyes danced with excitement as they made a slow descent down my body, making my belly warm and tingly.

He licked his lips, his gaze straining blood red with hunger. “I’ve never seen a female so wickedly tempting and so terrifying all at once. You’re a goddamn vision to my monster eyes, baby doll.”

The need in his rough voice had me quivering with delight. I couldn’t blame his reaction. Here his mate was, wearing a provocative dress that exposed my thighs, my navel, and most of my breasts through the screen of lace. My hair was a wild mane around my shoulders, and my pale skin and red dress were painted in the inky guts of his guard, who now lay dead at my feet.

I was a fucking treat, straight out of the fires of Hell. Or at least, that’s how I felt.

I held out the decapitated head to my mate, flashing him an impish grin. “I brought you a present.”

Eros took my offering and sank to his knees before me, clutching the head to his chest. It was as if he was so taken by the sight of me, he couldn’t keep himself upright. The guard’s wide-eyed expression stared up at Eros, who, in turn, looked up at me in a state of total awe.

“What dark god did I please to send me such a mate?”

I grinned down at the male. He was looking pretty damn yummy himself, even as he held up the guard’s severed head to catch the dribbling blood in his open mouth.

For a quiet minute, I watched him feed in silence. Then something dawned on me, a wave of dread washing over me. “Wait...”

Turning, I searched the larger cell beside Eros’.

It was empty.

“Where’s Vincent?”

I turned my line of sight back in Eros’ direction to find a look on his face that churned my stomach. And it had nothing to do with the severed head he was feasting on, staining his lips and fangs in hell-dark blood.

“They took him, doll. He’s gone.”

Chapter thirteen

Long May She Live

“Theytookhim?”WhenI repeated Eros’ words, my voice came out so small. Just like that, all the ferocity and strength that had coursed through my veins drained away, leaving me feeling as empty as a limp windsock.

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