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“That’s easy to say, but when you see me doing things. . . ” his voice trailed off. His blue eyes were strained with anxiety. “When we leave here and you see what I’ve done—it was my hand that did it. It was my doing that freed Kreturus from his prison. I’m to blame for all of it, because I’m the one who started it. ”
I twisted in his lap, and sat up. Staring into his face, I asked, “What do you mean?”
Collin pushed his dark hair out of his face. His eyes darted to Eric and back to me. “I wish we could talk the way we used to. ” He tucked a stray curl behind my ear. He pressed his lips together, pushing them into a thin pink line. “Kreturus escaped because I went looking for him. I found him, I made a bargain, and I lost. It allowed him to use me to come to the surface. And I couldn’t talk about it. I couldn’t warn you away or tell you what I was doing.
“It became harder and harder to try and keep you two apart. He would come up looking for you. He’d search my mind, trying to find memories that would lead him to you. I couldn’t hide them anymore. The day you pulled me through the demon glass, Kreturus decided he would kill you if you didn’t submit to him. He was going to make me the one to do it. If you’d hesitated when I fell through the mirror, I would have killed you. There wasn’t a choice. And it’s weird now. . . ” he paused, looking over my shoulder at the wall. His face relaxed as if he were somewhere wonderful and not locked in a musty old basement filled with flats and old props. “Because I have a choice. He can’t call me back. Kreturus can’t make me do anything,” he took my hands in his, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb, “and I owe it all to you. You broke my blood bargain. I never thought I’d be free again. But I am. ” He leaned closer to me, his lips about to touch mine when Eric spoke.
“If you want to hook up with the person who freed you from your bargain, you’re trying to fuck the wrong girl. ” Eric turned his head toward us, his golden eyes glaring. My jaw dropped, but he didn’t let me speak. Tension shot through Collin’s body as he pulled away from me, but I grabbed his arm before he could cross the room to Eric. “It was the Demon Princess. It was her spell. Ivy just fucked it up by leaving out an important fact. ” Eric turned his head away from us and covered his eyes with his arm—like he was bored.
I grabbed a candlestick holder from the table next to me and hurled it at Eric. “You’re such an ass. ”
Eric’s hand shot up and plucked the object from the air before it hit him in the side of the face. “What’s your point?” He sat up, neither frowning nor smiling. His eyes had that look that made me want to cower. It was as if he were hungry and I was food.
I swallowed, ignoring the sensation creeping up my throat. It pissed me off that I couldn’t feel Collin’s touch, but Eric could still evoke a response from me. It was the lingering effects of his blood. “My point is that he’s talking to me, not you! And I didn’t screw up her spell. I said it perfectly. I did everything she said. I paid dearly for it, Eric. And if I hadn’t done what I promised, the blood bargain would have taken effect and killed me. So, what happened?” Eric was silent. He turned away with a confident expression in his eyes. He knew too much. I could see it on his face, and he wasn’t going to tell me. I huffed, “You know. How could you possibly know?” How could he possibly know why the spell didn’t work. He was full of crap. There was no way it was possible.
“Ask Locoicia next time you see her,” was all he said. Eric moved away from us, to the back of the basement, as far away from us as possible.
Collin watched him. He no longer had the Neanderthal reaction to pound Eric whenever he said something horrible. Instead, he listened and watched. People who were silent when they should be screaming are more dangerous. Good thing Collin was on my side. Eric was something I couldn’t explain. A horrific act tied us together. And now, now I wasn’t even sure what he was. Was he mortal? Could he die? He seemed to still have some of my power or demon blood. But I wasn’t certain how much that was affecting him.
Collin broke the gush of thoughts that was flooding my mind. He pulled me back into his arms, and I slouched against his chest. The world was turning to Hell above me, and I couldn’t do anything about it because I was weak. I was weak because part of my soul was inside of Collin. And Eric had taken some. Fucking Eric.
Collin wrapped his arms around me, and the tension faded from my shoulders. He whispered softly into my ear, “He knows something we don’t. ” I nodded. That much was certain. But what, I didn’t know.
CHAPTER SIX
Collin stayed by me, watching Eric, although I knew Eric wouldn’t harm me. Not if he couldn’t enjoy watching the pain in my eyes. Attacking me in my sleep wasn’t his style. It was possible that the only reason he was helping me find the stone was morbid curiosity. That, and he thought I held the ward that kept him safe. Lorren hadn’t said anything as far as I could tell, and I didn’t bring it up again. If he figured it out, I wasn’t sure what he’d do.
Collin’s fingers stroked my brow as I drifted in and out of a light sleep. He didn’t think it was safe to allow me to completely drift off for fear Locoicia would grab me and suck me into her demon glass. Instead of getting a good deep rest, I got enough to not fall over. I’d have to face her at some point anyway. It would be better if it were at a time I chose, which would be never. If I knew how she pulled me through the glass, I’d stop her. But I wasn’t sure. It had to be one of the spells she taught me, or a concoction of them, but I wasn’t sure which ones.
When I couldn’t lie there anymore, I sat up. Collin’s hand was on my back. I leaned into him for a moment, inhaling his scent. There was no reaction. No feeling of affection. No desire for things that would normally make me blush in the light of day.
As if he knew what I was thinking, Collin pressed a kiss to my temple and brushed my hair over my shoulder. “If you can still feel anything,” he glanced across the room into the dark void where Eric sat, “for anyone, then there’s a chance you’ll recover from what she did to you. It’s not over until the end. And I won’t leave you, not when you face Kreturus. Not ever. Okay?” His words made me want to melt into him. As he spoke, my gaze locked on his deep blue eyes. Their gaze had made every part of me feel alive and safe not so long ago. Could I really feel him again? Could the disconnect between my mind and my emotions be rejoined? I didn’t know. I wasn’t even certain that was the problem. And the numbness that kept me from Collin was a necessary evil to not feel pain. Otherwise the dark magic would claim its pain price and destroy me. I wouldn’t be able to bear the pain.
For once, Eric waited for a lull to speak. He rose in the darkness and paced toward us. He stopped, standing above us, his arms folded across his chest. My heart raced, picking up the pace to match Eric’s. Eric said, “We need to get going. I know where the stone is, but you’ll have to kill a few Martis to get it. ” I looked up at him, my brows pinched together. “Don’t look at me like that. What’d you expect? That it would be in a lock box under my bed?” He snorted, shaking his head. “Of course you did. . . ”
I cut him off, “You hid your book in a wall. ” As if doing one cliché thing meant that he would do two. Collin lifted his hand from my back after pressing it to my shoulder, reminding me to keep my temper in check. I felt his eyes on the side of my face, causing my stomach to twist.
Eric’s gaze darted between Collin’s hand, and my face. Eric’s expression was neutral. As always. “It was a book no one could read, except me. It was hardly valuable to anyone else. But Satan’s Stone—anyone could find it. If they killed you and took the second half, they could use it. ”
Collin spoke, “Is that your plan?” Eric’s attention shifted to Collin. “To kill Ivy and use the Stone yourself? Absorb her power and take over?”
Eric’s mouth curved into a smile. He laughed. “You’re very astute, but a child compared to me. Did Ivy not tell you? I already used the Stone. It cannot be used twice by the same person. Nor would I want to. I’
m still paying the price from the last time I used it. ” He paused, his eyes shifting between Collin and me. “That’s what you would do? You’d befriend her to gain her trust, then kill her and take her power. ”
Collin shot out of his seat. He was nose to nose with Eric. Every muscle in his neck popped as he held his arms and flexing fingers tensely at his sides. “Don’t you dare try to fill her mind with distrust. Not now. Not after everything she’s been through. My reasons for being cruel to her are transparent, while yours aren’t. Why are you here, Eric? If it’s not power, then what?”
Eric remained unphased, and shoved his hands in his pockets. He replied, “I like her company,” and tried to shoulder past Collin.
I sat from the couch watching. Collin wasn’t after my power. I knew he wasn’t. He could have taken it several times, but he didn’t. Eric’s words were carefully crafted lies to make me. . . hate him. He said one thing—a horribly nasty thing—and then did something else. His actions typically didn’t match his mouth. Ah, I started to understand. Was it possible that Eric was here, and it was not by choice? Was it possible that he was hanging around me for another reason—a reason that had to do with the stone? I rose before Collin had a chance to respond, and walked over to Eric. Looking up at him, I asked, “We’re bound together, aren’t we? It’s something to do with the curse, isn’t it? The cost from when you used the stone?” A triumphant smug smile formed on my face, and melted away just as quickly.
Eric’s eyes melted, and the soft-hearted boy I’d known was staring back at me. It was as if a veil had been lifted and I could gaze into his soul. His eyes widened and I knew I could see him in that moment. Truly see what drove him to do and say the things he did. Nothing was hidden. A knot formed in my throat and I slid my foot back, backing away from him. Pressing my fingers over my mouth, I openly gaped at him as shock washed over me.
Eric’s reaction was that of a cornered animal. The veil he hid behind slammed back down. It was masking something. Something important about the curse—about his curse from using the stone. Before I recovered from the shock, his hands reached for my neck. Eric threw me across the room. My back slammed into the concrete wall with a thump. Before I could slide to the floor his fingers were pressing against my throat.
Collin moved behind him, ready to attack, but I held up my hand. Collin stopped. There was something there, within Eric. More than it seemed. And I’d just seen something that for whatever reason, Eric kept hidden. But I didn’t understand why. Why hide it? Why was he so threatened by me?
Collin’s blue eyes were filling with fire. His body shook with rage as he watched Eric hurt me, and for some reason I told Collin to stop. And he obeyed. I needed time to discover what I thought I saw within Eric. And making him release me would reveal nothing.