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“You . . . killed . . . her.” My lips felt so numb, it was difficult to speak.

“Yes. I helped her.” His head tilted to the side. “As you asked.”

I could only gawk as he strode out of the chamber, and the knot in my throat thickened. Nothing would save me.

She daredto bargain withme?

I curledmy legs up to my chest, hugging them. There weren’t any windows in the room, so I couldn’t tell how much time had passed, but it couldn’t have been more than a day.

Wrappers and water bottles littered the floor around me. I’d gorged myself on the food in the pantry, eating and drinking as much as I could find. Once he took me, I didn’t know if I’d come back. I didn’t know if those crackers were going to be my last meal.

On a positive note, my ankle felt tons better once I woke up from however long I’d been asleep. I tapped my fingers against my knees.

Certainty about my coming death settled on my shoulders after watching the cruel way he killed the non-human woman’s life. That must be how he planned to end mine, but why hadn’t he appeared yet? All the waiting and wondering was slowlydriving me crazy. I peered at the door leading to the scary hall. He hadn’t latched it when he left . . . The thought gave me the push to get to my feet. I’d find out for myself.

I nudged open the door, left the room and started down the hall. My footsteps echoed off the walls, making them sound resounding and eerie. The place reminded me of a creepy, abandoned castle. Hugging myself, I picked up my pace. This could very well be Hell, but it wasn’t the fire-infested pit I’d been taught about. I pressed my palm to my stomach.

Myth after myth flitted through my thoughts, but nothing fithim. Lucifer was a fallen angel, and the ram horns were demonic, but that was where the similarities ended, other than him being evil.

I rubbed my arms and shivered.

Was I getting anywhere? I looked over my shoulder at the chamber, now a decent distance away. Okay, so the hall had to end eventually. I picked up my pace to get my blood flowing.

Finally, the torches stopped, and the hall took an abrupt turn, opening to an ascending staircase. I hesitated a moment before climbing up the steep stairs. The sliver of each step was so small, it felt like a single mistake would cause a tumble and a broken limb. Creeping higher and higher, I kept my palm against the wall.

At the top, another hall led to a wooden door. I entered cautiously, but it only opened to a larger, empty space. There were windows on the far wall. I hurried to the pane to press my palm against the surface. I was frighteningly high up. Now the burn in my thighs made sense.

The sky was blanketed by a cloudy gray shade, and at least from this vantage, I couldn’t see anything past the foggy blanket coating the atmosphere. Surrounding the grounds were patches of dirt and scraggly, dying trees. Pillars held up differentsections and the whole structure was made of stone. This was a castle.

If there had been any doubt in my mind that I wasn’t on Earth, there wasn’t now. I backed away from the window and strode through the rounded archway. It led down another winding path and spat me out in a hall with more wooden doors. At the end of the hall, there was movement. I squinted to get a good look, but I couldn’t make anything out other than flickering light.

Once I reached the end, after a painfully long walk, and crossed the threshold of a wide-open space, I discovered the flickering came from a large fireplace. The red flames spat and flared from the comfort of the brick cavern framed in black granite. The blaze was big enough to warm the entire chamber. A worn, off-red rug with silver designs at the edges spanned most of the area, leading tohim, sprawled across a gigantic throne. The surface glinted from the reflection of the fire.

Shuffling closer, I ignored the twinge in my ankle to study the slumbering monster. Since the throne was bigger than him, it would dwarf me. His back leaned against the armchair, and his wings were tucked behind him, the edges poking out.

This was my chance to get a good look at him without his creepy eyes watching me. I grazed my fingertip against his arms. His gray flesh didn’t feel like human skin, somehow it felt like velvet, yet cold and hard. He wore a linen shirt, and his sleeves were rolled to the elbow, allowing me a peek at a muscle-corded arm. They seemed to bulge with strength; thickness added in places no human had.

My gaze traveled lower. Would he look the same as a man?

The only warning I had of him waking up was the twitch of a wing, and then he hissed, gripping my throat. He sneered down at me. A chill slid down my spine, and I struggled to suck in oxygen.

“Curious little thing.” His velvety voice coiled through my senses. Touches from his shadows kissed my skin, flaring the discomfort between my legs to life. I’d tried not to think about the pleasure he’d forced me to feel. It was wrong to desire him . . . even if it was the first time I’d ever felt anything that intense. He released my neck, and his shadows took hold of me.

I choked on my words. His hands went downward and settled on the top of his trousers. Very slowly, he undid the top button, and the rasp of the parting fabric quickened my heart rate.

The outline of a shaft bobbed free.

I dragged in an unsteady breath. The shaft was long and thick, but there was nothing human about it. Instead of being a smooth column, the tip was more pointed, and as it went lower, the cock had the slightest ridges. A few inches lower, and it had another dip and then another—as if textured. Thethingwas way above anything I’d ever seen and would very likely rip me in half. His hand curled around the base.

“What are you going to do to me?” I asked, my voice trembling. A tiny part of me, deep, deep inside, waited for his response with bated breath.

I hated how my body reacted to him. It was sick and wrong.

He grinned, and I was jerked forward. He propped his other arm on the armrest. Shadows played along his wrists and wound through his fingers.

My breathing had turned ragged. Without a choice, I was tugged closer to the chair until my thigh hit the edge between his spread legs. I winced from the thump against the hard surface.

I met his black eyes and his eerie, too-wide grin spread. The next thing I knew, my mouth was being shoved against the tip of his cock. Forcefully, he clasped the back of my head and pushed past my pursed lips. The cold shaft grazed my teeth, the dips of his shaft rubbing against the flat of my tongue. Tears trickleddown my cheeks, and I couldn’t breathe from the force of him against my throat. His cock was too big for it not to choke me, and without me relaxed, it made everything feel ten times worse. The hinge of my jaw pinched with discomfort until tears blinded me. I gagged, my gasp muffled, and so suddenly, he stopped, his length leaving my lips. I fell back on my butt, my palms slapping on the carpeted ground before his throne.