by Lexi C. Foss
Capturing my wrists firmly, Julien twists me around into a secure hold, my back to his chest. Walking us toward the wall, he stops before the remnants of a shattered mirror. The golden frame is tarnished with age, and the jagged chaotic edges of what’s left of the looking glass, dusty from lack of care.
“Look how pitiful and out matched you look,” he sneers in my ear. “Your prowess as a vampire killer might be unshakable, but do you really think you can kill a demon lord, like me?”
“You're a fucking monster,” I spit in reply.
Julien’s jaw clenches when his gaze meets mine in our reflection. “Don’t give me that look, my love. I gave you a chance. You betrayed me. Now I’ll have to punish you. You’ll thank me for it later.”
“You think you're doing this for me?” A laugh bubbles up from my throat. “Stop pretending that this is anything other than your own obsessed selfishness. I don’t love you. You don’t even know what love is. I will never return what you feel for me. I’d rather throw myself into one of the burning pits than be anything to you.”
“You will love me.” His fangs are bared more in a snarl than a smile, voice dripping with saccharine venom. “I will beat you down, crush your mind, and all that you know until you are nothing but my puppet kneeling at my feet. I’ve already plucked so many memories from your head you’ll never get them back. I’ll empty it if I have to. Take them all. Nothing will stand in my way of having you. From the moment I set eyes on you as a child, I knew it was meant to be. You will be everything I desire. My mate. My toy. The whore who will spread her legs at the click of my fingers. I will rewrite you over and over until it’s me you can’t live without.”
My head is slammed into the wall, and for a second, I think I might pass out. Digging his sharp nails into my cheeks, Julien flicks his tongue along the scratches he’s left on the length of my cheekbone. Pressing his nose to the crook of my neck, he inhales deeply.
Thoughts scatter. His new instincts must be taking over. The vampiric need to feed awakening inside him. Fuck.
Fangs graze my throat, probing as if he’s not sure where to bite. Squirming in his grip gets me nowhere. His ethereal shadowy tentacles curl down from his head wrapping around my own. I feel Julien’s power worming its way into my mind. Dangerous, obsessive, unstable. The sharp ache of needles at first, then it hits my brain. A skin crawling intimate feeling like something is trying to settle inside my head and make itself a home burrowing into my brain cells, rewriting everything I know and ripping out the rest.
"Don't fight," he rasps in glee still trying to find a place to sink his teeth into where my shoulder connects with my neck. "You never fought when you were a child, don't think you can stop this now. You were so easy to manipulate even then. There are things I distorted, erased. Kept you from ever remembering, and you still adored me as your mentor. The one you came to talk too. Who you relied on. Devoted yourself to. I will have all that again, my love. I will not be denied. "
His confession and the sensation of him trying to split my sanity apart has a raw, broken scream escaping my lips. The seething mass of hatred inside me grows stronger until it's all I can feel infecting my soul, blood, and veins.
Vincenzo attacks with a battle roar stabbing the surgical knife, from the tray beside the table, into Julien’s spine. Bellowing in fury, the demon releases me, twisting around to fling him off with a clawed hand. Vincenzo flies through the air hitting the stone wall with a sickening crack.
Julien is going to kill him.
The realization has the sleeping tiger inside me exploding outward, bones cracking and expanding as I shift. She awakens so powerfully it feels as though I’m being turned inside out. The snarl that leaves me has the very foundation of the building shaking with its intensity.
Savage and unyielding raw power of a violent storm.
A howling tornado crashes through me. Jagged edges entwined, spinning, twisting sucking up my negative emotions. Vicious, raging, erupting into something destructive and primal. My hatred is its fuel. It seethes through my elegant feline frame and lean muscles. In one fluid movement, I bound toward the demon.
“It’s not possible!” Julien screeches when he sees me. “Your beast is drugged. You shouldn’t have that kind of power…how?”
Leaping on top of him, I take him to the floor, my sharp teething tearing at his flesh and biting through muscle. Claws raking his chest, I dig them deep, shredding and slashing.
His talon’s gouge deep into my sides, but I’m too lost in my need for revenge that I barely feel them. Fangs bite at the fur of my shoulder, but it just has me savaging him more viciously.
Before I can register it, I’m airborne, slamming into the mirror, the last shards in the broken looking glass shattering at the impact around me. They slice and cut my blood drenched pelt adding to my injuries.
Julien snarls, trying to get up off the floor where I’ve left him crippled from my attack.
In one smooth shift, I’m human again, naked lying on the floor, riding a wave of adrenaline that keeps me moving.
Snatching up a sliver of mirror, I’m on him again before he can roll onto his side. It stings, slicing through my palm and fingers, blood trickling from the lacerations, but I don’t let it go. Stabbing the end of the razor-sharp piece through his heart, I jam it in as far as my ebbing strength will allow.
Julien howls in agony raking his talons down my sides, but it does him no good. In satisfaction, I watch him begin to crumble like a thousand vampires I’ve slain before him. The shock in his eyes is priceless. This monster didn’t think I had what it took to best him, and now I’ve just proven him wrong. A wave of dizziness hitting me hard, I slump off him onto the floor.
I don’t take my eyes off him, watching until the very last second when he becomes nothing but dust. My victory is bittersweet. I won but at what cost?
Movement captures my attention.
Vincenzo crawls toward me, his expression twisted with misery of his own injuries. Reaching me, he cradles me close, struggling to put pressure on the wounds that are too many to count. “Why aren’t you healing?”
The panic and desperation in his voice has tears burning in my eyes. “Don’t know…”
I cough, a raspy bloody sound that wracks my whole body making me shake. I’m going to die. That fact shouldn’t surprise me. After all the kills I’ve made, it’s kind of ironic I’ve given my life to save a vampire.
Vincenzo struggles to pull me up, his own injuries healing but at a slower rate than normal. Knees sagging beneath my weight, he sinks back down to the ground still holding me tightly. “Just hold on.”
Reaching up a bloodied hand, I press it to his cheek, gaining his attention. “Too late.”
“No damn it, it's not. Please, Yukie, don’t leave me. I love you.”
I’ve been fooling myself into thinking I can have a happy ending. I’m a killer. It was always going to be forbidden. A taste of the unattainable. I’m not even sure my heart can handle the pain of that truth. I was never meant to get the perfect life and my dream man. Dante was my happy place, an addiction that I should never let myself have, and none of it was real. Vincenzo was the man I’d fallen in love with before any of this had even happened.
Pain. Cold. Dark. Pain. Cold. Dark.
I feel myself slipping into delirium. Vincenzo’s imploring words echo in my ears. Vision sliding in and out of focus, it blurs, but I swear I see a moonlight shadow under a crimson veil. Hues of silver and two bright blue orbs hovering above me before everything fades to black.
Eyes.
I realize absently. They had been the eyes of someone who had knelt beside Vincenzo.
“Drink, Yukie. Drink.” A deep, masculine voice urges. It calms me, bringing an odd sense of peace. Something is pressed to my mouth, liquid seeping in potent and metallic. Energy tingles through me in its wake chasing the icy chill that has invaded every inch of me and brings with it a vivacious heat. Swallowing back a pool of saliva, hunger gnaw
s, growing in strength. A need for something that slides into obsession. Clutching at the wrist, I drink greedily. When it’s wrenched away, I mew in confusion at its loss.
Lips brush mine in a feather-like touch. Soft, clinging I feel the tingle spreading from my mouth. Delicious and faint, the taste hits my tongue when I lick them. A hand gently cradles the back of my head. My tongue duels with the owner of the possessive kiss. It goes on and on as if he doesn’t want it to end. I’m the air he needs to breath; and he refuses to release me.
18
Dante
Yukie’s lips are soft and pliant against my own as I continue to kiss her. Seeing her bloodied and broken had sent every protective instinct within me rocketing. My brother looks just as battle-worn.
Finally raising my head, I check her wounds to make sure they're healing. The blood I’ve given her won’t transform her into a vampire, but it's enough to reinvigorate her natural abilities to mend herself. Dirt and blood cling to her smooth skin, the slashes and cuts already healing. Her black and blue hair is a mess around her face. Eyes closed, she’s limp in my arms.
“You have your brother and the demon is dead,” the stranger utters from the doorway, standing just within the threshold. “It’s time for you to leave. The hunter remains here. Her talents are better served where she belongs.”
Hugging her unconscious form closely, I shoot him a glare. “Her place is with me.”
“Do you really think a vampire and a slayer will work?” he questions with a humorless laugh.
“I’ve hacked my way through an army of deranged vampires, taking you out will be no different.”
The stranger smirks in amusement, his eyes alight with delight. “You do have a set of balls on you, I’ll give you that.”
Yukie stirs, her long, inky black eyelashes flickering up. “Master Lucifer. The vampires...”
Lucifer? So this is the fallen angel who sits on the throne of hell. Not the hideous monster I imagined. The Devil is all handsome charm.
Yukie’s breaths grow shallow. Shivering in my arms, she pales. Crawling from my embrace, she drags herself away from me with a pained whimper. When I try to stop her, I’m met with her hisses.
“They're just about to leave or feel my wrath.” Lucifer takes a step to flank her, preventing me from pursuing her. “There will be no realm, no sanctuary that I won’t find them if they defy me. This hunter is mine. I do not give up what’s mine lightly. You’d be wise to remember that.”
“Yukie. It’s me Dante…” I tell her, my gut twisting when she can barely even look at me. Tears glisten in her eyes, what she’s feeling more than physical agony. She looks broken. Defeated.
“Everything you think you know about her is a lie,” Lucifer interrupts, slicing his hand through the air with impatience. “You don't have a relationship. You met once at a party. She was your brother's lover. You coveted her. Destined mates recognizing each other and the poor bastard with her never stood a chance. Oh, don’t worry, your real memories will come flooding back as yours weren’t ripped from your head like hers were. You’ll have everything in technicolor...”
“Mates? What do you mean they’re mates?” Vincenzo mutters where he’s still kneeling naked on the floor, shoulders hunched with exhaustion. “You barely had five minutes together. The demon wove a story inside your memories of a relationship before destroying it all. His way of stopping things before they could even start. Everyone could see you two were grade-A weaponized sexy together, but I’m the one she loves. We were going to announce our engagement to you and the rest of the houses. Yukie is mine. You can’t have her!”
Vincenzo’s confession stirs recollections. The emerald ring. It had never been mine. Mateo had taken it from my brother's apartment as proof of his intentions. The party tonight had been his. I’d been going to intervene. Prevent them from telling the world of their aim.
“I can’t do this.” Yukie’s breath comes out in an agitated stutter. “Too much has happened. I don’t know what's real anymore. If anything in my life is real.”
She flinches away when I reach for her. “Yukie…follow your heart.”
“And which one do I follow now it’s shattered into a million pieces between the two of you?” She asks, voice cracking on the last three words. When she glances up at me, her green orbs are swirling with anguish.
Lucifer snaps his fingers. Darkness roars up around me, and I find myself falling, falling, everything crushing in. Yukie spins away from me further and further out of reach. There’s nothing I can do to get to her. My shouts are dimmed, useless. When everything stops reeling, I find myself standing in the middle of my penthouse.
Mateo stands staring at me with wide shocked eyes. “Fuck me, you just materialized out of thin air. Where the hell have you two been, and why is Vincenzo naked covered in blood?”
“Yes,” Vincenzo replies drily, collapsing onto the couch with a wheeze. “That’s exactly where we’ve been.”
“Text down for a blood donor to come up for my brother to feed on before he expires,” I instruct quickly. “I’ll explain everything then. I assume you remember some of what happened?”
“You mean days on repeat? Yeah, it's hazy but there,” my second in command confirms, fishing his mobile phone out of his pocket. “I thought I was losing my mind until someone else mentioned it was happening to them too. A blond biker guy down at the bar said whatever spell we were under had broken.”
Gabriel. I have questions for him. Ones I will have no matter the cost.
“Is he still there?”
Mateo nods, his focus on the message he’s tapping out. “I believe so.”
“Good.” Striding to the small table holding the decanter of whisky, I pour two generous amounts into a pair of crystal tumblers. Carrying them across the room, I hand one to Vincenzo.
“You have a lot of explaining to do,” I growl when he accepts it with a trembling hand.
Instead of answering, he downs the alcohol, avoiding my gaze.
“Where’s Vanna and her father?” My attention returns to Mateo.
“The donor’s on the way up.” Slipping his phone away, he meets my eyes. “Gone. They hightailed it out of here when you disappeared downstairs. I had some of our men lay in wait for the assassins outside. We managed to interrogate one. They were sent by Piovene as insurance in case their plan didn’t work.”
The magic that’s held me in its thrall fades further, and for the first time in a long time, I know the truth. It doesn’t make me feel any better. Time may have restored itself to the exact moment the spell started, but I remember months of repeating the same two days over and over. A green-eyed, exotic beauty and her determination. Every single time we clashed, battled, fucked, and became something more. We haven’t had a conventional beginning, but it was a start. Real or fake, it has bound us together. Yukie took my blood as I’ve taken hers.
Fate has entwined us whether she wants it or not.
19
Yukie
A sultry breeze ripples over my skin as consciousness returns. I don’t remember passing out. The last thing I do recall is seeing Dante, hearing his words. Vincenzo beside him trying to get to me. Then nothing.
The firmness of a mattress cradles my battered body, and from the aches and pains, I’m still in the process of healing the damage Julien inflicted on me. Eyelashes flutter up, I take in the opulent splendor of the room with its ostentatiously detailed, black marble pillars and arched doorways. The air is scented with the smell of flowers that remind me of springtime.
My attention settles on the figure sitting to my left in a throne like chair beside the bed. He observes me unblinking, his thoughts guarded behind the solemn facade his features are resting in. His emerald green eyes glimmer with shrewdness and cunning.
“Where am I?” I whisper, wondering if I’m dreaming or dead. Maybe this is just another one of Julien’s fantasies. Did we even escape the last one? My head spins with the possibilities. I’m too tired and so
re, and it all gives me an unwanted headache.
“One of my palaces,” Lucifer murmurs softly. “It’s rarely used, and you won’t be disturbed here. The servants will see to your every need. You may remain for as long as you wish or leave if you prefer. This is somewhere you can heal safely.”
“I’m not sure everything can be fixed.” My hand crawls up to press over the pang in my chest that Dante and Vincenzo have caused. Waves of sadness crash over me making our encounter even more harrowing. Do I love them? Do I love one of them? Was everything fiction? How can I still feel so much if it was all just an illusion? A demon’s twisted game.
“A heart can only be broken once. The rest are just scratches.”
“It hurts so much.” My composure cracks, breath coming out in a shaking sigh, and I try my damnedest to blink away the tears. Using the heel of my hand to wipe the dampness away from the corners of my eyes, I struggle not to break down completely.
Lucifer's cruel mouth hardens. “Trust me. No one else will notice your tears or your pain. They will, however, see the destruction you leave in your wake. The glory of the name you carve out for yourself that will burn in the hearts of your enemies. Make them kneel at your feet. Take your vengeance so others will think twice before trying to cross you.”
“Are you my father?” I blurt out before I have time to think it through.
Rising from his seat, he strolls across the bedroom toward an immense window. “In a way. Some of my DNA went into creating you. It was mixed with a demon and tiger shifter. I chose Julien to train you. A Chaos Lord. One of my strongest demons in the possession of powers unlike any other of the demon breeds under my rule. He kept his obsession for you shrouded for years before he let it slip. If I had known about it, I would have removed him sooner. Obviously extracting him from your life and banishing him from Hell was not enough. I should have executed him.”