by Mia Downing
He gestured to the knife. “I’d say you know what to do…but we know how Leo got his blood signature last time. I prefer more traditional methods.”
Blushing fiercely, I reached for the knife. The ornate handle felt like a dagger of ice in my shaking hands. I closed my eyes as I pressed the sharp blade into the fat part of my palm under my thumb. It stung, the pain minute compared to the ache in my chest. Hot blood dripped into the glass inkwell, my fate and my future melding with each droplet.
“That’s plenty.” Samuel eased the knife from my hand and replaced it with the quill. “Now, sign.”
I heaved a breath, a part of me hoping Leo would burst in and demand to know what I was doing and put a stop to all of this. Outside, soft violin music began to play, the sad melody perfect for what I was about to do.
I dipped the nib of the pen into my blood, and with a shaking hand, I signed my old contract.
Something zinged along my arm where I’d felt my signature before. That spark glowed, igniting in a blaze of instant pain that seared across my back. I gasped. Just as quickly, the pain faded, leaving me empty.
My soul was my own.
I glanced at the tent door, hoping for another solution.
“Are you having doubts, Olivia?” Samuel asked. “Because those wedding flowers smell very sweet and strong.”
“No. No doubts.” I swallowed the huge lump in my throat and dipped the nib. Slowly, I signed my name to Samuel’s contract, sealing my fate.
I fought the tears welling as I set the pen down. “Are you going to call off the wedding, or am I?”
“Not so fast,” he murmured. “Come here. The deal must be sealed with a kiss.”
Oh God. I’d forgotten about that. I rose on shaking legs and rounded the table. He stood, adjusted his bow tie, and smiled down at me, handsome and deadly and repulsive all at once. I took a ragged breath and inhaled his cologne, a delicious mix of woodsy spice that made me want to recoil, not lean closer.
I waited, staring at the perfect black twist of his bow tie. When he didn’t make a move, I grumbled, “Just kiss me and get it over with.”
“Oh no. You have to kiss me.”
I recalled dimly that Leo had asked me to kiss him, and the flash of pain and joy that had mixed as my soul had become his.
Now, it would belong to Samuel to save my mother.
Shaking, I rose on my toes and brushed my mouth on Samuel’s. His arms wrapped around me, and he deepened the kiss, forcing my mouth open, his tongue barging between my lips as I recoiled. My skin heated, fire flashing across my back and arm as the contract etched into my skin. Samuel’s contract.
Behind me, the tent flap yanked open with a sheer violence that rattled the poles holding the structure.
Leo snarled, “What the fuck did you do?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I wrenched my mouth from Samuel’s, panting as Leo barged into the tent. I’d never seen him like this, a picture of perfectly dressed rage, his dark eyes flashing under furrowed brows, his fists clenched as he shoved chairs out of his way. My mother followed on his heels dressed in her wedding gown, her blue eyes wide and accusing.
“It’s not what it looks like,” I muttered as wiped my mouth.
“It’s exactly what it looks like,” Samuel corrected as he draped his arm over my shoulder.
Leo hauled me from Samuel’s side and gave my shoulders a shake. “What did you do?”
I lifted my quivering chin. “I sold my soul to Samuel.”
“I don’t understand. I didn’t sign anything.” He glanced wildly from Samuel to me, then down at the table where both contracts lay. His eyes widened. “The plane. No wonder you were acting weird.” The surprise faded to rage as he shook my shoulders again. “You didn’t tell me what I was signing.”
“Yeah, how does it feel to sign something without fully knowing the consequences?” I shrugged out of his hold. “I did what I had to do, Leo. To save my mother.”
I glanced at my mother, standing a few feet away, not demanding any answers, not asking any questions. She should be freaking out by now.
I glanced back to Leo and gasped. I reached a trembling hand to wipe the pink lipstick from the corner of Leo’s mouth. My mother’s lipstick.
I gaped at the pink staining my fingers. “What did you do?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I told your mother the truth. All of it. And I asked her to let me contract her soul to keep her safe.”
“What? How?” I turned to my mother. “Mom?”
My mother glared as she came forward. “You couldn’t have come to me about this?”
I tossed my hands in the air in defeat. “For the love of woodchucks, I tried! Samuel threatened to kill us both if I told you. And you would have never believed me anyway.” I scowled at Leo. “How did you convince her?”
“Magic.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, sure.”
Samuel started applauding in slow, taunting claps as he rounded the table. “Wonderful, Leonard. Excellent. Even I didn’t know your plan. I’m proud of you. This isn’t how we’d hoped to seal the deal, but the plan was to get both Denning women. And now, we have both.” He grinned with lascivious intent. “It’s going to be one hell of a celebration party.”
Leo squared his shoulders as he faced Samuel. “What terms did she sign?”
“Why don’t you ask her?”
Both men turned to me expectantly, and I cringed under Leo’s intent, damning gaze.
I swallowed. “He waits until midnight to call in my contract, and he doesn’t try to acquire my mother’s soul ever again. She’s safe. I didn’t want him to kill me before I had a chance to talk to her. He said we could discuss a ten-year term.”
“No.” Leo’s face drained of color. The fists at his sides clenched until they turned white. He wet his lips as he stared at me in horror. “Tell me you didn’t agree to that.”
I’d never seen him afraid before. Not like this, and my fragile confidence shattered into a million little pieces. My hand strayed to my throat, fluttering there in nervousness. “Leo?”
“Tell her what fun we’ll have, son,” Samuel said as he clapped Leo on the back. “This is your chance to prove to me where your loyalties lie. After all the time I’ve spent building you, creating you, I’d like to think your faith would lie with me.”
Leo stood a little taller, his face emotionless.
Samuel’s hand tightened on Leo’s shoulder. “Tell her about the deal she bargained for.”
Leo licked his lips. His Adam’s apple bobbed once, twice. “He can’t kill you until midnight. That means he can do whatever he wants to you while you’re alive, and you won’t die. He’ll tie you up and torture you until you’re at death’s door.”
Confusion mixed with fear. “I won’t die?”
“No. He has no intention of letting you live a minute past midnight. The minute the clock strikes, there will be no life left in you to negotiate.”
Trembling, I closed my eyes and pictured myself, bound and bloody, screaming for the release of death as Samuel laughed. That’s what I had agreed to, because I thought I could do this with just twisted luck to guide me.
Now I understood why Leo wouldn’t release me, why he refused to negotiate. I would have been safe from this hell if Leo still held my contract.
Fear numbed me, chilled me to the bone. My mother crowded closer and clutched my arm as if to protect me. She fumbled for my hand, her tight squeeze a comfort.
“Tell them the rest,” Samuel urged. “I’m dying to see her reaction.”
Leo flicked his gaze to my mother. “Your mother has no loophole in her contract. However, Samuel is asking me to participate in an ancient ritual that would involve sacrificing her as well.”
“No.” Terror made my voice tremble.
Samuel laughed and drew me to his side by the elbow. “We are going to have so much fun together. I’m going to bleed you dry and bathe in your blood.” He clutched my c
hin with his hand, making sure I’d see the glint of evil in his eyes, the joy on his face. “You are going to hurt so good.”
Oh, God. What had I done?
I wrenched my face from his hand and bit back the violent urge to throw up. Beside me, my mother sucked in a breath. My knees buckled, and my mother grabbed my elbow.
If I hadn’t gone behind Leo’s back, I’d be safe. My mother would be safe, too. Instead, I’d just earned myself a ticket to serial killer land. Why couldn’t I have trusted him?
“So, my son.” Samuel turned and crossed the room in slow, steps, stopping before Leo. “I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. You’ve lived for three wretched weeks almost without magic, as a human.” He sneered that last bit. “The lack of magic does evil things to even a good demon like yourself.
“Tonight, you can redeem yourself, and I’ll forgive your transgressions. Join me in the festivities. Enjoy the banquet of carnal sin I’ve provided for us and all will be forgotten.”
Leo squared his shoulders, and the color returned to his face, the pure danger etched there fierce and amazing. “Revert Olivia’s contract to me, and I will accept my punishment.”
Samuel’s brows flew up as he regarded me like one would a pile of dog crap. “Are you willing to do that for her?”
“Yes.” Leo didn’t hesitate, his voice strong in his conviction.
Do what? It had to be huge, much bigger than I deserved. Shivers of awe made my shoulders shudder. Behind me, it didn’t help that the ocean breeze picked up, rustling the tent flap.
“Your little plan won’t work now, will it?” Samuel tossed back his head and laughed. “You’re fucked no matter what you do.”
“There’s more at play than just the rules, and you know it. You’ve poached where you shouldn’t have for far too long.” Leo worked his jaw. “Revert her contract, or you’ll suffer the consequences.”
What did he mean?
Hand to his chin, the older man contemplated Leo’s demand. “How about I sell you her after-rights? Her soul will be ready at about ten seconds after twelve. What’s left of it, that is.”
“Fuck you.” Leo hauled his right hand back and punched Samuel in the face, sending him flying across the room, crashing into a table.
Outside, the breeze turned into a gale, the sides of the tent flapping madly. The door whipped open, the sunset marred with the swirling of a foreboding storm approaching across the water. The ocean crashed and tumbled into the sand, the waves growing higher and higher. The rose petals they’d laid down for the wedding scattered from the aisle, the sheet eventually rolling to the side, too.
Samuel staggered to his feet, rubbing his chin and flexing his jaw. “That all you got, boy?”
Leo tossed his tux jacket over a chair and rolled up his sleeves. “I’ve wanted to kick your ass for years.”
Samuel left his jacket on but pulled something from his side. The blade of a knife gleamed as he held it forward, preparing for Leo’s next wave of assault.
“Leo,” I warned, but he ignored me as he surged forward.
Leo blocked the thrust of the knife as his fist found Samuel’s gut. The two went down, a flash of black and white as they rolled together across the open part of tent floor, the knife gleaming now and then.
Samuel broke free, rolled away, and grabbed my legs. I bit back a scream as I went down, and he yanked me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around me. The blade of his knife bit into my throat. He laughed, the knife slicing my skin with the rumble of his voice. “I’ll start the blood bath now.”
“No.” Leo rolled to his knees before us, his bow tie missing, tuxedo shirt torn, baring his chest. “Make me a deal. Anything.”
“Anything?” Samuel drawled with a hint of a malicious smile.
The knife took a tour of my throat, grazing my chin, piercing the base of my neck. I bit my lip to keep from whimpering as the blade smeared blood across the exposed tops of my breasts, the pain far less than the agony in Leo’s expression.
“Isn’t she lovely, painted in blood,” Samuel crooned in my ear. “I’ll give you one last chance, Leonard. Come back to my side and suffer only a little.”
Leo’s nostrils flared, his dark eyes darting from the fresh blood dripping down my chest to Samuel. “Will you give me her contract?”
“No.”
Leo’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he composed himself. He sat back on his heels, his shoulders squared as I held my breath. “Then no blood ritual.”
“Done.” Samuel clutched me tighter but the knife left my neck. “I want your confession.”
“Leo?” I croaked out, shaking from head to toe with growing fear. I had no clue what had just gone down, but I didn’t want it to happen. Not at the price I feared he’d pay. “Don’t do whatever you’re about to do. Please.”
“Do you know why this is so hard for him, sweetheart?” Samuel kissed my cheek, and Leo’s hands clenched at his sides. “Because if you had been still under his contract, this confession we’re about to hear would have set both you and your mother free. It also would have protected you both from me.”
“I don’t understand,” I whispered, though I was beginning to see how I’d screwed all of this up.
“Leo obviously didn’t know that your contract would protect Muriel, too. For a split second, Leo owned both your contract and your mother’s—I could feel it. He had you both, and now all he gets for his sacrifice is a cease to the festivities.” Samuel kissed me again, his lips cloying on my skin.
I fought the bile rising in my throat as my stomach churned. “Don’t do it, Leo.”
“He has to confess. It’s proof of what he feels for you.” Samuel drew a hand down my hair. “I was hoping it wasn’t true, because he’s been an excellent protégé. Centuries of following orders, gathering souls…all undone by one woman.”
“What confession? What will it do to him?” Because this couldn’t be good if Samuel wanted it.
“It sends him back to square one. He becomes mine all over again. And he knows he’ll pay double this time around.”
“No!” I scrambled from Samuel’s lap, trying to reach Leo. Strong arms grabbed me from behind and dragged me back. “I’m not worth that. Please.”
The knife returned to my throat, the blade cold as it bit into my skin, the fresh rivulet of blood hot against my flesh. I froze mid-struggle, panting.
“Confess, Leonard. Or I start now.”
“Olivia.” Leo licked his bottom lip as he drew a deep breath, his shoulders shuddering.
The air around us stilled, and my world funneled down to just Leo before me on his knees, his clothes ripped and torn, his visible bare skin sprinkled with black beach sand.
He gave another shuddering sigh as a look of absolution and peace settled on his face, his gaze one of utter adoration. “I love you.”
“No.” Emotion lodged in my throat, and my voice would go no louder. A tear trickled down my cheek as another joined.
Babu had been right—his love would have broken my contract. But I never realized loving me would destroy him. At this point, I didn’t want to be right. I just wanted to love him back.
Leo cleared his throat and raised his voice above the growing wind. “I would have told you sooner. Yesterday in Italy…I wanted to tell you then. But it would have broken your contract and sent me back too soon. I needed to find a way to save your mom, too. And when I realized there was no other way than contracting her. I had to be brave enough.” His eyes pleaded with me, sincerity lacing the sadness in them. “I’m sorry I wasn’t brave enough sooner. I’m sorry I failed.”
He’d never said he was sorry before. Not when he’d eaten all of my toast or broke my favorite mug or when he’d realized contracting me was wrong.
I couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks. “You haven’t failed me. I love you, too.”
A sudden howl of wind rose on my words. A crack of thunder shook the ground, and lightning lit the sky a beat after.
Samuel now stood next to Leo, tugging him to his feet. “Time’s up, Romeo. This storm is here for you.”
The wind howled, the tent posts creaking and groaning under the force. Half of the tent cloth ripped, shredding the fabric. I scrambled to my feet, fighting the sudden shift in wind as I searched for my mother.
I made it to her side and shouted, “Mom, you should go.”
She yelled something I didn’t catch, the wind whisking her words away.
The sky darkened to soot black, and something rumbled like a train in the distance.
Leo glanced skyward and laughed. I couldn’t hear him, but his head flung back as his mouth opened, offering the sound to the heavens. He spun, grabbed Samuel’s hand that still held the knife, and used the weight of his body to thrust the blade home into Samuel’s chest.
I expected light to flash from Samuel’s eyes and mouth like lightning like on TV. Instead, the energy dimmed. His mouth gaped open, and his hands grasped Leo’s throat as the ground began to shake.
“No,” I screamed, finding my voice.
My mother dragged me backward with strength I didn’t know she possessed as a mini tornado whirled across the beach, kicking up sand and uprooting palm trees.
I couldn’t tear my gaze from the struggling men, Samuel’s hands slipping from Leo’s throat as his knees buckled. Leo glanced skyward and turned, presenting Samuel’s back to the whirling funnel.
Leo’s gaze sought mine. I love you, he mouthed.
The tornado engulfed Samuel and Leo in a swirl of inky blackness.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Just like that, the clouds parted, the winds ceased, the rays of the setting sun streaming through the holes in the tent. I blinked and wiped dampened strands from my vision, confusion clearing as horror began to take hold.
The black sand where Leo and Samuel had stood was gone, too, a good foot scooped up along with the men. The only proof they had existed lay under a broken table, the silver knife stained with Samuel’s blood.