“Run, girl,” Valeria urges.
Chad laughs as he stands in front of me. “She can’t and she wouldn’t.”
“What?” Valeria hisses.
“Diaboli plays,” he murmurs. “Come.”
At his command, my ass becomes unstuck from the seat. Straightening my legs, I stand tall in front of Chad, tipping my head back so that I can look into his eyes. Slowly, he lifts his hand, as if he has all of the time in the world and he cups my cheek.
“Don’t,” Valeria warns.
His hand is just hovering next to my skin, but he isn’t touching me yet. Chad shifts his head to the side, looking directly at Valeria. “Don’t?” he asks, his voice sounding deeper, rougher than I have ever heard before.
“Leave this place,” she snaps. “She is not yours.”
“Oh, but she is,” he rasps.
“You have no right. She is meant for another world.”
He hums, then chuckles. “Yes, she is meant for my world. I am here to take her.”
“She is not for the Underworld.”
He bursts out laughing, his hand falling from next to my cheek as he shakes his head a couple of times.
“Do you believe that the world is not meant to have trials and tribulations? They will survive the failed prophecy. My brothers and sisters are always attempting to create a utopia, if it were not for me, people would not know how to fight. They would not understand how to survive. It is balance, Valeria.”
“Show your true self,” Valeria demands.
It happens. There is a swirling red smoke that surrounds us and fills my living room. It feels like I’m in the middle of a sci-fi movie. Blinking, I stare at him, unable to look away as the image of Chad slowly morphs into a different image.
I don’t know why he would have taken on Chad’s form. He is beautiful, breathtaking in his own right.
Absolutely stunning.
Chapter Twenty-Two
DRUCILLA
I don’t know who this man is supposed to be, but he’s the sexiest thing I have ever seen. I almost reach up to touch him, but I’m afraid that he’s not real, that he’s an illusion. So, I don’t touch him, but my eyes stare. I can’t get enough of him.
“He isn’t real,” Valeria announces.
His lips curve up and he shifts his gaze from her to me. “I am real, Drucilla. Come with me, I will make you scream with pleasure.”
My heart skips a beat, the way his voice dips down, it slides over and through me like honey. My belly flutters and I place my palm against it, trying to calm myself. I don’t know what I’m feeling, it’s different than when I’m near Tiberius, but it’s not at all unwelcome.
“He is from the Underworld,” Valeria calls out. “This is the Devil himself.”
“What?” I breathe.
He laughs, and I have to close my eyes, it’s such a beautiful laugh.
“Away. Go,” Valeria shouts.
Opening my eyes, I watch as she throws something toward him. It looks like a big ball of light and I stumble backward with a gasp. Then I pinch my eyes closed and reopen them. I let out a cry at the sight of the man in front of me.
No longer am I surrounded by the red smoke and the man is indeed the Devil. His features are gnarled and he even has two small horns coming out of his head.
His long black hair is greasy and limp, his face full of pockmarks, and his teeth are small and sharp. He looks similar to the images that I have seen portraying the Devil, and yet, he doesn’t look like him at the same time.
“Run,” Valeria screams.
As if there is a fire under my ass and my ribs no longer feel pain, I run. My feet move. I don’t even have to force my brain to tell them, it finally just happens and I take off through the apartment, down the hall and toward the stairs.
I don’t stop.
I don’t even realize what’s happening around me, not until I slam into something hard. Arms wrap around me and I push against whoever is holding me, screaming, kicking, and hitting. That is until I hear the voice attached to the body.
My entire body goes limp, lifting my head, I look up into the face that I have been dreaming about for weeks. The face that I never thought that I would see again. That beautifully scarred face.
“How?” I whisper.
Then before I can get an answer from him, everything goes completely dark.
Black.
The scent of smoke wakes me. Rolling to my side, I let out a groan of pain as I wake. Blinking a few times, I look around the room expecting to be back in Florida. Then, my eyes widen at the sight of my space.
Home.
I’m home.
Sitting up suddenly, I let out a gasp of pain and cradle my side. “Who did this to you?” Tiberius’ deep growl asks as it fills the room.
“Chad,” I answer simply.
Before I realize what’s happened, Tiberius is sitting next to me. “You understood my question.”
My lips curve up into a grin. “Before I was sent away, I had one of those witches give me the ability to speak and understand Savonaian,” I say.
Then the memory of that moment, something that I must have blacked out, forgotten, or just plain didn’t wish to remember, pops into my head.
“You slept with her,” I shout.
Tiberius blinks, dipping his chin, he looks down at me. “I do not understand,” he says.
“You put your dick,” I state, pointing to his man-skirt-covered waist. “Inside of her vagina,” I snap.
His eyes widen and he watches me for a moment, most likely trying to come up with some excuse, some valid bullshit to sell me like every other man I have ever known. My heart crackles and cracks
