Page 130 of In Between Death and the Devil

Fen grabbed a blanket from the couch and draped it over my shoulders. “Was that okay?” The concern in his eyes sent me stumbling forward, melting into his arms.

“It was amazing.” I buried my face in his bare chest, inhaling his cherry and musk scent.

Pride crept into our bond, making me smile. I sank into his embrace, my eyes closed. I wanted to savor the moment before we finally hashed out the power limitation problem. Except I fell asleep before we could.

* * *

I woke hours later in our bed. Alone. Again. Dropping my head to my chest, I sighed heavily. I’d hoped Fen would be lying next to me, that we could have the conversation we needed to have while lying comfortably in bed, but things didn’t stop just because I’d passed a trial. Heaving myself out of bed, I went to grab some clothes.

As I dressed, I checked in on our bond. Fen felt far away, which meant he was probably in the Dungeon. I’d track him down there and not let him out of my sight until we talked, but there was one thing I needed to do first.

* * *

I light-stepped into a corridor filled with wooden doors on my way back from the Guardian’s lair, Fen’s power levels having recovered enough for me to make it there and back. My visit had been brief, just long enough to confirm I’d passed the second trial and get the instructions for the third, which were even more opaque than the last. Trust what will be. It was up to me to figure out what that meant. I probably should have seen that coming, but it didn’t make it any less irritating.

A problem for another time.

I was here to find Fen. Using our connection, I’d light-stepped directly to him, but I wasn’t sure where I was. I’d never been here before. The corridor was made of shadow and stone. Sconces on the walls flickered with warm light. Every few doors, there were alcoves much like the ones in the Soul Library, and to my right was a crossing hallway. There were numbers on each door, etched in glittering black. It was quiet, the air hushed, as if the place was holy.

This must be where they kept the souls that were sentenced to time with the Devil. Or maybe it was something else entirely. All I knew was that Fen was on the other side of the door in front of me, and if the agitation in our bond was any indication, he was in distress. Jittery energy filled my limbs, and I swam in horror, shame, and… pleasure? How I hadn’t felt it earlier I didn’t know, but this close our connection was saturated with it.

I burst into the room to find Fen standing over a cowering figure. Shadows wreathed them both, snaking from Fen’s hands into the other person and back as he inhaled them, like he was feeding.

“No, please,” the man on the floor pleaded, his voice stretched with pain. “No more.”

My eyes went wide. The voice was familiar. “Colt?”

CHAPTER 34

Neither Fen nor Colt heard me, too lost in the moment.

The room was cold and bare, with just a cot in one corner and a meager fire in the fireplace on one wall. It looked like a prison cell from the World of the Living.

My bond with Fen was a tumult of emotions and sensations, each one racing faster than the last. I could feel Colt’s pain through it as Fen’s shadows transferred it from one man to the other, so sharp that it turned my stomach. Equally disturbing was Fen’s euphoria.

“Fen. Stop.” My voice rose, but he still didn’t hear me. I took a mental hold of our bond and yanked as hard as I could. “Stop.”

Fen jerked back, his shadows faltering, hanging in the air like smoke.

Colt collapsed into a ball on the floor, rocking and moaning.

I grabbed Fen’s shoulder to pull him away, but his hand shot out and wrapped around my throat. Scrabbling at his wrist, I tried to pry him off me. This was different from his grip in his office. That had been possessive but gentle. This was hard, nearly cutting off my air. “Fen,” I gasped. “You’re hurting me.”

He turned to look at me, his eyes completely black, and there was no recognition in his gaze. I even felt it in our bond, like he was barely aware of his surroundings.

I smacked at his arm, scratching and clawing as I tried to breathe.

After what seemed like an eternity, the black in Fen’s eyes retreated to reveal their usual golden-brown color. Awareness crept in slowly, his grip loosening by degrees until I was able to pull his hand off of me.

Grabbing my throat, I sucked in air and coughed, my eyes watering.

Shock flooded our bond like a splash of ice-cold water. “Maeve? What?” He turned around, as if seeing the room for the first time. When he spotted Colt on the floor, shock turned to horror, then shame, and then his emotions were muffled, like he’d pulled them back on purpose. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you. What were you doing here?”

“Working with a soul. What does it look like?” His voice had a hysterical edge to it.

“It looked like you were feeding on him.” It sounded ridiculous, but I knew what I’d felt.