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My husband’s body has come to a stop a few feet away. A chuckle comes from him that’s pure evil.

“Oh, so it’s funny, is it?” I snap.

Levi’s body shrugs, and the entity says coldly, “I wanted to see if you would leave him. It has been a glorious game.”

“I’ll never leave him.”

“No matter what? That does not bode well for you, Mr Billings. Perhaps you should cultivate a tiny bit of self-preservation.”

“Yeah, I don’t care about me. Now I’d rather like it if you fucked off. I want my husband back, and three is most definitely a crowd when one of them is a homicidal fuckwit.”

Levi’s body moves forward at lightning speed, tackling me to the hard ground.

I grunt as I absorb the impact, and I freeze as I feel the familiar and beloved weight of him above me. But it isn’t Levi. I shove him off me and stagger to my feet, and when his hand seizes my ankle, I kick it away.

“Fuck off,” I snap, fumbling in my pocket for the stone. The entity’s eyes flare blood red. I raise my hand and words suddenly come into my head, their ancient rhythm pulled from a deep, knowing part of me. “Salt take you,” I shout and throw the stone as far as I can. It seems to hover in the air for a long moment, spinning lazily, and then it falls down, down.

It lands with a small splash in the water, but then a boom reverberates through air and rock and water. Seconds later, a spume of water shoots up higher than the cliff, spearing up to the sky. It subsides, coating me in spray, and for a moment, time seems to be suspended.

The air is rent by a sudden loud scream. The atmosphere gives a throb that pulses through my head. I feel a sharp pain behind my eyes and nose and press my hand to my face. It comes away wet with blood. Then the air seems to still and all is quiet. I take a stumbling step away from the edge and land on the ground with a thump.

I twist around, looking frantically for Levi.

He’s lying face down on the sea grass, his long body in a graceless sprawl. His limbs begin to shake like he’s having a seizure, and grey smoke seeps from his clothes.

“Levi!” I scramble to my feet and race over to him, putting out my hand to touch him. The smoke is scented of decay and a cloud of it thickens, taking on the shape of a deformed three-headed creature. The figure twists lazily, and I scream as it darts at me. I throw my hands over my head bracing for impact, but nothing happens. The smoke dissipates and then it’s gone.

“Levi?” I whisper, my voice trembling. I lay my hands on his shoulders. He’s shaking visibly and his skin is cold.

Please be him. Please be alright. I love you so much.

I freeze as he stirs. His fingers clench in the grass and then his head slowly rises.

“Levi?” I say once again.

He rolls to his side and then sits, his brow furrowing. “Blue.” He looks around. “Why are we out here?” His eyes widen in alarm. “Why is there blood on your face?”

He doesn’t get any immediate answers because I’m too busy scrambling into his lap and bursting into tears.

CHAPTER 10

LEVI

My arms are full of Blue, who is making horrible, choked noises into my neck. I feel wetness on my skin and automatically tighten my grip on him, starting to rock slightly while looking around in consternation.

We’re sitting far too close to the edge of the cliff, my body aches like I was hit by a car, and my husband is crying.

“Shush,” I croon. “Shush. It’s okay. Everything’s okay.”

I’m pretty sure everything is not okay in the slightest, but my reassurances seem to work, because the awful sobs finally ease and he sits back. We gaze at each other for a long moment and his lower lip trembles before he gets himself under control again. His pretty wolf eyes are red-rimmed and he looks… devastated. Like he’s been put through the wringer.

He gives a disgusting sniff and wipes his face with his hand. “Sorry,” he says.

I could have put money on that being the first word out of his mouth. He hates crying—fucking despises it—and always seems to feel like he’s committed some heinous act when he does it.

I reach up and wipe away the blood and tears he’s missed. The blood is coming from his nose. “What happened?” I whisper.

“You don’t remember?”