He pulls away, looking breathless. He pants, pupils dilated so his red irises are completely covered in black. He might look almost normal this way. The Nephilim shakes, tossing his head back with a maniacal laugh. I can’t move—couldn’t even if I wanted to. My body is frozen, trembling, and I feel like I’m missing a piece. There’s an ache in my body that I can’t pinpoint, it spread through my entire body. And still, I’m so cold.
“Night,” he curses, lifting shaking fingers. He rounds on me and grabs my arms, shaking me. Fear lances through me and I manage to flinch back but he holds me tight. “You are delicious.”
I feel clammy as he runs his nose over my collarbone, along the swell of my breasts, and then along my neck. He breathes me in deeply, tongue flicking out over my cold skin. I feel sick as he tastes me. I don’t know how much of my soul he stole from me, but I’m afraid to find out. The thought of him claiming the rest has my stomach roiling with nausea. It was painful, but not like being struck. This pain was different, deeper, and more complete. I’m frightened of it.
“Oh, little mortal.” He strokes my cheek. “I’m going to take my time with you. Yes, just a taste here and there.”
The Nephilim leaps off the slab, hardly able to contain his giddiness. He grins at me as he slams the door. He was so high on my soul, he didn’t even bother restraining me. My mind is screaming at me to move, to run, but my body has yet to respond. I sit, frozen in fear and missing a fragment of my soul.
Kane’s face flashes through my mind. I see him scowling at me, eyes narrowed. He looks at me is if I’m the stupidest girl in the world. Well, he demands, aren’t you going to move?
I leap off the slab, stumbling when my bare feet hit the ground. The Nephilim stole my shoes, I think clumsily. I cling to the granite slab as I make my way around it with wobbling legs. I’m not fast enough, I think, fear and adrenaline coursing through me. Whatever he did to me has made me weak. As I round the corner, I see the dagger glinting on the table. I reach for it, almost falling. But I catch myself on the edge of the table and wrap my fingers around the hilt of the slim blade.
Dagger in hand, I lean on the wall and approach the door. I stop beside it, listening. There are no footsteps past the door, no shadows, and no sound. Heart in my throat, I open it quietly. A torch on the wall lights up a narrow, short hall. At the end of it, a staircase disappears up into a dark room above. I stumble to the staircase, bare feet dragging over cold and dirty stone. My foot grazes over something wet and I shudder. I don’t want to imagine what it was.
I creep up the stairs on all fours, careful to distribute my weight so as not to make any noise. At the top of the stairs I poke my head over the floor, searching for any sign of my captor. The hall is empty, doors open on either side of it and light spilling out. I eye the front door at the end of the hall and I feel hope swell in my belly at the sight of it. I can do this. I can make it. I slither off of the staircase on my belly and slowly rise to my feet in a dark corner.
Humming reaches my ears and I press deeper into the shadows. The Nephilim strides across the hall, a bounce in his step. He moves from one room to the other and doesn’t glance this way. I wait for ten excruciating seconds before I push out of my hiding spot. Quietly, I slink down the hall. My knuckles are white from gripping the dagger so tightly and I feel sweat beading on my upper lip.
I pause outside the room the Nephilim entered. Blood pools on the floor, oozing towards me. In its reflection, I see him lounging back in a comfortable armchair, his back to me. I bite my lip, taking a deep breath. I run, pads of my feet slapping over the floorboards as I lunge for the door. My hand wraps around the handle and I tear it open, throwing myself into the night air. Pain shoots through me as I stub my toe on a stone step but I ignore it.
“What the—hey!” The Nephilim shouts behind me from the house.
I dare a glance over my shoulder and see him sprinting down the steps after me. Fear shoots through me like lightning and I hurtle down the streets. My breath comes loud and fast, ripping at the back of my throat until I taste blood. I don’t slow, adrenaline fueling my limbs. Houses and shops streak past, all perfectly normal and well-maintained. I don’t think about the bodies I saw lying in the house I left behind. All I can think of is the Nephilim, sprinting behind me.
“Help!” I scream.
But the streets are empty, and the night is quiet. I see Kane’s castle above me, but I know it’s farther than it looks. I’m blocks away and will never make it. My heavy skirts slow me down, and I can hear the Nephilim gaining. A scream tears from my throat. I’m going to die.
Chapter 14
Kane
From the city, I can hear the revelry of the masquerade ball in my castle. I keep my mask tugged securely over my face, hiding my identity from the people in the streets—still celebrating. They glance up at the castle from time to time before turning back to their dancing, drinking, or
