Page 112 of Hunted By Fear

“How do I fix this?” Lucifer calls to me as I leave.

“You broke it, you fix it. Figure it out your damn self, but not tonight. She’s exhausted.”

And so am I.

Ifeel him.

Last time she said he was in her head, I’d been busy with Ruin and Bast in the library. I wasn’t properly paying attention, but this time I’m ready.

I move through the shadows up to her room to find her wedged between Talian and Bast, with Ruin draped across the bottom half of the bed as if he can’t bear to be away from her. I sense Lucifer was here at some point, though he isn’t now, probably off dealing with Asta.

I don’t envy either of them right now.

Ruin being back is strange, though. He’d been missing for the last few days. I’d reached out to him, but he only gave me lame excuses, like he had cars to work on or needed to return a library book. I knew something must have happened, but I didn’t care to dig deeper.

It looks like now I won’t have to.

I watch Aeri as her brows knit together and hear her heart rate increase.

Now’s the best shot I’m going to get.

Moving across the room, I grab the chair from beside the fireplace and pull it over to sit beside the bed before I collapse into it. It’s going to be a long night.

The mind is easy to manipulate once you know how it works. You just have to know when to give and when to take and ensure you do them in equal measures, or else things can start to get tricky. I’ve always been able to read minds, even as an angel, but it wasn’t until after the fall that I pushed further and started pushing into what else I could do inside someone’s head.

Even then, I never dared dream of doing what Rome is, first because it’s wrong and second because I wasn’t pathetic. If I wanted someone, I could make them like me; I didn’t need to purchase them and create a whole fake life…

Aeri was the first person I’d ever met, be it mortal, demon, or angel, whose mind was hidden from me.

At first, I told myself I didn’t care, then I said I cared because it was curiosity, but now I’m pretty sure I know exactly what it is.

No, I don’t have time to get into all of this right now.

First and foremost, I need to speak with Rome.

Letting my eyes fall closed, I sit back in the chair and focus on Aeri and her mind. I let myself slip into it, the feeling warm like a hug.

Not that I even like hugs, but you get the idea.

It’s still strange, being able to access her mind. It’s still only the lies Rome planted, nothing real, but it’s like I can feel her just out of reach.

It takes a few minutes before he shows himself, but when he does, the rage that fills me is like nothing I’ve ever felt before, and I’ve been punishing souls for a very long time.

This isn’t personal.I attempt to remind myself, but it does nothing to calm me because it sure as fuck feels personal.

“Let me through,” he demands, running at me with a look I’ve never seen in his eyes.

Desperation.

“I have to see her!”

I shove him back, and he falls to the ground before quickly pushing back to his feet and attempting to push past me again.

“No! Leave her alone, you fucking psycho.”

“She’s in pain, she needs me!” he growls, pushing me back a step.

How does he know that? And how do I stop him?