Page 62 of Virgin Lust

“Prudence,” I said as I shifted into my human form.

The sight of her blood was crippling. I didn’t understand why she was hurting herself to attack the demon. The entire time I’d been with her, I’d never once seen my mate use her hands. She allowed her weapon to do everything for her.

“What will Harvest think about this?” the female wheezed.

Prudence stopped and gasped. She held her arm out and a sword materialized, her pink essence bursting to life around it. With a snarl, Prudence lifted the blade. The bird laughed right as the tip of the blade landed between her eyes. Her body twitched, and then her soul rose. I gobbled it up before pulling Prudence into my shaky body.

Her eyes were glassy. She didn’t look at me even when I caressed her cheek. “What was that about?” I demanded. “You could have killed them before you were grabbed.” I didn’t care that she was immortal. I would lose control of myself if I watched her die.

“I don’t know what happened,” she whispered, head lowering as she glanced at her weapon. She lifted the blade and studied it. “Nothing. I sensed nothing for a while.”

What did she mean by nothing?

I was beginning to suspect my princess hadn’t dematerialized her weapon on purpose. Prudence’s overwhelming fear screamed across the bond. The nothing she spoke of was a big deal. And what worried her, worried me.

Something’s wrong.

Something’s coming.

Eighteen

Prudence

I spent the rest of the day analyzing the way I felt earlier. For the briefest of moments, I felt strange as those parts of me that made me one of Grim’s children vanished. My power, my strength, even my immortality wasn’t accessible. The incident left me shaken.

As the hours passed, I wanted to think I imagined it all. There was no way that happened. As the day ended, there were no more mishaps. I just imagined it. No way had I lost my powers.

The way my soul reaper hovered around me since the incident let me know he had witnessed it too. For once, I wasn’t irritated to have someone near me. His presence was soothing as I worked. More than once, my hands shook around my scythe as I materialized it. Each time I used my power, I expected something to go wrong.

Mortal,the bird demon said.

Oh, Hades. Had she been talking about me?

If that was the case…

“Enough,” Shepherd said, before taking my hands in his. “I’ve let you simmer with your emotions all day. Tell me what happened earlier.”

My voice was quiet and shaky as I spoke. “Do you know that my family and I are destined to fade away when the world ends? If the Devil crosses into the mortal world and we fail the humans, we disappear when the Devil creates his new order.”

Shepherd’s eyes turned violet as his skin shimmered slightly. His grip on me tightened. “The end is… What? Five or six months away? Why didn’t you tell me? I can’t stand by and do nothing while you—”

“Shepherd—”

“We just found each other. You can’t leave me, Prudence. Not now. Not ever,” he croaked out.

My eyes watered, and a tickle in my throat made it hard to swallow. Shepherd was right. But it didn’t change the fact that I had found him during such a chaotic time. Why did we cross paths at all if there was a chance we might lose it all?

How did mortals live that way? My heart felt like it was ripping apart at the thought of losing Shepherd.

I closed my eyes and exhaled a shaky breath. “I didn’t say that’s going to happen. It will if we fail, but that’s not the only thing I’m trying to tell you.”

He grabbed my chin, forcing me to open my eyes. “I’m not staying in this world without you, princess. If you think you’re leaving me, think again. There’s nothing left for me if I lose you. You’re the light that I thought would burn for me forever. No one gets to steal you from me. Not even the Devil.”

“It’s not about us. Look at the humans and all the good demons. What will become of them if we lose our powers?”

His jaw tightened. “So that’s what happened earlier?”

My vision blurred. “I’m scared, Shepherd. For the first time, I’m truly unsure. What if it happens again?”

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