Page 71 of Death God

A wave of energy blasted out of me. I directed it toward Freckles and phased him out of the tower. He roared, trying frantically to reach for me to guard me.

In an instant, he was gone.

That was the first time I’d tried time power, and it was a miracle that it worked in my current condition.

Spartoi chuckled in delight, and the dark mages stared wide-eyed, as they’d never seen anything like that.

I collapsed to the icy ground, agony burning in my veins. I was still in the middle of transforming.

“There, there, my lovely little Pip,” Spartoi said. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for over a century. All the experiments we did on you before were child’s play. It all led to this moment when you reunited with your old dad and took his power, so I could finally take yours. Of course, I won’t be foolish enough to try to cut you open until Jared can form the mating bond with you. All he needs is to give you a good fuck, his only job. Then I’ll harvest the power through the mating bond.”

This had been a setup.

That explained why there were no guards around when we came in. We’d suspected a trap, but nothing like that.

At least I was the only one trapped here. My friends and my family could still escape. I’d sent Freckles out of the tower. He could go warn them right away.

“I tore out the bond with the former Alpha Heir,” I said. “It won’t be re-forged. My new mating bond with the Vampire God is the true bond, and it won’t let you try any shenanigans.”

I removed the cloak on my mating bond to Marlowe, but it pulsed weakly within the black tower. I had to reveal the bond to stop the psychopath from raping me. If he knew the truth, he might not waste time trying.

I couldn’t stomach the worst fate befalling me.

He tsked. “We’ll see, shall we?”

His dark mages chortled in vile delight. The horseman would rape me, and his minions would watch, harvesting my pain to boost their own powers.

“Just to give you a heads up, Aria Pip Ophelia,” Spartoi said. “I’ll certainly use the final spell that’s been perfected for centuries on you since you’re very special. The wondrous spell will make you very eager to please your king and husband.”

I spat at him, but it fell short.

“Worms will eat you, you filthy motherfucker!” I swore. “You won’t have me. I’ll leave an empty shell for you, which will be no better than a corpse. Then my mate and true king will cut off your fucking phony head and hang it over the wall for everyone to see.”

“Always so fierce, Aria.” He chuckled. “I like it.”

He waved a hand at the dark mages and witches. “Beta Team, take Lady Aria Pip Ophelia to the dark room and prepare her. Alpha Team, go round up her allies, including Prince Shade and her human family. Those douches are up to no good, and I don’t want any surprises for the rest of the night while I spend some quality time with my future queen.”

CHAPTER 19

I lay on the black satin sheets on a four-poster bed surrounded by hundreds of lit candles. I could tell that I was still in the black tower, judging by the smell of foul black magic. This vast, creepy room reeked of blood and sex. If I looked more closely, I could see hints of dried blood on the black stone wall.

Spartoi and his minions had used this room as a second altar to sacrifice their victims, yet no spirits lingered here. While I couldn’t move an inch, my senses still ran wild, collecting intel, which told me that instead of trapping the spirits here like other places of horror in the castle, a ward had been erected to keep the spirits out.

So I lay here all alone, without my spirit allies accompanying or aiding me, as I stared into the horseman of war’s fucking face.

He smirked at me like he’d just won a championship. He had, hadn’t he? He’d finally gotten me.

“Do you know where you are, Aria?” he asked. “I like to call you by your birth name since it makes me feel more connected to you and your deceased father. It feels intimate and precious, a rare emotion that should be cherished and remembered. How do you feel?”

My heart pounded erratically. My throat tightened painfully. Ice clogged my veins as fear seized my every cell. Rage burned in me, yet my fire couldn’t get out, no matter how I summoned it, begged it, and pushed it to come out and blast the motherfucker to dust.

A potent alien poison had seeped into my core. That was the horseman’s final spell. If I’d been at full power, it wouldn’t have latched on to me. My enemies had caught me in my most vulnerable state.

I stared at War, my face devoid of expression. I wouldn’t let him have the satisfaction of seeing or sensing my fear, horror, or even hatred. I gave my immortal enemy nothing but an empty shell, like I’d promised.

I had no doubt that he was going to rape me. I held no hope that anyone could reach me or help me.

I’d be in the worst hell, bound by a spell, unable to escape.

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