Another gunshot went off, but he didn’t bother looking up. He still had a clear view of Oliver and the exit. If someone got that far, then he’d intervene, and he’d make sure they regretted their decision to flee.
He sliced his forearm open again and tipped the blood into her mouth. “Gabrielle, come back to me.” His blood was all over her, and still he begged his body to offer up more. Hopelessness was beginning to set in.
And then he felt it. A spark of energy; the cord flared briefly. Andre sucked in a breath of air. His love was alive. Alive.
That was the only sign he needed. He dragged the knife down his forearm again, relishing the bite of metal because it was bringing Gabrielle back to life.
I gazed up at the devil, whose body pressed mine into the floor. Damn it all. This was the second time I’d been tackled this evening and the third time I’d found myself restrained. But …
I’m not dead. I might not even be in hell. Where were we then? Purgatory? Limbo? Was there such a thing?
The devil held my wrists in one of his hands, and in the other he held the chalice. He’d managed to not spill a drop when he tackled me and wrested it from my grip.
“When were you going to tell me I wasn’t dead?” I asked, the echo of Andre’s voice lingering in my ear.
The devil’s forearm pressed down against my windpipe, and in his other hand he held the goblet. He must’ve snatched it from me when we fell.
“Oh, but you did die, three times over,” he said, his arm digging into my neck.
“No, I didn’t,” I rasped. That was why he had made me agree to accept his wedding gift. He had to trap me here because a dead thing would already be trapped.
“No one escapes a deal with me,” he hissed. This close to the devil, I could see that the color of his irises flickered like flames. “I will force you to drink this if I must.”
Knowing that I had life in me still, I thrashed against him. How was I supposed to leave this Godforsaken place?
He laughed at me, raising the gooseflesh along my arms. “You will be unwilling after all. Don’t say I didn’t try to be a gentleman.”
The devil began to tip the chalice, and I caught a glimpse of the scarlet liquid.
Gabrielle, come back to me.
My eyes widened even as I twisted my head away. Andre’s voice. He was somewhere just beyond my reach. My heart throbbed painfully at the thought, and I felt … I felt the cord that connected me to him.
“Look at me, consort,” the devil snapped, “unless you want me to get that pretty face of yours bloody.” Did I detect a hint of desperation in the devil’s tone?
The goblet dipped closer to my face, the scent of heaven invading my senses, yet still I kept my head tilted away from the devil. He couldn’t pin my hands, pour out the blood, and lock my head in place. He’d have to let something go first, and I’d attack him as soon as he did so.
I smiled as I spoke. “Face it, devil, you’ve lost this round.”
“You think you’ve won?” the devil laughed. “You can never win against me, consort. I am the king of the damned.”
He let my wrists go to snatch my chin, and that was all the opportunity I needed. I lunged up at him and dug my thumbs into his eyes.
The devil roared and the windows shattered with a blast. The hand that held my chin now used its grip to slam my head into the ground.
I bit back a scream as tissue tore and bone cracked. My vision went hazy. My last coherent thought was, Dear God, save me from this, and then my vision went dark.
Chapter 29
My body jolted, and I sucked in a ragged gasp of air. Andre gazed down at me, his face and clothes soaked in blood. I stared at his face with awe. The sight was too gruesome for us to be in heaven, but because it included Andre, then I couldn’t be hell either.
That meant I was alive.
Crimson tears streaked down Andre’s face, yet he was smiling, laughing. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to my lips. “You came back,” he murmured against my mouth.
I opened my mouth to tell him how much I loved him, but all that came out was a ragged choke.
The pain came a moment later. I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a wordless cry.
“Gabrielle,” Andre said, pulling away.
Something was wrong with me. My neck …
Oh God, my neck was sliced open.
“Gabrielle, you need to drink.” Andre held up a bloody arm, and the blood, was his. What had happened to him?
His words sank in. Drink blood? But I’d just escaped that fate.
I turned my face away, wincing when I felt the agonizing burn of my neck wound.
“Please, Gabrielle,” Andre said, his voice gentle.
I closed my eyes and grimaced. Even though my fangs throbbed, and my instinct screamed at me to take the blood, I didn’t want to. Not when only a moment ago the devil had tried to get me to do the same thing.
With my eyes closed, my other senses heightened. I could hear the tinny sound of techno music blasting from earbuds Andre wore. Why would he be listening … To prevent getting glamoured. Duh. Smart vampire.
But then, that meant that the cambion was still close by and still a threat.
“Where am I?” I asked. The scent of blood and ammonia hit my nostrils, and I opened my eyes. “What’s going on?”
“You’re still in the basement of Bran Castle, and you almost—”
“Oh. My. Holy fucking smokes, Sabertooth!” Oliver screeched. His footfalls pounded across the room, and then he fell to his knees in front of me, pulling me in for a bear hug.
I moaned as he jostled my wounds, and I swear I heard Andre growl in warning.
“Okay, okay, godslayer,” Oliver said, letting me go. “I’m backing off while you tend to your woman.”
“Not … anyone’s … woman,” I wheezed. Andre’s lips brushed my cheekbone, at that.
“Damn straight,” Oliver said, and I heard him sniffle a little.
My eyes drifted to him as he stood and retreated to the doorway. With a gun.