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Raven only groans and pierces my neck with her nails, leaving what I’m sure will be a hot mark along with scratches. If only they were from her getting banged by me.
I fly from the ground level and back to the top. Raven swears in my ear, bracing for the drop again, but one touch of my hand on the top floor window makes me hesitate. The hot sensation of Hell power rises from somewhere beneath us—the apartment a level below.
“Found it,” I say, spreading my wings to float a few feet down to the next window. “It’s this one. Get ready.”
Raven twists her torso, glancing at the window with a small etching of Lucian’s mark in the corner. I hiss and flick my tongue, extending my fangs. I nudge Raven out of the way a bit more until she clings to my side. I don’t want to accidentally get the heat of my venom mixed with Hell power on her—the combination capable of eating all organic materials.
Swinging my fist, I shatter the window with one punch and use my arm to clear away the glass. I ignore the few cuts from the shards managing to pierce through my sleeve. Raven reaches out and snags the blinds for me, ripping them from the window frame. A man hollers from the other side, preparing to shoot at us. But I’m too quick.
I hiss and spit my venom into his face, turning his angry holler into pure, torturous screams. He flails away, clutching his face, but there is nothing he can do as my power devours him. His body thuds to the carpet, the scent putrid enough to make even me hold my breath. I carefully help Raven inside and climb in myself, listening for any other threats, but the place is quiet.
“Let me lead the way, Raven,” I say, grabbing her by the wrist before she makes a run for the hallway.
She sighs and nods. I know she just wants to hurry and get to her soulmate. I can see her annoyance that I slow down even more before we get to the first bedroom. I can’t help it. This apartment may have been warded to imprison Elias, but he’s no longer here. I know it deep in the darkness of my power. No living soul inhabits the place—which means one of two things. He’s either been relocated again or we’re too late.
I clear my throat, trying to think of the best way to handle Raven. This could destroy her on a level I can’t fix.
“Dante, come on. I bet he’s in the master bedroom,” Raven says, allowing her voice to echo through the room. “Elias?” she calls. “You here?”
Silence greets her, and she tips her head to look at me. I’m too slow to control my expression, and she realizes something is wrong.
“Raven, I don’t sense him,” I finally mutter. “I—”
Using her Hell strength, she breaks away from me and bolts toward the end of the hall. Thrusting the door open, she smacks it against the wall and freezes. A strangled cry escapes from her throat. She stumbles into the hallway and hits her back on the hallway wall.
“Dante,” she says, clutching her chest. “Dante, is it him? Is it fucking him?”
I stride forward and past her, entering the filthy bedroom. Most of the furniture has been trashed, and garbage litters the floor like whoever was guarding the place ate in here. Slept in here, too. Showered in the bathroom? Nope. That’s where the body of a man lies, his hoodie yanked up, hiding his head. I haven’t memorized Elias’s body like I have Raven’s, so I can’t tell if it’s him from here. The build is similar, but long sleeves prevent me from seeing any recognizable tattoos.
“Dante, is it?” Raven asks again from behind me.
I steel myself for whatever the outcome may be. This could be it. This could be the moment that destroys an eternity of hard work and a future of paradise alongside the most spectacular soul in existence.
Grabbing the back of the dead man’s hoodie, I lift him up and arch his back to look at his face. Guts spill out from a long cut from his waist band to his ribs. Raven gasps and whimpers, her shock over the monstrosity left behind by Vincent, his mark clearly branded on the guy’s forehead, stopping Raven from grasping anything apart from how disgusting this is.
I drop the guy and kick him, rolling him to his back. “It’s not Elias.”
She blows out a breath in relief, a cross between a cry and laugh escaping her mouth. “Thank-fucking-Hell. I was so scared.” Strutting into the room, she closes the space between us and covers her mouth and nose, peering down at the body. “But where is he? How did they know we were coming?”
I comb my fingers through my hair and shift on my feet, getting a better look around. There was definitely a fight with the scorch marks across the carpet and broken furniture. “I’m not so sure anyone knew. This guy didn’t get slaughtered because they were hustling to relocate. He was gutted. There must have been an invasion.”
She purses her lips. “Another demon?”
I shrug. “I think human.”
Raven tugs at the ends of her hair and swivels around, searching the room. She shuffles a few feet forward and touches one of the scorch marks on the floor, pinching the remnants of ash between her fingers.
“Hunters,” she says, tilting her head to gaze at me. Her stare whips to something on the floor behind me. “They came for him. Look.”
Following her point, I spot the bloody dagger of a knife and pick it up only to scorch my fingers. I chuck the damn thing at the wall, sinking the blade into the plaster. My fingers sting, the sensation of heavenly power from touching a blessed knife annoying as fuck.
Swinging my fist, I punch the wall. “Fucking bastards!”
“I’m going to kill them all,” Raven says, baring her teeth in anger. “I swear to fucking God, the saviors, the universe, and every damned soul in existence. These bastards will suffer for this.”
Damn, she sounds so hot. My psychotic pretty soul.
“Fuck yeah, they will. At least we have an idea where to find them.” I stride toward her and snatch her off her feet and into my arms. Going to the window, I smash through it and launch into the air to fly to Kase and Micah.
