Inferno of Darkness (Divisa Huntress #2) - J.L. Weil Page 0,81
dark figure emerged from the corner of the room. Except… my room was no longer the one I remembered. It was a prison, fancy demon bars and all, but I didn’t give it more than a fleeting glance, because my tear-soaked eyes couldn’t look away from the figure walking toward me.
Ashor?
Hope surged, but it only took a gut-clenching ache to remind me that Ashor wasn’t here. This shadow wasn’t him. Then the fear came. “What are you doing here?” I hissed, jumping to my feet and scrambling backward. I smeared away the tears and watched as Soren stalked into the center of the room.
“Miss me, little huntress?” His condescending voice was one I’d hoped to never hear again. Ashor’s brother was glowering at me. Evil vibrated in the room as if it were a living thing meant to do me harm.
I sniffled, trying to quickly compose myself when all I wanted to do was fall apart. “How can I miss someone who means nothing to me?” I snapped in a dismissive manner that only infuriated Soren, but I couldn’t stop myself. Fear brought out the bitch in me.
Soren’s hateful eyes flicked over my face before settling onto mine, and a cruel smile twisted on his lips. “Then I’ll make sure to leave a lasting impression this time. Something unforgettable.”
I did the most ladylike thing I could think of. I flipped him off, smiling smugly. “Fuck off.” There was nothing this demon could do to me that would hurt more than being hurt by Ashor.
Soren made a growl of disgust in the back of his throat. “Where is your mate?” he asked as if he read my mind.
I bristled, my chin lifting. “None of your fucking business.”
“Did he leave you again?” Soren clucked his tongue. “He tends to run away from commitment. My brother was never a one-woman demon. Don’t take it to heart.”
His words were a stab in my gut that had my knees wobbling. It was an effort to stay on my feet, but I squared my shoulders and drew on my last grain of strength. “I’m not in the mood to mince words with you. What do you want?”
Solid eyes of coal raked over my body in a perusal that had bile churning in my gut. “You are looking a bit rough around the edges. Sadness isn’t a good look for you. Nor is patheticness.”
My fingers itched to smack that smug grin off his chiseled face.
He slinked closer to me, those unnatural eyes never wavering from mine, like a hawk circling his prey. “I never got a chance to welcome you to the family, sis. Something to look forward to.”
“Bite me.”
Soren flashed his teeth. “With pleasure.”
It was too late to realize the position I was in. Soren had me cornered against the wall. His fingers dove into my hair, grabbing a fistful. I curled my hand into a ball and slammed my fist into his belly just as he yanked my head to the side, sinking his teeth into my neck.
The second his fangs pierced my skin, the fight left me. My arms fell limply to my sides, and a languid feeling spread through my veins as if I was drugged. Something repulsive spread through me.
“You and I are going to have a little fun,” Soren murmured against my throat, his teeth grazing along my pulse. He bit me again. And again. More times than I could count, each bite bringing a new level of pain.
Soon there was nothing but the echoes of my screams. I withdrew inward, unable to take the tortured cries of my own agony, and it was within myself I heard a faint voice calling my name. The voice was far away, trying to cleave the screams that were growing hoarse. “Lexi,” it whispered. “Lexi. Lexi. Lexi.” It grew louder, drowning out my cries. I held on to that voice as it pulled me further and further from the nightmare. Until there was no pain. There was no Soren. There was no ache of hopelessness.
There was only Ashor, holding me in his arms and gently rocking me back and forth on the bed. Eyes wide and wet with tears, my skin glistened with cold sweat as I grappled between reality and… something else. Something utterly fucked-up.
I clung to Ashor, my arms wrapped in death grip around his neck. His scent hit my nostrils, breaking through the terror that swamped all my senses. “Ashor.” His name was a broken sob on my trembling lips.