Page 55

ELIAS

Elias didn’t have control over his actions or his body as he stood in the queen’s throne room, Magnus’ syphen pressed to his throat.

He was utterly at the mercy of the sorcerer’s whims, and his mate would be the one to suffer the consequences.

Arabella stood before him, but he wasn’t permitted to look at her.

Prior to leaving the camp and journeying to the gateway, Magnus had used the syphen to forbid Elias from interacting with Arabella in any capacity. Magnus had prepared just in case they’d encounter Arabella and her friends.

Somehow, they’d crossed paths in the Twilight Court.

Elias allowed himself to marvel at her nearness, at the glorious energy pouring down the bond. There was terror in her heart and so much anger. But it didn’t take away from his joy at seeing her again—to marvel at these few precious moments in her presence.

Unbidden, his body started trembling faintly.

The fissure that had formed in his heart widened further. Even feeling how the bond hummed in his chest, his body and mind recalled all the times Magnus had worn her face—and killed Elias or tortured him. Rather than feeling only happiness at seeing his mate, he also felt fear.

This isn’t a trick of Magnus’ , he thought. This is my mate .

But even knowing it was her by the way the tightness in his chest eased, he couldn’t shirk the doubt lingering in his thoughts.

Elias stared at the far wall, able only to glance Arabella’s face in his periphery. He could make out the strands of her hair that had pulled free of her braid and her black leather streaked with… Was that sand?

Beneath the smells of sweat, leather, and dark earth was the faint scent of lilacs and peppermint—which is what her essence tasted like.

Fuck, he’d do anything to taste her again.

Those dreams had been the only solace during the long weeks with Magnus. But now… He longed for her touch more than anything in this world.

But I can never touch her again. And I can’t let Magnus use me against her .

There was a sharp sting as the blade broke his skin and blood trickled down his neck.

Let me die, he thought, hoping Arabella could understand the desperation filling him.

He’d just kept her from protecting Jessamine, and he couldn’t let Magnus use him against Arabella and her friends again.

For the first time, he wondered what Hadeon was doing here and why he’d been with Arabella. Had he used the bargain with Arabella? What would he have taken from her, and to what end?

There was so much Elias didn’t know.

“Remain still,” Magnus purred as blood flowed more freely down Elias’ neck.

The words were infused with the syphen’s magic. Instantly, Elias froze in place. His skin knit back together, leaving a pang of hunger in his gut.

Fuck, he needed essence so desperately.

“Free Elias, hand his syphen over, and I’ll come with you,” Arabella said as he was forced to fix his gaze on the far wall.

No!

He wanted to scream, to tell her to run far from here. But all he could do was to stand in place and await whatever Magnus ordered him to do next.

“Where you go is no longer within your power to bargain,” Magnus said. “You’re a guest of the Twilight Court now. But don’t fret. I’ll have you and Elias under my care soon enough. Speaking of my syphen…”

A burning rage filled Magnus’ eyes. “You have something of mine.” His voice lowered. It was a tone Elias had become far too familiar with. One that promised violence. “Where is Breckett?”

Elias swallowed thickly, his mouth suddenly dry. If Magnus hadn’t ordered him to remain still, his knees might have given out.

Run, Arabella.

The blade pressed against his throat once more.

“I don’t need Elias to have his memories now that I’ve found a way to duplicate his magic and give it to my other erox,” Magnus purred. “He remains as he is only because it suits me. For now.”

Fear seized Elias’ veins, and a tightness spread through his chest, making it hard to breathe. While the idea of succumbing to his inner demon had terror ripping through every fiber of his being, there was one thing he feared more—something happening to his mate.

“You wouldn’t,” Arabella hissed somewhere beyond his sight.

A deep, haunting fear flowed down the bond so strongly it nearly drowned out his own. Even after everything, Arabella worried for his safety.

“I would,” Magnus said. “In fact?—”

There was a flash of movement as Magnus’ arm moved before pain exploded in Elias’ gut.

He felt his mouth open but couldn’t get a wisp of air.

Agony exploded from his center, and his body tried to slump forward, to fall to his knees.

But he couldn’t move. Not with the syphen’s magic holding him in place.

It wouldn’t be until the moment he died that he could disobey any orders the holder of the syphen gave.

Gasping for air, blood poured out of his gut and pooled on the floor.

His body tried to heal the wound but couldn’t through the syphen’s magic. Instead, the essence in his body worked to replenish the blood in his veins and to heal the damage to his internal organs around where the blade was. In moments, his essence depleted until almost nothing was left.

His grip on reality slackened and his fangs emerged, puncturing his lower lip. A metallic tang filled his mouth.

Somewhere, he thought he heard screaming.

Arabella, he realized.

No, some distant part of him thought. Don’t cry for me.

He’d chosen this. And despite everything he’d endured, he’d give himself over to Magnus a thousand times over if it meant she was herself again—free to live her life and with her memories back once more.

“Breckett is in the Abyss.”

It was Arabella’s voice.

“He’s trapped there with the shadow fae,” she added.

There was a flash of movement before Elias’ vision went dark. He was either going to black out or the demon would soon come forth.

And he’d be no more.

Magnus laughed, the sound piercing the air. It echoed down the hallway, and it seemed like all other sounds ceased.

“I answered your question. Now, take the syphen out.” It was Arabella again, her voice raising in pitch. “Let Elias feed on me before it’s too late.”

There was a sudden pressure at his center and then a squelching sound as the blade was pulled free from his gut.

He felt Magnus’ magic through the syphen as the sorcerer said, “For this moment only, you’re permitted to move, to look at her. Feed, my prodigal son, to your heart’s content.”

Through his darkening vision, he thought he saw the silhouette of his mate before him. Was this some dream? As he felt her arms loop under his and her lilac scent washed over him, he raised a hand and brushed loose strands of hair back from her face.

“You’re beautiful.” The words came out like a strangled sound, further garbled by his elongated canines. But they were two of the truest words he’d ever spoken.

As he spoke, his body started trembling again. But he was too weak to flinch away, to give in to the fear Magnus had instilled in him at the sight of her.

“You can write sonnets for me later,” Arabella said. “But right now, you need to feed.”

No, he didn’t want to feed. Not when it meant that the moment he finished, he’d have to leave.

Magnus would force Elias to go with him when this little game of his was over.

And even if some part of Elias was terrified that she’d suddenly rip out his heart, he also longed to remain in her presence—for as long as time would allow.

Broken as it was, his heart would forever be hers.

“Kiss me, Elias,” she said, her voice cracking. “Please.”

Please.

Once, he would have given her anything if she uttered that one word. He would have granted her any pleasure she’d wished if only she’d promise herself to him. Denying her anything had been difficult then. And he found himself unable to deny her even now.

Then he was kissing her.

Her lips were salty from sweat and dirt—from whatever travels she’d undergone in the Abyss. And he’d never tasted anything so perfect. Her lips were soft, divine. She was everything he’d wished for and more.

He moved his tongue into her mouth, exploring her, wanting to feel her softness.

Perhaps for the last time.

Her tongue moved against his as she explored his mouth in return.

I love you , he wanted to say. I will love you long after my last breath .

But he was far past the ability to speak, to form words. His hunger surged, and his power swelled, stretching out toward his mate.

His magic stretched out without his willing it, caressing against her very core—where her essence lived deep within her.

It wasn’t her soul nor was it strictly her physical energy.

It was the energy of her spirit and body intertwined in one.

Everyone’s essence tasted different. And as an erox, he could only access it when her spirit and body were one in pleasure.

At the peak moment when her body succumbed to ecstasy.

And if he could give her nothing else before he was gone, he wanted to give her that.

He wanted to go slow, to touch her and coax her over the edge. But his hunger was too vast and his body too weak. It was all he could do to hold on to her, to kiss her and pull her essence forth.

His power latched on to her, and he felt her being pulled to the brink of pleasure.

I love you, he thought again.

Then she was moaning into his mouth, and the beast took over.

His power fastened on to her essence, summoning it from deep within her.

It needed no coaxing as their bond had her essence flowing faster than ever before.

Then it was pooling in his mouth, tasting of lilacs and a cool autumn breeze.

There was something else there, too. Something that hadn’t been there before.

But he was too far gone to wrap his mind around what.

He felt his cock harden, and he nearly came just from the taste of her.

He sucked the essence in, pulling one draft and then another.

As he did, his vision started to clear, and he felt steadier on his feet, leaning on Arabella less.

Then his hands were moving, cupping her face before sweeping across her back like he couldn’t pull her close enough. Like he couldn’t get enough of her.

Even if they spent hundreds of lifetimes together, he’d never have enough of her. Though they wouldn’t even have one.

“That’s enough,” came Magnus’ voice.

A slice of scarlet magic pressed between them before it burst, and Elias was forced backward.

Looking at his mate for the first time with clear eyes, he studied her face, memorizing her swollen lips and her large brown eyes—eyes that fixed on him like she could see the core of who he was.

He also saw the purple smudges under her eyes.

Guilt swelled in him that he’d taken from her when she likely needed rest more than anything else.

He wanted more time. But time was something they’d never have.

Elias stared at Arabella, his tongue heavy with unspoken words. And she stared right back, her chest heaving beneath her black leather corset like she’d just run miles to get to him.

He knew what came next.

“My previous orders are to be obeyed.” Magnus’ words were infused with the syphen’s power.

As the sorcerer spoke, Elias’ eyes were torn from his mate. Once more, he was forbidden to look at or interact with Arabella.

“It’s time we were off,” Magnus said, turning.

Elias’ feet moved on their own accord—each step taking him farther away from his mate.

Magnus lingered as the doors swung open, Arabella’s wall of shadows gone.

“Enjoy your stay in the Twilight Court,” the sorcerer said over his shoulder. “I’ll see you again soon.”

“You fucking bastard,” Arabella called somewhere behind them. “I’ll kill you for this.”

“Unlikely,” Magnus said. He started to move but paused again.

“There’s something else you might not know since you’re still so new to this world.

I’ll share a little-known fact with you.

Many know that a mating bond will be broken if the couple don’t accept it.

But did you know that a mating bond can be severed if the bond isn’t consummated in the waking world?

Funny the way magic can be. It’s so unpredictable . ”

As Magnus strode out of the throne room, the other erox closing ranks around them, he spoke the words that shattered any hope remaining in Elias’ heart.

“Enjoy what time you have left, Enchantress—just in case that little thread snaps ,” the sorcerer said. “And before I march on that human village of yours.”

“What?”

It was Arabella’s voice. She sounded so small, like the lost girl she’d once been in the forest.

Magnus didn’t turn back to her as he said, “I’ll be at the gates of Shadowbank in three days’ time. My erox who can wield essence will take down the ward. It will be like child’s play.”

Elias’ heart nearly stopped.

Magnus was marching on Shadowbank? But why?

Sudden realization dawned.

Magnus needed more men to turn into erox to grow his army. He’d also found a way to give other erox Elias’ ability to wield essence. And now, he had another, more powerful syphen.

That’s why Magnus wanted me, he realized. He wanted to find a way to take down wards—including the wards around the great cities.

Without those wards, demons could march into human cities without any resistance.

But first, Magnus needed more erox.

Tears streamed down Elias’ cheeks as he walked down the castle hallways to the sound of his mate screaming.

Then they were gone.

Thanks for reading Devoured by Shadows !