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I swallowed hard as the bitter taste of blood coated my tongue.
My legs felt weak beneath me as I pushed up to my feet and they gave out. I planted my palms on the floor and shook my head, but all it did was add to the spinning.
A low grunt filled the air that stopped my heart.
“Gran!” My arms collapsed beneath me and my chin hit the floor as I tried to get to my feet. “Abuela!”
The sound of wood crashing might as well have been fireworks in my bedroom. It was so loud, it made me clench my eyes closed as it rocked through my head. Through the dark I saw Gran’s feet kicking out under her as she clutched the dark hand at her throat. Her bonnet was gone from her head, her white braids in disarray as she struggled. Abuela lay in the wreckage of my desk. She was so still.
A sob strangled me as I once again tried to get to my feet.
Call for him.
That’s what she wanted. She wanted me to call for Asmodeus. I had to do it. I had to call him in the hopes of saving my family.
“Asmodeus!”
The chill from the air was ripped away as it heated. I felt the warmth against my palms as I got to my knees and crawled across the room to the ruin of my desk. The room steadied and I was filled with a strength that had evaded me before. I grabbed onto my Abuela, pulling her into me.
My hand slapped against her face lightly as I looked her over. Her brow was smeared with blood and her eyes were closed. Thick tears rolled down my face as I sniffled to keep snot from running into my mouth. If I lost my Abuela, I would die.
“Abuela.” I slapped my hand lightly over her cheek. “Do you hear me?” I spoke to her in Spanish.
My head whipped behind me as I heard a grunt and my Gran fell to the floor. Her eyes met mine before they dropped to Abuela.
“Catalina!” She crawled quickly toward us.
I felt her sidle up beside me but my eyes were glued to the towering figure who stood with the witch in his grasp. His red hand was fisted around her throat, but she didn’t struggle against him. Instead, she smiled.
“I knew you would come,” Vindictia said. “Just as I planned.”
Fire covered his obsidian horns as he tilted his head down to look at her. “Did you plan for me to do away with you just as I did your sister?” His chest heaved and smoke billowed from his nostrils.
He looked furious.
“Tell me then, demon. How did you do away with her?” Valedictia looked smug. “You don’t remember, do you? Good.” She laughed. “I pull her strings, and there you are. But just how much is she willing to lose for a husband she didn’t want? How much are you willing to lose for a wife I bound you to against your will?”
Asmodeus’ face was a hard mask. Every inch of him the demon I was afraid he’d be when I first set eyes on him. “Everything I have to lose is hers to take.”
Valedictia’s brows shot up, the tattoos on her face lighting as her head fell back and a vicious sound ripped through her throat. It was a tearing. A brutal revving of laughter that made my heart skip. “How uselessly romantic. Don’t tell me you’re falling for this worthless mortal. Asmodeus. Here I thought you were better.”
“She is my wife.” He shook her, his grip strangling her laughter. “No one touches my wife.”
She wrestled against his hold, lifting herself so she could grin in his face. “We shall see.”
A frown thinned my lips as I watched the way she stared at him as though she’d won. That crazy bitch thought she had won here.
Maybe she had.
That made my heart ache.
I had no idea what was going on, so I had no way of knowing who the victor would be. Calling Asmodeus might have been a mistake, but it was one I would make over and over again if I had to.
“She’ll lose nothing. I’ll make sure of that.” Asmodeus’ voice was filled with conviction as he growled. “You made sure of that.”
Their anger was a dark cloud that boomed through my childhood bedroom. Asmodeus’ hooves dug into the wood as he widened his stance and pushed against whatever force held Vindictia in place.
“You’ll fail. You’ll be on your knees before me begging me to set you both free before long. It’s then you’ll do exactly what I want. Give me all that I ask for. Surrender the very thing you protect now against your very will. How it will break you staring into eyes that were once hers.”
