Status Updates From Of Bone and Ash (Silvercres...

I’m loving Serafina

This was nice. A bit dragged out. It did get me calls from the office for reading at school. Prejudiced mf’s. 4.5 stars entertaining

She’s pale and trembling, and I grin, reaching deep into myself and grabbing hold of the magical tie that runs between us, tugging it enough that her eyes widen, and she trembles in her seat. It’s much easier to access with her this close, and I nod in satisfaction as she stares at me almost vacantly.
“Welcome home, my darling wife.”

I gesture around my office, then smirk at her. “Make whatever peace you must in order to accept your new reality, Serafina, because death is not an option. For either of us.”
Her stunned and horrified expression is all that stares back at me as she manages a single, jerky shake of her head.

I sit back in my chair and look back at my computer, relishing in the pained silence. “I may be a Demon Prince, Serafina. But you are my Princess. My equal in this fucked-up world. The moment your Fae form fully emerged, it locked our Soul Tie into place. Binding not only our physical lives but every aspect of our magic together, making you a Zephyr, not a Covington.”

“And you, my darling, are my Soul Tie. Do you know what that means?” I ask, watching her dirty face, obsessed with how stunning she looks covered in blood.
“Only a Demon of Royal blood can complete a Soul Tie, which is the same to Demons as marriage or mating is to the Fae. You say I’m the worst of them all, that you are so much better than me?” I scoff and grin, my teeth sharpening as I lick at my lips.

“You're a damn Demon Prince! You take the lives of innocents, kill those who have done nothing to deserve it. You are the worst of all the Demons! I’ll never be anything like you,” she screams, her emotions getting the better of her.
Standing, I press my hands to the desk in front of me, an odd glee pulsing through my body as I lean toward her.

“You get your damn magic off me!” she snaps, the blood dripping down her cheek, looking like some kind of morbid tear. “I can't stand it,” she adds, and I shake my head, letting my hand fall from her soft skin and turning away, hiding what her touch does to me, all while reassuring myself it's not my choice to feel this way. It’s the bond between us.

I shove down the instinct and raise an amused brow as she curses and tries to kick me.
“I’m only trying to heal you. Why waste your energy stopping something that will only help?” I point out.

“Your magic is completely altered. Warped and fading,” I whisper in realization, trying to see more then cursing when I can't press past the magic serum I gave her. I growl under my breath as my hand moves back to her neck, and I let my magic seep into her. She fights it, and I grin, feeling my teeth sharpen with the urge to lean forward and bite, pinning her in place so I can do what I want.

“You act as if that would stop me,” she scoffs, surprising the hell out of me. Did she not understand what I just said? But as I look into her eyes I see an odd sort of detachment there. I pause, looking at the broken woman in front of me with a hint of concern, letting my magic wrap around her, trying to feel whatever I can from her dark magic that is currently silent, dormant in her chest.

“It’s not because you were lucky,” Darius hisses, spinning his scythe in one hand as he eyes me with disdain. “It’s because of me—us. We give each other the anchors we need to be the monsters we crave without losing ourselves to the bloodlust.”
“No!”

Sure, our physical distance has given you control issues, but you’re still here. Your magic hasn't taken over yet. Why is that?” he asks, and I shake my head in denial. Everyone in my family doesn't know I’ve reaped my first soul. They don't know that I need an anchor, so they wouldn't know that my functioning shouldn't be happening.

“What happens to a Reaper who has reaped without forming a mate bond or magical connection strong enough to bind them to reality?” Darius asks.
“They go insane. Surrender to the bloodlust,” I whisper, and Darius nods.
“You were six, Serafina. How come you haven't gone insane? Why are you still functioning?

“I—I didn't! The first soul I reaped was…” I trail off, blinking furiously, trying to clear my darkening vision. This is a lie! It has to be. But how the hell does he have all this information? Stuff that not even my brother knows about!

“You stole not only her magic but her soul, and I watched my little sister die as I was bound to the table next to her,” he grinds out. Jumping to my feet, I shake my head. No, there is no way this is true. I would remember that, right? Darius only nods back and laughs.
“No!” I snap, knowing it’s a lie.

Bright red blood oozes from him, dripping from my blade as he shoves me back with such force I stumble and crash to the ground. Darius strides toward me, a red cloak forming around his shoulders as his long, black and red scythe appears in his hand.

When the Demonic magic grew out of control, the councilman brought in another, and a bond was formed to stabilize the strong Royal magic.” Darius lets his hand drop as his charming expression shifts into one of anger.
“And now, my life is tied to the girl who possesses my sister's magic,” he says with an angry snarl as his hand clamps around the wrist holding my dagger and yanks it from his side.

“Instead of normal Demonic magic, one of Royal blood was forced forward, there was a magical exchange,” Darius pauses, his face growing tight as he swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “Only, the councilman’s daughter was stronger than the silly half-bred Royal Demon girl, and the girl died, giving the councilman's daughter all the magic she possessed.

Flashes of bright fluorescent lights swim through my mind. The screaming… so much screaming. I watch as Darius reaches out and pushes a strand of wild hair back from my face, tucking it behind my ear before he keeps talking. I ignore the burst of warmth from his touch, shoving it deep until it freezes with my anger.

He had created a weapon so powerful it was about to destroy him, so he decided it was time for a new experiment. Only this time, the Councilman had new allies. More than a simple High Demon at his disposal. So he had his daughter brought in for testing,” Darius whispers, and I swear my heart stalls in my chest, my lungs freezing, making it impossible to breathe.

“When the councilman had her tested, she came back with a zero percent chance of being a Reaper, so he had the mother killed and tossed the daughter to the side. She was only good for one thing. Keeping the son in line or the girl pays for his mistakes. As the councilman's son grew, so did his magic. His mate was eventually returned to him, and the councilman feared he was about to lose his hold on the boy.

So the councilman broke their mate bond and sent her away. Remove the mate, remove the soft spot.” I grind my teeth, upset that this Demon has so much knowledge of my family. “When the boy stopped listening to the councilman, he decided it was time to try and have another heir. A Reaper who wasn't so weak. However, the baby was a girl.”

“The councilman had a son, one who was powerful. So powerful that the boy lived through magic testing and power sharing, something that no one before him had. Not only did he survive the testing, but he also had simple Demonic magic twined with his own, making him even more powerful. The problem was the boy had a soft spot for his mate.