He slid his hand behind my head. His fingers tangled in my hair and gave it a sharp tug. Pain exploded through my scalp, and a strangled cry escaped before I locked my teeth down on my tongue. Blood flooded my mouth, but I kept my tongue between my teeth so as not to give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream again.
“Because of you, I now havehim,” he replied and pointed at the black mass encompassing us.
The ends of the wraiths flapped in the breeze they created as they parted to form a perfect ball around me and Lucifer. The break in them revealed Kobal standing at the entrance to the last broken seal. The amber of his eyes burned so brightly that I swore I felt the heat of them against my skin.
“No, no, no,” I moaned and Lucifer placed his palm on my forehead, pushing me back into the wraiths. I jerked against the icy sensation of them.
Kobal bared his lethal fangs. “Get your hands off her.”
“Kobal… please… go back,” I managed to stammer through my chattering teeth.
Instead of listening to me, Kobal stalked forward with Phenex and Crux flanking his sides. He paid no attention to the angels, Hell creatures, and lower-level demons gathered within the broken seal. He seemed not to care that he was vastly outnumbered and surrounded by his enemies. Every inch of him exuded murder, and I knew he would make the deaths of those present a gruesome experience. I gulped.
Finally tearing my gaze away from Kobal, I spotted the palitons gathered at the entrance of the broken seal, but they didn’t come any closer. Joy shot through me when I saw Corson and Hawk standing at the front of the group. Burn marks marred Hawk’s neck and blood seeped from a wound that I now realized had been cauterized.
My joy was short-lived as Lucifer yanked my hair back. Every muscle in Kobal’s body tensed to leap forward.
Lucifer lifted his index finger and waved it back and forth in the air. “Uh-ah,” he scolded as his other hand wrapped around my throat. “I’d stay where you are if I were you.”
“You’re not going to kill her,” Kobal growled.
“No, I’m not,” Lucifer replied. “But a demon cannot stand to see their Chosen tortured, can they, Kobal?”
I shrank back and bit my tongue again when half a dozen wraiths ran their bodies over my skin.Do not cry!I kept telling myself this, but when more of them moved over my frosted skin, a tear slid free.
Kobal froze.
“Good boy,” Lucifer said.
The sound Kobal released made the angels and demons closest to him step away. Only Lucifer remained unfazed by the power swelling out of Kobal and pulsating the air around him.
“She is more angel than anything,” Lucifer murmured. “It’s why the wraiths hurt her so badly, and it issoagonizing for the poor mortal. If she didn’t havemyDNA in her, the pain of the wraiths would most likely kill her.”
Kobal’s gaze slid from Lucifer to me. Anguish twisted his features as he took another step forward.
“Don’t.” Lucifer clamped down on my throat. “Unless you want to hear her scream like the banshees, I’d stay where you are, Kobal.”
“This is between the two of us,” Kobal said. “Leave her out of it.”
“It stopped being between the two of us when you took my daughter as your Chosen,” Lucifer replied.
“I’ll die before I let you do this to her.”
Lucifer laughed and released my hair to slap his hand off his knee. “You’re making the mistake of thinking I’ll allow you to be killed, but I won’t. You see, if you’re dead, then a new varcolac will rise. One who may be stronger than you, and that varcolac won’t care if she lives or dies. Under normal circumstances, you would sacrifice yourself for her, but you won’t do that now, not if it means the one who rises from your ashes will kill her to stop me.”
My eyes slid to Lucifer as he turned back to me. “Do you see thegiftsyou have brought me, daughter? Not only are you going to give me an army, but you have also made it so the only creature capable of stopping that army obeysme. What lies behind these seals may despise Kobal for what he is, but they won’t destroy him if he fights on my side. He will be one of the strongest generals in my army, and you will be his motivation to be a good hound. And maybe one day, I’ll allow you two to be together again, if he’s a well-behaved general.”
“I’ll kill myself first,” I whispered.
Lucifer giggled, actuallygiggledas he leaned closer to me. “I would never allowthatto happen either.”
“I’d rather we were both dead before allowing you to do this,” Kobal said.
“You say that, but…” Lucifer’s hand tightened on my neck, and he lifted me as far off the ground as my pinned hands allowed him to. I gasped for breath as my heels kicked against the seal. Kobal lunged forward, Phenex and Crux leaping into movement beside him. “I’ll tear her throat out if you don’t stopnow!”
Kobal skidded to a halt when blood trickled down the sides of my neck and my wheezing increased. His chest rose and fell with his rapid inhalations. His eyes reflected the distress twisting within him as he tried to decide what to do. The best option was to kill me, but Kobal would never be able to do it, and he’d never stand by and watch it happen.
“You will do anything for your Chosen,” Lucifer said as he set me on the ground and eased his grasp.
