Cursed (Demon Kissed #2) (26 page)

Kreturus wanted to control me and use
my powers. When I refused, he chose the one person I couldn’t deny.
The boy who held my heart. My soul mate.

Collin.

We were now enemies again and it was
so much worse than before. Before the stake was his life or mine.
But now, it was kill him or let Kreturus destroy the world. The
demon had to be vulnerable in this form. Kreturus inhabited
Collin’s body, and that body had limitations. This was my only
chance.

Shaking, I walked towards Collin’s
prone form. My fingers felt for the cold silver of the Guardian’s
tooth that was tucked in my waistband. It was the most powerful
weapon I had. That tooth was the only thing that could destroy a
person who had both Valefar blood and Martis blood flowing through
their veins. If I killed Collin, Kreturus might die with him. I’d
destroy the old demon and wouldn’t unleash evil upon the world. It
would end the battle, and I would not become the girl in the
prophecy.

Slowly I approached Collin,
hesitating. I wanted Kreturus dead. He was responsible for killing
my mother and turning my sister into a Valefar. He stole Collin
from me in a way that wouldn’t allow me to ever get him back. My
Collin was gone. When he awoke he would be crazier than Eric. The
massive powers of the demon that inhabited his body would dominate
him. Kreturus had no compassion. He ended lives without thought,
bringing pain and misery upon anyone he chose. Now the form
delivering that hideous evil was the boy I loved.

I didn’t want to do this. Collin saved
me. He loved me. But that boy wasn’t Collin anymore. Kreturus stole
him from me, and in a cruel twist of fate, I’d have to kill the
only boy I’d ever loved.

Certainty washed over me as I stared
at Collin’s sleeping form—I couldn’t survive this. There was no way
to plunge the Guardian’s tooth into Collin’s heart and live with
myself. I didn’t care that Kreturus was in there. He still looked
like Collin. It was still Collin’s body lying in front of me.
Dropping to my knees, I sat next to his motionless body. His
perfect face was caught between the worlds of sleep and wake. There
was no time to think; no time to know if this would even work. It
was possible I’d kill Collin, and Kreturus would revert to his
mass-less form and still live.

Glancing down at Collin, I
noticed the smoothness of his cheek. His wounds were healed, and
his skin looked as beautiful as it did the first day I saw him.
With each breath I took, I prayed for another answer to come to me.
There had to be another way. But, there wasn’t. This
was
the prophecy. It
said I killed Kreturus and became Queen of the Demons, ruler of the
Underworld. This is where I would succeed or fail. This was the
action that would define who I was at my core—good or evil. Could I
sacrifice my soul mate to save the world?

My heart thundered in my ears and I
couldn’t stop shaking. Somehow the tooth was withdrawn from its
hiding place and clutched firmly in my hand. I grasped it, ready to
kill. Stab him and end this. End it now.

I’d like to say resolve shot up my
spine with each breath I took, but it didn’t. Doubt latched on, and
I couldn’t shake it. Losing Apryl nearly killed me, and I wasn’t
the one who killed her. I’d killed Valefar, and felt no regret, but
this wasn’t the same thing. The boy lying on the floor in front of
me had part of my soul. I gave it to him.

Killing him would be like killing
myself.

The poisoned fang hovered above his
slowly breathing body, shaking in my hand. I wanted to touch my
fingers to his sleeping face. I wanted to tell him that it had to
be this way, that there were no other options. I wanted to hear his
voice again, but I knew I couldn’t. If he opened his startling blue
eyes and spoke to me, I would lose my resolve. And I’d decided. I
knew what I had to do. I knew how to end this.

I knew how to defeat
Kreturus.

My jaw locked as I bit my bottom lip
hard enough to taste my own blood. Straightening my spine, I drew
every ounce of strength I could conjure. My muscles
flexed.

I positioned the point of
the silver tooth directly over
my
heart. And I swung. I swung as hard as I could.
Every ounce of my being, every ounce of pain, every shattered
dream, and every bit of misery that consumed me fueled that swing
of the poisoned tooth. A scream erupted from my lips, as my arm
came crashing towards my chest.

The prophecy would not be
fulfilled.

Kreturus would not harness my power.
He would not tempt me. He would not use love to twist me to his
will.

The prophecy would die with
me.

TORN

Book #3 in the Demon
Kissed Series

Coming Winter
2011

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