42
A DIFFERENT DARKNESS
ADRIANA
E nzo quivers with rage as Eva saunters down the aisle. She’s smirking like she’s about to get everything she ever wanted and I’d give anything to wipe that damn grin off her face. Almost anything.
I’m tired. I’m sore. I’m in a shitload of pain.
But I’m not broken.
Not yet.
I didn’t give her the submission she wanted and she made me pay for it. I counted the strikes and blows, added up the tally—and now Enzo’s here, I’m going to make her settle her debt.
If I can.
Which is questionable, given my inability to do much more than cling to Enzo and whimper.
“She’s quite something,” Eva says, strutting toward us. “I see why you took a shine to her.”
Enzo draws a deep breath and stands, towering over the little black demon strolling over as if their size difference isn’t a problem. Eva’s not big enough to take Enzo on—not in demonic form. Not unless she’s got something that levels the playing field.
And I wouldn’t put it past her.
“You can let her go, Eva. Whatever this is, it’s between you, Mordecai, and I.”
She throws her head back and laughs. It’s too evil to be a cackle and its sound makes my soul scream in terror.
“Surely you’ve realized why she’s here, Amaymon?” Eva taunts. “Surely you must have worked it out by now?”
Enzo’s hold tightens and his muscles tense.
“Enlighten me,” he snarls.
Eva’s eyebrow shoots upwards and she tilts her head, unsure if she should trust him. I wouldn’t if I were in her position. I’d assume he was playing for time or trying to find a way to manipulate the situation to his advantage. But then, I’m not an evil bitch of a demon who’s gone fucking insane for power.
“You never saw me, did you?” she sighs. “In all the years I served you. I was nothing more to you than a tool to use. Something that got you what you wanted.” Her eyes shimmer with hurt, and I almost feel sorry for her. Almost. “And you never wanted me.”
My eyes roll back, and my stomach tightens. Now I’m aware of why Eva loathes me. Jealousy is a vicious master. Unrequited lust must be worse. She’s spent fuck knows how long chasing after Enzo and apparently he’s never considered her as anything more than a servant.
Hell has no fury like a woman scorned, and Eva’s been disregarded and rejected. She didn’t even make it into Enzo’s consciousness, and now she’s determined to exact her revenge.
“Eva…”
“DON’T. EVA. ME.”
Her voice echoes around the chamber and I shudder, tensing as my body remembers every lash and every strike she meted out.
“I practically threw myself at you, Amaymon—and you fucked everything that moved. Anything that barely even had a fucking pulse. You’ve fucked your way through most of Europe and the only thing you wouldn’t fuck was me.”
She tosses her black hair as she pulls her shit together and pauses for a moment. The seconds pass with every frantic beat of my heart and I dread whatever the hell it is she’s going to say next.
“I was a fucking laughing stock, Amaymon. The butt of everyone’s jokes. You even tried to palm me off onto Byron. And that piece of shit tried to get his leg over on more than one occasion.”
“You’re jealous?” Enzo asks.
“No,” she spits.
“You’re fucking jealous, Eva. This is all because I didn’t fuck you at a party once?”
“IT. WASN’T. JUST. THE. PARTY.”
Enzo’s trying to force Eva to make a mistake and she’s falling for it. He’s taunting her and she’s losing control. He’s pushing hard, but he can’t go too far, and her anger will be dangerous if she harnesses it.
“I didn’t realize…”
“Of course you didn’t fucking realize. You saw me as nothing more than a fucking servant you could use.” She flicks her nails against each other. “Well, I found someone who’ll treat me right. He’ll give me power, Amaymon. Actual power. A seat at the fucking table.”
“Mordecai is a fucking liar, Eva,” Enzo roars, startling me. “He’ll kill you as soon as he’s done with you.”
She laughs low and I don’t like it.
Her eyes shimmer and I like that even less.
And the smirk in her smile is so fucking vicious that it makes my heart skip a beat.
“Who says he’ll be the one in charge?”
Enzo's wings beat a note of annoyance, and I’m fucking glad they’re so damn aggressive. The atmosphere is turning from deeply unpleasant to downright violent and his wings hold back sadistic undertones cutting through the brutal war of words.
“Once you’ve restored him…”
“I don’t need to restore him, you idiot,” Eva snaps. “I’m not a complete fucking moron. I’ve been carrying his remnants as part of me for long enough to take everything I need from them. I’ve acquired his knowledge and some of his power. Enough to seize control—and all I need to do is access the Power of the Damned.”
I’ve got no fucking clue whatever power the damned possess, but it sure as fuck sounds bad. Really bad. The kind of bad you want to be as far away from as possible.
Preferably in another universe.
I could do with a holiday, and Enzo promised to take me away.
He laughs and I doubt it’s because of the joke I’m telling myself to soothe the agony in my soul. The sound deepens and its vibrations roll through his chest and into me, somehow calming the anxiety building like a tsunami inside me.
“You cannot contain the Power of the Damned, Eva. Few can and you are not among them.”
“I fucking can,” she snarls back. “Watch me.”
The demon couldn’t be any more juvenile if she tried and Enzo’s reduced her to a teenager throwing a tantrum. It’s good, but it’s not enough to save us and I can feel the power surging through the surrounding room, mounting like the tidal wave that threatened to overwhelm me moments ago.
“You can’t even open the altar.”
Enzo’s taunting Eva and it’s more dangerous than before. He seems to be trying to make her make her move as if he’s playing cards. He wants her to reveal her hand so he can win the game. But this isn’t a game and I don’t like the odds.
Eva’s got a trump card—and the expression on her face says she’s going to play it.
“I’ve already opened it,” she says, laughing gleefully. “When you, and Elgios, and that bitch who leads the witches lined up outside the temple. It’s been flowing into me while we’ve been talking, darling. You’ve wasted time cuddling that pathetic creature while I’ve been growing stronger.”
Enzo snarls and his claws dig into me hard enough to hurt.
“You need an angel’s blood…”
“I got it,” she grins. “From that pathetic thing. She really is quite pitiful. I don’t know what you see in her apart from a warm body to fuck.”
“Adriana isn’t…”
Enzo stops and looks down at me. The starlight in his eyes shimmers brighter than ever and the red flecks ignite like fireworks exploding across the night sky. I sink into their darkness and find light, even though it shouldn’t be possible. Somehow, in the infinite darkness he contains there’s light, and not only have I found it, but I’ve enhanced it, magnifying it until it shines so brightly it dazzles.
“Baby,” he whispers.
“It’s disgusting ,” Eva sighs.
“I don’t…” I mumble and cling to Enzo.
“Altair,” he roars.
Eva nods and that vicious grin turns even crueler. “I found the thing you couldn’t, Amaymon. You didn’t even recognize it when it was right under your fucking nose.” She shakes her head and shadows start to swirl through the air. “You’ve been fucking an angel’s progeny and you didn’t even know it. Does it disgust you? To know your cock’s been inside something so pure? So fucking holy?”
Enzo stares at me and there isn’t a hint of anything other than adoration in his gaze. Eva’s screaming and ranting, and Enzo and I have found our balance with each other. We’re so wrong that we’re right. So opposite we shouldn’t work—but if I’ve accepted him, then he’s accepted me. I didn’t reject his demonic form and he hasn’t rejected me now.
I don’t know what I am, and I don’t understand any of this. But I know we shouldn’t be together and I know I never want to be apart.
“You don’t do you?” Eva snarls. “Even now, Enzo. Even now you see her for what she fucking is. You still choose her over me.”
“I’ll always choose her over you, Eva,” he replies. “I’ll always choose her over everything else.”
Warmth floods through me as Enzo reciprocates without even knowing it. This is what I’ve felt for weeks—or at least long enough that it doesn’t matter when I started feeling this way. It’s burned through my soul and seared into every part of me that matters and my heart beats harder, certain Enzo feels the same.
He might not have a soul, but he has mine and I’m willing to share it.
The darkness surges and deepens as Enzo roars, pulsing his own magic into the chamber. Shadows meet and clash. Black on black. Evil meets sin and the vile, despicable cruelty Eva unleashes clashes against the foul and wicked horror Enzo wields.
Pain and despair shudder around us as the temple weeps and its stone tries to buffer the carnage within it. The ground beneath us shakes and I shudder, flooded with fear and dread and horror.
Enzo’s wings fold over me and I cling tighter. My heart races and my brain screams this is more than I can handle. This is more than I can take. I can’t endure this, and as the noises of violence and torture rise around us, I want to join in their forceful cacophony.
We slide back and Enzo grunts, working harder. His muscles tense and a lash of pain streaks through me. It catches me and I cry, startled and too shocked to do anything other than hold on.
“It’s…”
Enzo growls and tries to hold back whatever Eva’s let loose.
He isn’t winning.
His body’s bearing the brunt of whatever this darkness is and it isn’t withstanding the assault. His muscles brace and try to hold as his skin starts to strip from his chest. Enzo’s breathing quickens and he starts to bleed, oozing blood and sweat that pour down his body.
And the vicious pain of the damnation Eva let loose continues to reach for me. It’s twisted and depraved, an overwhelming earthquake that shatters everything you’ve ever known. Its force is unstoppable and even Enzo can’t withstand it, despite everything he’s throwing at it.
He’s pulling up every ounce of magic he possesses and he’s falling short. There’s nothing more he can do, and he simply isn't a match for the evil that’s swarming around the chamber.
Even with whatever he's summoning from Hell itself. Even with the darkness he was gifted after the rite in the temple. Enzos's magic is bleak and vicious, potent and visceral, a world of pain and devastation.
The darkness is too dark. Its black is too deep.
“I can’t…”
Enzo clenches his eyes shut and forces himself to work harder, digging even deeper. He finds enough to push the darkness back a little and the shadows thicken, turning even more horrific as they gather and prepare to attack again.
They’re gaining strength, and Enzo’s losing his.
They’re not going to stop and Enzo can’t keep going.
They’re going to kill us and Enzo can’t stop it.
His eyes meet mine, and they’re filled with sadness. Their starlight isn’t as bright and their darkness seems dull. There’s only emptiness in their void and I try to soothe whatever it is he has instead of a soul with my gaze.
“I’m so sorry, baby,” he whispers.
“It’s okay,” I whisper back.
I close my eyes, and my hand reaches into the darkness around us. Enzo growls and I ignore him, certain that I’m supposed to do this. I don’t know why my body wants to do this, but I’m compelled to reach for something and there’s no point in fighting this.
Not when it feels so damn right.
My eyes snap open and meet his, determined to hold on to that starlight. I won’t let it extinguish, and I won’t allow it to fade.
I reach into somewhere and find something I didn’t know existed, clutching at a single flame of hope that will not go out. It’s the fire that never dies and it’s the burst of warmth you need before the dawn ends. Hope sets the world alight and it’s mine to use and brandish.
And I brandish it like a fucking weapon.
Light explodes and it’s so damn bright that all the suns in all the galaxies seem dull. It’s pure and white, brilliant and bright—and it’s so fucking stunning it dazzles. It’s mine and I won’t let it go, pushing it harder and faster, making it dance and weave and spin.
It bursts from my hand and keeps spilling from me, surging forward as it clashes against the black that’s surrounding it. White collides with black and screams and wails sound out. Sparks fly as the battle rages and my arm locks, determined to keep pushing the darkness back.
“Adriana…” Enzo gasps.
I can’t respond. Not when I’m doing whatever the hell it is I’m doing. I’ve never done this before, never even known I might be capable of anything remotely interesting or magical before.
But somehow—almost impossibly—I’m holding back a darkness that threatens to destroy everything around us. It’s so damn evil it’ll purge Hell of its weakness and decimate everything it touches—and the only thing keeping it at bay is the light I’m emitting from fuck knows where.
I lie.
I’m not holding it back.
I’m pushing it back. Using something Enzo’s pushing into me as well as whatever the fuck it is I’m pulling up from a place I didn’t know existed.
I'm more than I ever was before, and I'm not doing this on my own. Enzo's pouring all he can into me, andI bet it's through the connection forged by his collar. It ought to terrify me, but it doesn't. The power he contains should petrify me, but it doesn't. Because this is who and what we are, and together we are more than the sum of our parts and the pieces that make us whole.
Fuck me, I’m beating the damn thing and as my body sweats and shakes and my muscles tremble from exertion, I realize I’m actually winning. The hisses and spits grow louder as I push the black back and the wails and cries of whatever horrors it contains grow louder as I force my will upon them.
The shadows twist and writhe and I keep working. I’m tired, but I refuse to quit and if I’m all that’s standing between us and oblivion, then I don’t have a choice. Enzo fought for me and now it’s my turn to fight for him—and I close my eyes and scream as I push so damn hard that agony tears my body apart.
“Please…” Eva whimpers.
There’s not a chance I’m showing her mercy. It’s for the weak and she deserves this anyway. Whatever I am, I am just, and this is right. This is fair. She’s reaping her rewards and I am nothing if not generous.
“I’ll do anything you want,” she pleads.
She screams as the darkness cracks apart, imploding as it collapses from the force of my light. I throw my head back, scream and push everything I damn well can into the light pulsing from me and I feel it surging forward.
It’s cleansing whatever’s around me. Purging the evil from this place. It’s riding the temple of everything that’s evil and wrong with the world.
Everything except Enzo.
The white light races forward and walls shudder, doors fly off handles and floors crack apart. Idols collapse and shatter, effigies disintegrate. I scream as the pain heightens and the strain becomes intolerable, setting my body on fire as agony becomes too mild a word to describe whatever I’m experiencing.
My arm falls and my hand lies limp, held in place by Enzo’s shoulder.
I’m so tired I don’t know if I’m alive and I’m sure my heart’s only beating out of habit. Every breath hurts, and every movement is agony. I ache and sting and throb, and there’s no pleasure to make this more bearable. I’m so goddamn broken I’m not sure if I can be repaired, but I am sure that Enzo’s safe.
“Adriana?”
“Amaymon?”
I smile and it fucking stings.
“You don’t need to move, baby. I’ve got you. It’s going to be okay. I promise it’ll be okay. Just stay with me.”
There’s terror in his tone. Sheer, unadulterated terror. The terror you experience when you think you’re about to lose someone you love.
Footsteps sound as they race towards us, then stop suddenly. Presumably whoever’s arrived was in a hurry but is now too damn shocked to move. Or talk, if the silence is any indication of what they’re witnessing.
“You’re not getting rid of me that easily,” I mumble.
Enzo snorts and pulls me upright, and more pain bursts through me.
“You might take a bit more care of me.”
He laughs and nestles his head against mine. His hands soften as they realize that this isn’t a figment of his imagination. Enzo plants gentle kisses on me and the sound of hushed whispers echoes around us as we ignore anyone else.
“I’m going to take such good care of you, sweet girl,” he whispers.
“You’ve done a shit job so far,” I mumble. “Where is all that jewelry you promised me? And we’re moving. I hate that bloody loft. I want a house. A fucking big one.”
Sniggers sound out, and Enzo doesn’t react.
“Whatever you want, Adriana. As long as you behave.”
I nod and pain shoots down my back.
A different darkness washes over me. It’s warm and comforting. It’s protective and I’m secure. It’s a cloak of black that will protect me, and it belongs to Enzo.
The asshole is using his magic on me, and I’m too damn tired to fight it.
“You should sleep,” he whispers. “I’ve got you. I promise you’re quite safe.”
I smirk as I fall toward sleep. “I doubt it. You’re around.”