Page 26 of Hunted By Fear

“There’s no such thing as owning one’s subconscious. Not even we are in charge of that, as it bends and changes, as it wishes on a whim, so it would make sense that she’d be less easy for him to control and therefore more herself. Not many things can break a contract, but at the end of the day, contracts are written between two parties. Whether they be mortal, demons, or divine, they all answer to a higher power.”

“What?” He had me for a moment there, but then he lost me. What’s higher than the divine?

“That’s the question you all need to be asking.Whatis more powerful than God, more powerful than me? That’s the only way to break the contract without us having it in our possession to find a loophole, and somehow I highly doubt Rome will let any of us get our hands on it.”

He stands, running a hand down his chest as someone might a shirt to rid it of wrinkles, before he looks my way with a smile that seems so out of place for the man who rules Hell. Mortal stories tell of horrors and terrors, and while he can be that person when needed, he often isn’t.

“Enjoy, I have souls to punish.” With a nod, he’s gone, and I’m left alone, just the way I’d wanted, though now I have about a hundred more questions.

Damn it.

Her screams ring in my mind as her subconscious reaches out for me. She’s been doing that ever since we brought her here, though I doubt she even realizes it, considering most days she has no idea who I even am.

I’d wanted her gone, knew she would ruin us, but now…

Fuck, now all I want to do is rip Rome limb from limb.

If only it were that easy.

Even on the other side of the castle, I feel her pain and fear as Rome tries and fails to bring her back to him. She can’t go no matter what he does; she doesn’t know the way out and couldn’t survive the journey out on her own.

“Fucking hell.”

Unable to think past her subconscious, I move through the shadows to her room. Teleporting and shadow walking are two different things. Every demon can shadow walk, but teleporting requires more power, something most don’t have. Divinity allows teleportation, though, the bastards. It doesn’t matter how powerful angels are; they can all appear at the snap of their fingers.

Her room is empty for the first time since we brought her here almost a week ago. She’d spent the first few days unconscious and the next few fighting us, but every day she seems to give in alittle more. It’s impossible to explain to her that Rome is the real villain in her story.

How can we fight ‌every memory he’s planted in her mind? To her, we sound crazy, but the longer she’s away from him, the more strained their relationship becomes.

All the good memories don’t mean shit if he leaves her here, defenseless and alone.

I know we can’t break their deal yet, but I’d love if she stopped calling out for Rome, crying for him, and demanding we let her go. If I have to hear about herhusbandmuch more, I might just lose my mind, too.

She lies in the center of the bed, looking far too small, the blankets tangled around her body as she thrashes against some invisible force.

I shouldn’t care. I don’t want to yet; the longer I stand here, the more upset I become until I’m unable to stop myself.

I move around the bed, gripping her shoulders and shaking her hard.

“Aeri, wake up!” I demand as my frustration gets the better of me.

Her panic grips me from her dream, and I know without looking into her mind what she’s seeing. It’s the same thing she always sees when her nightmares are this bad.

The night Rome chased her from Purgatory. He’d been there at her job, at our club, and we hadn’t even known, didn’t care to. Rome was always annoying, even before we fell. He wanted to shine and be God's favorite and couldn’t stand that Lucifer was, despite him doing nothing spectacular to earn that title.

I never got the chance to ask him, but I’d bet that was what led to the fall. Rome was no doubt somehow tied into it.

I wonder how much it must have hurt him to realize that even with Lucifer gone, he still would never be enough. I wish I couldsee the look on his face. Although I can’t help but wonder, if he had become his favorite, would he have let Aeri go?

Would she be safe from him instead of on the brink of insanity?

And if she wasn’t, would she have ever even crossed our path to begin with? I want to assume she wouldn’t and think it would be for the best. The girl drives me crazy, but if she really is Bast’s mate, I would never steal that away from him.

I just wish I didn’t have to deal with her being in her presence constantly; her scent gives me a damn headache.

“Aerilyn!” I shout, smacking her cheek a few times before her eyes snap open wide and full of panic as they dart around the room before they settle on me.

Tears well in her eyes, spilling over and down her cheeks before she has a chance to fight them off. A sob rips itself from her throat, and it sounds raw and painful.