Page 85 of All the Devils are Here

Sinking down on the end of the bed, Ariel looked stunned. “I doubt it. Though he gave it to her freely, it’s enchanted to return to him. He probably included some kind of binding to keep her from using it. But honestly? I have no idea.”

“Could you guide her? Try?”

Shaking his head, he shrugged. “I could. But doing that might make the magic accelerate. And what would be the aim? If the magic of the island is already hostile—”

I held up my hand as his volume got louder. Meg stirred against me and settled once more. It had been a few hours. My knot was loosening, and soon she would be free. I would have to remember that she had other mates and not immediately pin her to the bed with my cock again.

“Think about it,” I told Ariel. “Because waiting him out is a good idea, but we may not be able to.”

He glanced at her arm and slowly nodded. “Yeah.”

The status quo had never been a good one. If Prospero hadn’t created me, he likely would have been freed a long time ago, and none of us would be here right now. I wouldn’t be here, holding the woman I loved most in the world.

I couldn’t change the fact that I’d been created. Or the fact that my creation had stripped Prospero of so much, like his mortality. Again, if I wasn’t here, he wouldn’t be either.

If I were a better man, I would have tried to kill him a long time ago regardless of the risk, to protect the world and end both his malice and his suffering. But no creature wanted to end its own existence. So here we were, struggling against what felt like impossible odds just to survive and be free.

I didn’t know the answer. All I knew was that I was going to fight like hell for every second with my mate.

Even if there weren’t nearly enough of those seconds.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

____________

MEGHAN

Iwas standing in the middle of a purple cloud.

At least that’s what it felt like. Mist brushed my skin, and there was movement in the air. I couldn’t see anything in front of me but ambient, violet light. There were four brighter points, like corners, but even walking towards them, they never seemed to get any closer.

The color was now one I would recognize anywhere.

“Hello?”

My voice echoed like I was standing in the middle of a great hall.

“Is there anyone here?”

A soft hissing emanated from nowhere, like the sound of a snake you couldn’t see, just waiting to strike.

An image appeared in my head. Myself, where I stood. Clothed in violet light, my hair also dyed that elusive color. And the tinge to the image was hatred and fear.Of me.

I gasped. “No. No, I don’t want to hurt you. I promise. You can see. You can remember I didn’t choose this.”

In this place of nothingness, it was easy to feel which emotions didn’t belong to me. There weren’t words, and I wouldn’t even say it felt like consciousness. Rather, it was raw power. Driven by the instinct to survive.

I wasn’t unfamiliar with the concept.

“See?”

Pulling the memory of those moments, I followed my own instincts and pushed the image outward. “I didn’t want this.”

The surrounding ambience shuddered and writhed, but I felt the anger recede. There was still hesitation and wariness. But not outright hostility.

“Please,” I said. “I don’t want this anymore than you do. Show me what to do. Can I help you? Can I help both of us?”

Another image slammed into my mind with such force it felt like I was falling down. It was Prospero. So much younger than he was now, standing in front of a light much like this, but not the pretty purple color it was with me.

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