Page 5 of Azure Mania

“Luck has nothing to do with it, Lucifer,” she looks up at me with such hatred in her eyes, that even I falter for a moment. The wind blows in her face, yet her expression remains unchanged, even when a couple of stray strands of her hair hit her eyes. “It’s skill.”

I suck in a sharp breath. I’m one moment away from ripping out her fucking tongue. There’s smugness to her voice, and she’s not even trying to hide it. Her eyes are sparkling with mischief, those damned eyes making my reflection shine in them.

“Skill?” I repeat, gritting my teeth. “You lucked out, Yvonne. The only reason your curse was successful was because I didn’t see it coming. Had it been diff—”

“But, that is precisely why it was skill, Lucifer,” she cuts me off, her voice rising. “I managed to trick the oldest vampire alive, and to put a curse on him. That isn’t luck. It’s skill.”

“You’re a dead woman walking, Yvonne,” I inch closer to her. “You’re going to wish you never put that curse on me.”

“No, Lucifer,” she breathes out. “You’re the one who’s going to wish you never crossed my path because I won’t ever be done with you, even after you’re dead. I’ll make sure the very soul knows no peace.”

“Funny,” I chuckle, the depth of the sound causing her to flinch. The movement was slight, catching her off guard, and she rises to her feet. She’s hiding her fear well, but it’s there — I can smell it. “Because you should know by now, vampires have no soul.”

A small smile tugs on the corners of her lips, something akin to pure excitement flashing her eyes. “I never said it was your soul I was going to torture.”

Martha.

That’s it, that’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back. In an instant, my hand wraps around her throat, squeezing the soft flesh. Yvonne gasps loudly, her mouth parting. I can’t even focus on the fact that I’m almost strangling her to death — all I can focus on is the fact that this bitch, now seems even more excited.

I could’ve put up with everything she threw my way, except for this. How dare she even suggest she would mess with my Martha’s soul. This is something I will never forgive. She doesn’t get to even think about my wife, let alone try to use her as a mean to get her revenge on me.

“Listen to me, Yvonne, and listen to me carefully,” I lower my voice, the threat clear. “If you so much as think of using my wife’s soul as a bargaining chip, in your plans. I will make you beg me for death. Whatever you think you are capable of doing to me, do it. But don’t you think, not even for a second, that I will let you use Martha. She’s fucking innocent.”

“So was my coven,” she replies, and I falter for a moment. The words are softly spoken, almost like a mantra that she’s been repeating. “And they’re all dead because of your fucking family. So you have no right to tell me what I can, and cannot use against you. You should be fucking happy I even allowed her soul to have a moment of peace. You never should’ve made me an enemy, Lucifer because tonight, I become your worst nightmare.”

A low hiss comes from me, and I pull my hand back from her throat immediately, the burning sensation cutting through my flesh. I take a look, and I find myself at a loss for words.

No matter how severe the wound, I always heal. Unless the bracelet is off, I’m staked through the heart, or my head is ripped off — every single wound always heals immediately.

But this… it’s as though my flesh has turned human again.

What the fuck did she do to me?

Chapter 3

Yvonne

This was not supposed to happen.

I pace back and forth in the basement of the cottage, my body trembling. A wave of cold sweat washing over me, I don’t know what to think, or how to perceive it. At one point, something must’ve gone terribly wrong, for the side effects to be this great.

Lucifer is asleep — well, knocked out — and chained to the wall. His superhuman strength would make it so easy for him to break out of the chains, so I added a little magic to them. It’ll take him a while, but I hate that I can’t find a permanent solution to keep him locked up.

“What the hell was so urgent?” Octavia questions, running down the stairs, panting. She immediately removes her cloak, tossing it to the floor. Then, she pauses. Her eyes flick between the sleeping Lucifer on the floor, and me. For a moment, it’s silent, the silence feels suffocating. “What the actual fuck, Yvonne? You already got him?”

“No,” I breathe out. “Something is so wrong, Octavia. I just can’t figure out what!”

She flinches a little at my raised tone and I suck in a sharp breath, trying to calm myself down. It doesn’t help, though. My body is still shuddering, half in ache, half in terror at the implication of what this could mean.

“What happened?” She takes a careful step toward me, as if she’s approaching a wounded animal, and she’s trying not to scare it off. “Are you alright?”

I shake my head furiously, lifting my palm right in front of her eyes.

A frown tugs on her lips when she takes my hand gently, her thumb circling around the burn marks. “How in the world did you burn yourself?”

“I didn’t!” I defend, half-exasperated, half-annoyed that she can’t read my mind. “It’s all his fault! Ugh!” I stomp like a petulant child, grabbing one of his palms, and showing it to Octavia. “See? I used magic to burn him, and it burned me too!”

Her eyes widen in realization, and she steps back. “That’s… not good.”