Fear the Wicked (Illusions Series Book 2)(51)
As I walked in and found her lying on the bed, unbound because there was no longer a need to restrain her, I hissed out a breath over my lips to see the physical toll our games had taken.
The skin beneath her eyes was bruised a deep purple, and beneath that her cheeks were hollow. So pale that she was pure white beneath the fall of her long, dark hair, Eve looked over to me with death resting just behind her eyes. That blank green stare held no affection or worship, had lost the glimmer of love and devotion I was used to seeing behind it.
My heart pounded slowly beneath my ribs, my hands clenching into fists to see the bones sticking out from beneath her skin, the absence of color that hinted to life inside her body. I never intended this, never wanted to hurt her or risk her life. Yet, as I stood there looking at her for the first time in days, all I saw was an animated corpse.
Crossing the room on three long strides, I took a seat on the bed beside her, ignoring how she winced in pain when the mattress dipped beneath my weight. A sigh filtered over her cracked and chapped lips, but she still managed to attempt a smile.
“Elijah,” she breathed out, trying and failing to raise a hand to touch my face. Her arm trembled and she dropped it back down, misery flickering behind her tired gaze for not having been given the chance to touch me. Reaching out, I took her hand in mine to find it cold despite the warmth in the room.
“How are you feeling?”
Several seconds passed before she found enough breath to answer. “Like death is staring me in the face. The demon is going to win, isn’t it? It’s going to drag me down until I’m lost.” Pausing to catch her breath, once again, she managed to whisper, “I’m sorry, Elijah, for having failed you.”
No. I couldn’t allow this, couldn’t find it within myself not to care for this beautiful girl who I’d created and shaped. I wasn’t surprised when my brother failed to resist her temptation because, in truth, Eve was everything the two of us had ever dreamed of. A perfect woman, silent and subservient, an angel on this Earth that didn’t know how to say no, and would never complain. Why we both needed someone so fragile was outside my understanding, but I didn’t give it much thought. All I knew is there would never be another woman as perfect as the one staring up at me.
“You’re wrong,” I answered, my voice deep and resolute. “I think the demon is weakening. I think it’s time to pull it from your body.”
Her green eyes widened as much as they could. They didn’t glisten beneath the lights, and the white was stained red, but she tried to appear happy to hear what I’d said. “Now? I’m not sure I’m worthy of your love now. I’m not sure I deserve it.”
My fingers squeezed her hand softly. “Not now. You’re too weak. I need you to eat something, Eve. If you gain strength, it won’t be hard to force that bastard from your body. Once he’s gone, evil won’t be able to return again. You’re my wife. I’ll protect you with the might of God’s hand.”
She simple nodded her head, too weak to respond verbally.
Letting her go, I reached up to brush my knuckles down her cheek. There was nobody home behind those eyes, and I was positive she wouldn’t bring up Jacob again. My intention hadn’t been to harm her, it had been to weaken her mind and bury the truth that I’d used her to get rid of my brother.
That she called him the kind one was comical and I wondered for a moment what had happened to the darkness that had always existed inside my brother.
He was the darker twin. My father had been right about that. But I’d become stronger after letting go of poor little Jericho Hayle and replacing him with Elijah.
“I’m going to get you some food. I want you to stay awake long enough to eat. After that you can rest again and I’ll be back later tonight after giving my sermon.”
Her lips twitched as she tried to smile. Giving up, she breathed out and back in. “I’ve missed your sermons,” she whispered.
My eyes closed at the breathlessness in her voice. I missed the sound of it against my ear as I buried myself deep inside the heat of her body.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes, Eve. Don’t fall asleep.”
I didn’t wait for her to answer before leaving the room. Before going to the kitchen, I set out to find Richard and demand he stop giving Eve the teas I’d set out for her. Her body had grown too weak for them, and had I been at the compound instead of the parish, I would have recognized that weakness before it got to this point.
Joshua was in the storeroom that led to the backyard. So consumed by looking through the shelves for whatever item it was he needed, he didn’t notice I’d entered until I spoke.
“Have you seen Richard?”
He jumped in place but quickly regained his balance. His head turned to me and he smiled. “He’s out back, I believe. I think he’s exploring the woods to see if he can expand the land we have for our garden.”
My smile matched Joshua’s, but instead of being friendly it was amused. “I’ll go look for him out there.”
Slipping past the man I’d watched grow from a small boy, I made my way across the backyard and unlocked the chain that kept the fence closed. Only three people had a key to the lock, Richard, myself and Joshua. We were the only people who needed access to the outside as I’d convinced the rest of the family that evil lurked just beyond the border of the wall. The family believed we were brave and strong for managing to travel into the world without being infected by its evil. In truth, we were three secretive bastards who kept the family in the dark as to the world at large.