Epilogue
The calm of the icy wasteland contrasted against the battle I’d just left behind. Dante wrapped around me, shielding me from the worst of the blizzard that beat at us on all sides. The snow was too blinding to see if anyone else had made it along for the ride.
I shook him as tears sprung to my eyes when he didn’t respond. “Dante?”
The cold should have been debilitating, but I felt at peace. I wasn’t warm. I was quite freezing, in fact, but it felt natural. It reminded me of that cold pit in my chest that always tried to come out when I was hungry, but this was different.
Dark veins threaded over my arms, reminding me that I was one-third demonspawn.
And I had come home.
“Dante?” I tried again, but the Hunter fell over limp when I turned him, snow clumping in his coat.
His lips were blue and his skin was a ghastly pale, making me fear the worst. I pressed an ear to his chest and only found the lightest of heartbeats providing life to the Hunter.
He wasn’t going to survive, not like this.
He needed warmth.
My fingers dug into the snow as I searched for the Blood Stone.
If it had survived the realm transfer, then it would have enough heat to keep him alive.
I sent snow spraying everywhere as I searched, digging up piles of the fluff until I spotted a melted puddle with a warm, red glow inside.
I dunked my hand into it, flinching at the wet cold, and plucked out the stone that was like a scalding brand in my grip.
“There we are,” I whispered with triumph and scurried back to the Hunter.
I tried giving him the stone by wrapping his fingers around it and pressing it to his chest, but it wasn’t going to give him power that way.
Only I could control it without consequence, Kaito’s words rang in my head, coming back to haunt me.
I bit my lip as I brought the stone over my neck and decided what to do. Dante had protected me and didn’t deserve to die like this.
He was one of my Virtues and I had chosen him.
“You’re not dying unless I say you can!” I shouted, hauling him into my lap as I brushed his frozen hair away from his forehead. “You hear me?”
A tear fell from my face, freezing on its descent and pinged off of my Hunter’s cheek and leaving a mark. I bent down, acting out of instinct as I licked the small hurt.
He stirred.
I had to do that again.
I ran my tongue over his lips, and they parted.
My fingers went under his coat, spreading across his muscular torso and he flexed underneath me.
My legs straddled him, and his eyes flashed open.
There’s my Hunter.
Sensuality wrapped around us, the half-established Virtue bond flaring to life. A fresh ache ran up my arms and through my torso until it settled between my thighs with a demand I couldn’t ignore.
By the flare of need in his gaze, he was feeling it too.
My connection could keep him alive, but only if it was cemented right now.
“Lily,” he breathed, his breath puffing steam into the air.
“I’m here,” I said, leaning in closer as I caressed his face and stoked his heat. Color returned to his cheeks from my touch and I ran my fingers down his muscular chest.
We didn’t need any further words as an indescribable swelling of need rang between us until it was taut enough to snap.
It was time to complete our bond.
He slammed his mouth onto mine, drinking in the warmth and power that opened up in me like a faucet. I deepened the kiss and ran my tongue over his, sparking new life between us.
His hand went to my hip and brought me over him at the angle he desired, stoking my pleasure as he hardened for me.
His fingers went between my legs and I gasped as he pulled aside the thin fabric and stroked me.
My breath steamed the air as heat billowed like a flame.
The ice around us melted, revealing a soft bed of grass underneath.
“Dante,” I breathed as he mercilessly brought me closer to the edge. The light in his eyes gleamed with flecks of red as I transferred the power of the Blood Stone into him. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
He smirked, flashing those dimples I loved. “You aren’t feeding on me, sweet Lily. You’re letting me feed on you.”
He was right.
The Blood Stone linked us and glowed with raw warmth, reversing my succubus powers to give Dante what he needed to survive this frozen tundra. When he undid his pants and readied his dick against my entrance, I held my breath.
Dante was mine.
He gripped my hip hard and brought me down onto him, fully sheathing himself in me as he hit his head back against the ground with a roar. His skin billowed with molten red as my pleasure crested and drowned us both in power.
The Virtue connection sprang to life, magnifying in intensity unlike anything I’d ever felt before. I instantly knew where all my Virtues were and how they were feeling. Likewise they homed in on me and sensed my new bond with Dante.
Logan nursed his wounds, licking the back of his hand while encompassed by complete darkness. He was trapped, alone, but safe in one of the underground tunnels that ran through this layer of Hell.
Orion was with Hendrik and Kaito, the three of them fending off some angry demonspawn that didn’t appreciate their rude entrance into one of the few warmer settlements that edged this realm and the deeper, hotter layers of Hell.
Jess was with them, too, screaming at the demonspawn to obey her, but it didn’t seem to be going very well.
“They can take care of themselves,” Dante assured me as he arched his back, angling his hips to fuck me gently as he rolled me over him. “You chose your Virtues wisely.”
My eyes widened when I felt him clamp a hand on my thigh… then another hand on the other.
“You’re healed,” I marveled, threading my fingers through his. A long scar ran around his wrist where his hand had been removed, a reminder of what he had been willing to sacrifice for me.
He rolled me onto my back and continued his slow, deliberate thrusts, drawing out our pleasure and solidifying our Virtue connection.
He kissed my brow as his lovemaking took on a tender quality and he nuzzled into my neck.
“I always wondered why you chose me,” he whispered, his hot breath at my ear making a shiver run down my spine. “Now I think I know why.”
When he drew back and indulged me in a long, sensual kiss, I realized why I’d chosen all of my Virtues. Only the worst of the worst could survive Hell on their own.
As for Dante, only a Hunter’s heart could survive a trip to Hell’s outer icy realms. Wandering this place would have destroyed me and left me isolated and alone.
He was my heat, my core, my rock.
I would need him and all of my Virtues to survive what came next. A trip through all the Hell realms to find the one person who could help us lure Calamity.
Saving the world would have to wait. For now I indulged in Dante’s delicious affections and built up my strength.
Four Virtues down… One to go.