Page 101 of All the Devils are Here

“NO.” Prospero roared, the echo filling the space. My body was now numb from the power pulsing through it. I’d been flayed by something that should have killed me, and I was somehow still alive.

Metal scraped on stone, and I tried to move, but still couldn’t. Prospero was fighting his way to standing with that fucking knife, and this time I wouldn’t be able to stop him.

The magician cracked against the stone wall for the second time, black smoke forming a second later. Ariel was there, and he had Prospero by the throat. “Didn’t I warn you what would happen if you tried to touch her again?”

Ariel’s voice was death incarnate. An avenging angel who’d come for me and only me, fuck everyone else.

“You can’t kill me,” Prospero laughed. “Even now, when your mate is in danger.”

That same mate went deadly still. His hand was flexed and rigid on Prospero’s throat.

“That’s why she’s alive,” Prospero said. “I should have known.”

“You’re right,” Ariel said quietly. “I can’t kill you. Not yet.” He dropped him, and Prospero fell to the floor.

Ban was suddenly by my side, lifting me. “You must be careful, kitten.”

My gaze fell on the floor, and I understood. The crystal had shattered. The ground was covered with broken bits of it, jagged and dangerous. That was why I hurt. It ripped through me like broken glass.

Laurent stood in the doorway, face like thunder though he didn’t step into the room. In spite of everything, we couldn’t risk him so close to the monster who was in a heap on the floor.

“There’s only so long,” Ariel said, his voice gentle as velvet, sharp as a blade. “You might be immortal, Prospero, but you’ll be gone soon. Your physical form will expire and you’ll just be nothing. A part of this island you hate so fucking much. So I’ll offer you a way out.”

All three of us looked at him. What?

“Make a vow. That you will not harm Meg, nor the four of us. That we are free from all enchantments and spells you’ve placed on us. Ever. And that you will remain here for the rest of your immortal life. Do that, and we’ll give you the magic back.”

“What kind of deal is that?” It sounded like he was breathing through a straw made of rocks.

“One that preserves your consciousness and life,” Laurent said. “One way or another, you are staying on this island. It can be under your own power, or you can be a formless part of the magical mass that makes this place hell. It’s your choice.”

Ban carried me to the stairs, and the others followed.

“She’ll still die. The magic will still take her. Then you’re just as fucked as me.”

There were shadows in my mates’ eyes, but they didn’t let anything show, and they said nothing as we left and crossed the island back to the house. None of us dared to move or breathe until we were fully in the living room.

“Put her down,” Laurent said. “Let me look at her.”

Ban set me down on the couch, but curled around me in his feline form, purring. Ariel was pacing back and forth, and I felt blank. All I needed was to curl up and sleep.

Laurent put his thumb in his mouth and wet it before smoothing it over one of my cuts. It brought me out of the stupor. “What are you doing?”

He smiled. “A quirk of being a gargoyle. We need to be able to heal cracks and such, that power heals small injuries too. Though I admit, I’m having a hard time just using my tongue.”

“Oh…” Heat sank through me, but I also could barely move. It felt like I couldn’t lift my arms.

“What happened?” Ariel said.

I shook my head. “I have no idea.” Slowly, I told them everything. “It felt like it wanted me there. Prospero said he brought me. Maybe he did. But I felt— I can’t explain it. Did I destroy the island’s magic source?”

“No.” Ban sat up behind me and slipped his hands around my waist. “The real one is below it.”

“Prospero made one that was closer to where he was. Made it easier to draw on the power, and in this case, it keeps his physical form alive longer.”

“He’ll never take that deal,” I whispered. None of us were talking about the fact that my limbs were entirely soaked in magic now. Not even a mating frenzy had stopped it, but we could still try.

“He might,” Laurent said, giving in to temptation and using his tongue to heal the last of my cuts. “You’d be amazed what someone will do when faced with extinction.”

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