Page 199 of Dark Souls

I shook my head, grabbing his face in my hands so tightly as I mouthed, ‘I will never leave you.’

“Stubborn little brat,” he whispered against my lips before pressing them to mine in a bruising kiss. I heard Mitchell muttering Latin behind me and when I opened my eyes and pulled back, I was met with Heathen’s face. His black eyes stole my next breath and a choked sob lodged in my throat as I clung to his body.

“Don’t cry, Snow. I don’t know how, but when we woke up, I could see through Luka’s eyes. We tried. No one can say we didn’t try. We got to love you and that’s the best thing that has ever happened to us. So please go. Leave right now. Let us die with the peace of knowing you are safe.”

My hands gripped his chest as I leaned up on my tiptoes and kissed him again, before turning around and facing Belladonna. I pressed my back against his chest and narrowed my eyes, showing her I was willing to take them both on. They were going to have to get through me to get to him.

“Snow,” Heathen growled from behind me when Belladonna’s lips curved into a sinister smile.

“Brave little thing, aren’t you?” She clicked her fingers and I felt the restriction on my throat ease so I could respond.

“I’ll fight for him until my last breath.”

She smirked. As I read her mind, I lifted my chin a little higher, knowing that she had no intention of stabbing Heathen with that stake. She was going to destroy the sigil because she wanted to make him suffer the worst death imaginable. “As you wish, princess.”

She opened her palm to Mitchell. “The sigil, darling. Let’s get this over with.” He ripped it off his neck and placed it in her hand. “Go and get her.”

Mitchell took a step towards me and I kicked up a steel bar from an old, dismantled cell and sent it hurtling towards him through the air. It tore right through his thigh, causing him to fall back to the ground and grit his teeth through his pain.

Belladonna’s face twisted with fury as she quickly opened a vial of blood and smeared it all over the sigil. She muttered her spell, her eyes illuminating with her magic.

“Snow. Get out of here. Right now.” Heathen tried to buck me forwards with his hips, the panic rolling off him in waves because he didn’t want me to see the excruciating death she was about to put him through.

A calmness took over as I turned around and placed my hand over his chest, directly above his beating heart. He stared down at me with confusion as I smiled. A strange sense of peace washed over me and I became completely okay with what I was about to do. I had never desired anything more and the oddest thing of all was that I knew exactly the words to say to make it happen.

“I, Ilaria Anderson Romano Black, give my soul to you, Lukas Heathen Nezera. Forever yours, forever more, in life and in death.”

His chest glowed beneath my hand as I felt the most deliciously painful tug on my heart, as if an invisible thread had been woven through it, sewing it to his through an unbreakable bond. The strength of our connection warmed my blood, knowing that not even death could part us now.

“What have you done?” Heathen whispered. A single black tear left one of his eyes and rolled slowly down his cheek.

My smile trembled when I felt the sharp pinch on my back that I already knew would be coming. Heathen scanned my face, his eyes full of fear. We both peered down at the blood that was oozing out of my chest. A roar so loud ripped from Heathen which caused my ears to ring when we both realised I’d been stabbed in the back with his scorched dagger. There was no pain though, only relief that if the enchantment on Leif’s ring was no longer working, I would at least die completely bound to the love of my life.

His arms thrashed against the chains, tugging furiously to escape as I rested my head against his chest and whispered, “Your dark soul for mine.”

Just For Her

ThemomentIlariagaveher mortal soul to me for all eternity, a powerful surge of burning ecstasy travelled through every cell in my body. My vines glowed gold, capturing the very essence of her life and fuelling my dark soul. The precious treasure I had craved more than my own existence was now in my possession. I felt complete in a way I never imagined possible. She would be mine for all eternity, which exhilarated me but also came with an intense feeling of bittersweet agony. My life in the human realm was about to end. Which meant, so was hers. My demonic nature, twisted and distorted by darkness, felt a sense of victory that she would be forever mine even in death, but the weight of knowing I would drag her down to the depths of hell far too soon broke my black heart. Her soul would follow mine to the underworld where she would stay forever, stained by the darkness of our bond, losing the life she had barely lived.

“What have you done?” I choked, feeling a strange dampness glide down my cheek. A tear. The first one I had ever cried. I had no idea demons were even capable of it.

Her glassy pink eyes captivated me, consumed me just like they had the very first time I had ever looked into them. The feeling of contentment in her soul filled my own, making the most delicious meal, but the taste of something bitter was left on my tongue. Something dark and horrific. Her death. I peered down at her chest, her gaze following mine to find the sharp point of the stake lodged through it. Blood seeped through her black top, darkening the material. Her head rested against my heart as she closed her eyes.

“Your dark soul for mine.”

’No!’ A voice I hadn’t heard for over a hundred years pierced my thoughts, deafening and full of anguish. Luka.

An earth-shattering roar shook the cellars as I thrashed with all my might against the chains on my wrist and ankles. After feeling the return of Luka’s presence and possessing Ilaria’s soul, a newfound power ignited in my veins. With the next vicious tug, one of my arms was freed, creating a hole in the cellar wall as I ripped the chain away. My arm wrapped around Ilaria’s waist, holding her limp body to me as I did the same to the other.

Belladonna’s face paled significantly as she staggered backwards. Her chanting grew louder and more panicked as she held my sigil in her hands. A glow resonated from her palms as she muttered the Latin to destroy it. But I was more concerned about my mate dying in my arms. Quickly, I reached around Ilaria’s back and removed the stake, praying it had missed her heart, and I was quick enough before the wood poisoned her blood. She grunted as it dislodged from her body and I dropped it to the floor, pressing my hand to her chest to stop the bleeding.

Ilaria’s hands lifted to my face, stilling me in my need to save her. Her bright eyes scanned my face as a slow, mischievous smile appeared on her own. A black ring on her index finger vibrated subtly against my skin and her eyes flicked over to it.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, gripping my face tightly. I frowned, unable to understand what was happening when her skin healed itself, leaving a scar. And then she fucking winked. My Snow Angel winked at me in the face of death. I knew she was ballsy, but that took me by complete surprise. Before I had time to question her, an excruciating spark of pure agony raced from my toes to the tips of my horns, causing me to throw my head back and fall to my knees. Belladonna’s magic wasn’t working on the sigil, and now she had turned her attention to me. It felt like every fabric of my soul was being torn to shreds as I recognised the Latin to the hellfire spell. She was attempting to turn my blood into fire.

In a blur, Ilaria was no longer in my arms but had zoomed across the cellar, slamming Belladonna against the wall by her throat. Her fists were pounding into her face at insane speed. The Devil raced towards Ilaria but was intercepted by a swirling portal. So many bodies filled the room, moving so fast and bringing with them a powerful energy, it was hard to comprehend what happened next.

The insufferable pain in my body eased, my mind clearing as I blinked rapidly to understand the scene. My eyes searched for Ilaria, panic intensifying until I saw her in her mother’s embrace. The Queen was half comforting, half restraining her as Ilaria heaved through her fangs, staring up at Belladonna with only pure darkness in her eyes.