Free Her Sinful Angel by Felicity Heaton

the tips to tickle her palms. Her gaze remained locked ahead, her thoughts fixed behind her.
    With Lucifer.
    Why had he created this place if he couldn’t set foot in it?
    Why would someone torment themselves with such beauty and light when they lived trapped in such gloominess and darkness?
    The tall grass gave way to a strip of pasture and she crossed it to the river, walking as if in a dream as she listened to the rush of water over the rocks. The warmth of the sun faded as she stepped into the shadows cast by the trees across the river from her. She sat on the shallow bank, pulled off her ruined tights, and stuffed them down the waist of her skirt, hooking them over it so she wouldn’t lose them.
    A gasp shot from her lips as she dipped her bare toes into the water.
    It was freezing.
    Nina steeled herself and slowly lowered her feet towards the icy water again. It seemed warmer this time and she allowed it to cover up to her ankles. She sat there on the bank and stared down into the rippling water, watching it rush over her toes. Pebbles lined the bottom of the crystal clear river, a multitude of colours, all of which seemed a little too rich to be real.
    She tipped her head back and looked up at the bright azure sky.
    Was this place real or fantasy?
    She laughed at the thought that Lucifer might have created it. He must have been joking. The strength of the colours around her was probably down to the fact that she had been locked in a black hole for two days, starved of colour and light. Her eyes would adjust soon and the grass wouldn’t look so green. The sky not so blue.
    Her toes hurt beneath the cold water and she pulled them from it, wriggling them to get some blood back into them. She twisted on the bank, so her back was to the water and her feet stuck out into the light. The sun instantly warmed them and they began to lose their redness.
    Nina looked up the hill to the fortress.
    It looked even bigger from down by the river, towering over her, a stark and grim sight against the clear blue sky.
    The thought of having to go back inside filled her with dread, a longing to remain out in the valley instead, surrounded by light and colour. Something countered the dread though, a sense that Lucifer was waiting for her in that bleak castle, and part of her didn’t want to keep him waiting.
    She didn’t want him to be alone.
    She had a suspicion that he wasn’t a servant. He was the master of the house and he was alone in it. Maybe he had a few servants, but he clearly lacked companions, and he equally as clearly desired her company.
    For the first time in a very long time, she wanted company too.
    Nina pulled her focus away from the castle and its owner, and lumbered onto her feet. She walked the riverbank, following it towards the right side of the castle. There was a red arched bridge in the distance and she could just about make out a smooth path that led into the forest. Curiosity drew her towards it, over it, and into the woods.
    The path led upwards and she followed it as it wound its way through the tall pine and oak trees. Her feet began to ache from walking but she kept moving forwards, exploring the dense forest and enjoying the freedom to move around.
    In the distance, beyond another hill, the forest was darker.
    She frowned and moved more quickly, striding with purpose towards it, wanting to see what obscured the light in that part of the woods. Her breath sawed from her lungs and sweat dotted her brow and trickled down her back. She swiped her arm across her forehead, pushed her wild auburn hair back from her face, and trudged onwards.
    At the top of the hill, she ran straight into an invisible obstruction.
    Nina stumbled back a step and pressed her hand to the wall of black. It cut through the trunks of several trees and stretched in both directions.
    Lucifer had been right. There was no way out of the valley. Had he simply built a wall around it?
    No. Half of the trees were missing, as if the barrier