by Lucy Auburn
Hades was sending me to my own private prison, and if he had his way I would never get out of it.
Frantically, I thought of the only familiar place in the Shadow Realm that I knew of, and sent my course off-kilter just like I had the first time Petyr realm walked with me.
One moment, I was traveling through space and time, hurtled about like a sack of grain. The next moment I was surrounded by darkness, just me and nothingness.
Well, almost nothingness. There were lanterns in the distance, their yellow glow lighting up this corner of a dark and infinite world. And at my feet a path grew, meandering through the blackest of nights.
“Where are you?” My voice seemed to be swallowed by the nothing all around me. “I swear to all the gods in the universe, you better be here. Or I’ll throw you to the dark hunters.”
“Tsk tsk.” A warm voice emerged from the darkness, smooth as honey. Followed by the voice was the man himself: as handsome as the Devil, charming as sin, he stepped onto the path at my feet like he owned it. “It’s not very ladylike to show up at a man’s door unannounced and threaten him.”
“I’m not a lady,” I pointed out.
“True.” Joining me on the path, Vincent Vikander cocked his head at me and raised two dark brows. “I thought you were done with me.”
“I’m not here by choice,” I ground out, holding my injured hand to my chest; Vincent’s eyes followed the movement, a strangely hungry look in their shadowed depths. “I had a run-in with the King of the Underworld, and he sent me here. For good. You were the only person I could think of to go to—it’s not like I know many dark fae.”
“True,” Vincent said, sounding resigned. “Though tell me, Selena, how did you cross Hades himself? And what in the world happened to that hand of yours? You’re covered in blood.”
His words reminded me of something that had been bothering me for a while. “About that. You lied to me before. You don’t feed on love—you drink blood.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I felt it when I had your energy inside me,” I said, ignoring the innuendo of my words. “I could smell blood. It smelled delicious. Like cooking meat.”
“Ah. Interesting.” Vincent rose his eyebrows at me, reaching out to tug my palm towards him. I let him pull a handkerchief out of seemingly nowhere and use it to clean off the drying blood, wincing as he probed at the wound. To my surprise, though, the wound itself healed over with the touch of the cloth against my skin. “To answer your accusation, though, I did tell the truth. I don’t drink blood. Present tense. But I used to, after I was first turned into the fae you see before you.”
“And love? That was a lie.”
His mouth curved up in a smile. “Was it? Blood runs through the heart, which beats faster when one is near someone they... care for.” His fingers briefly brushed against my pulse, and I hated the way my heart sped up; I told myself it was just leftover adrenaline from the battle. “But I hated drinking blood. It was a curse put on me by the gods, after all; not something that I wanted. It felt so bestial and base. So I found another way. I discovered that if I make love to someone who feels true love for me, in their throes of passion I can sate myself on their love. It lasts longer than a single drop of the red stuff. It’s a skill you would no doubt learn if you carried my energy inside you for long enough.”
I tugged my hand back, unsure if I believed him, and cradled it to my chest. “Nice story.” He gave me a patient look, folding the handkerchief up and slipping it into the pocket of his black trousers. “I need to get home now, though. You wouldn’t happen to have a piece of paper and a pen? Or tape?”
“Why?” he asked, brow furrowed.
In answer, I pulled out the pieces of paper in my pocket. “I need this to get home. And it’s kind of... destroyed.”
Vincent studied the paper for a moment, then made a folding motion with his hands in the air, almost like a magician “summoning” a card. When he was done he held the piece of paper, which was no longer in my hand—and had been repaired.
In response to the look of surprise on my face he said, “Materials magic. Simple stuff, that can only be performed here, since the Lightbloods never really finished this place off. It’s still in flux.”
I blinked. “I’m not sure I understand. The house you made, all the things in it—it’s all because of the Lightblood magic?”
“This place is alive with it.” He handed me the piece of paper, which was warm against my skin. “Normally when a realm is finished, it’s tied off. Like baking chocolate chip cookies. This place is all dough. It can be formed into anything.” He amended, “Well, almost anything. It is a punishment, after all.”
There was so much I still had to learn about my father’s side of my family. Clearing my throat, I glanced up into his face and said, “I meant it when I said I was done with you.”
“I’m sure you did”
“And uh, thanks. For helping me out.”
He parroted me, “You’re uh, welcome.”
Sighing, I shook my head. “I’d give you the amulet back again, but I’m sure it’ll just follow me home.” His silent expression neither confirmed nor denied this. “Goodbye, Vincent.”
“I’ll see you again, Selena.”
I didn’t like that he was right, but he was. I had the feeling I would find myself before him against whether I planned it or not. But for now at least I had the power to turn away from him still. Putting my hand over the symbol, I closed my eyes against his knowing face and imagined home.
42
Naomi
Just like that Selena disappeared again, taking the demigod with her this time.
I stared at the spot where they’d both been standing, my hand limply wrapped around my knife. She was there one moment, rising towards him with a bloody hand, and then she put her hand on his chest and they just... disappeared.
I felt confident somehow that Beelzebub hadn’t done the disappearing part. If he’d been capable of that, he would’ve taken her a long time ago. No, he needed the hell gate to get out, but Selena didn’t.
“What was that?” Beside me, Thorson was no longer glowing, but his hair still stood on end. He blinked and stared into the empty rubble. “What just happened? She’s gone.”
“Yeah, I know,” I said bitterly, trying not to give in to the panic in my chest. “We’ve been through this before.”
With a sigh, I leapt down onto the rubble at our feet, and descended into the precarious pit of destruction, heading towards the hill where Beelzebub and Selena had been standing only a moment ago. Leon was already there. He used his beast form to climb up and then shifted on the empty piece of floor, bending down to look for clues as to where she was. As I came nearer, he glanced back at me with this dark, haunted look on his face, and immediately I was thrown into that moment just over three months ago when we lost her.
It couldn’t possibly be happening again.
I didn’t know what I would do if she just... slipped out of my fingers a second time.
I heaved myself up next to Leon on the platform atop a pile of rubble, leaving little room for anyone else to join us. Elah stood nearby astride Fira, a desolate expression on his face; the fae mare’s clever hooves carefully balanced on a pile of stonework and drywall. Behind him, Petyr was climbing up as well, Maggie’s hand in his.
“I should’ve grabbed her,” the witch said, her face ashen and drawn. “I was so close.”
Petyr said, “We all were.”
Sighing, I pushed up to my feet and stared above us into the dark sky. “There are no clues here, Leon,” I said, hating myself for it even as I told him the truth. “We don’t know where she went. Just like last time.”
Leon grunted. “Just like last time. Which means she’s probably in the Underworld again.”
I knew the detective; if he thought Selena was trapped in Hell a second time, he would destroy himself trying to find her. So I pointed out, “She used the necklace to get there the fir
st time, and it was a one-way ticket. There’s no way she got back in again because we’re not near a hell gate. The only way would be if she had the Key, and last I checked she doesn’t.” The Key, of course, would let her get out of the Underworld as well as into it—which was too much to hope for.
But as I said the last words, Petyr cleared his throat and looked at all of us awkwardly. As he met each gaze in turn I got the sense that he’d been hiding something from us. A flare of irritation burst inside me; I was tired of being kept in the dark.
“Actually,” he explained carefully, “we have reason to believe that Selena herself might be the Key.”
At his words my world went upside down. Breath left me completely. I closed my eyes and inwardly cursed the Black God’s name, that he would make me just for this.
If Selena was the Key, it would explain so much.
It also meant that I had sworn an oath to kill her.
And as a dark hunter, I’d tied the oath to my soul. I didn’t even know if it could be broken; even just trying might gain the Black God’s attention.
Just as I was grappling with this fact, the air in front of me shimmered. I stumbled back, forced to perch precariously on the rubble, little rocks falling down where I stepped. I felt a strong hand on my arm and glanced back to see that Damen had followed me to the center of the ruins, an intense expression on his face. I shook him off, drawing a knife to prepare just in case we were about to get another visit from Beelzebub.
When Selena stepped out of the shimmering veil instead, I felt relief—and then immediate nausea. Blanching, I sheathed my knife and backed up further, conflicting emotions rending my heart in two. Leon was beside himself with joy—he wrapped his arms around her—and despite the small size of the flat slab of concrete and tile she stood on, the others were soon shoving him aside to make room for their own hugs.
I wanted to reach out and touch her, too. But if the Black God made me, and Selena was the Key, I didn’t know that it was even safe for me to be around her. So I pushed the way I felt for her deep down inside myself until my heart was as heavy as a stone.
Everyone else embraced her joyfully. In the cover of their excitement, I turned and walked away. Rubble slid beneath my feet as I quickly headed towards the fastest way out and tried to walk as silently as possible. The ruins of the building spilled out into the parking lot, which was mostly empty now. I stuck to the darkness, avoiding the artificial lights as much as possible.
I didn’t stop to think, and I didn’t stop to feel. Sliding into the driver’s side of my car, I turned on the engine, refraining from flicking the headlights on. And I pulled out onto the dark road, the night itself swallowing me up.
When I showed up back at the apartment, Iva threw her arms around me in relief. I sank into the hug, letting myself have this bit of comfort.
“Pack your bags,” I told her, stepping back from the hug and grabbing my duffel out of the hall closet. “We’re going to London. Now.”
My phone chimed, and I stared at it guiltily. Then, setting aside my emotions, I forced myself to send a response. One that would make sure she never looked for me. Even if it made me the bad guy.
If I got far enough away, maybe it wouldn’t matter how I felt. Maybe oaths themselves wouldn’t matter, and neither would breaking them. One thing was for sure: I couldn’t tell any of the other dark hunters what I knew about the Key. They would kill her—even my mother would. This secret had to stay with me for good.
I wouldn’t let fate get me this time. Staying away from Selena was the only option.
Selena
I stared at my phone’s screen, grasping the edges of the blanket wrapped around me. Even though Petyr was carefully checking me for further injuries, Leon was sitting beside me in back of the van, and Elah was nearby with Damen, Maggie, and Tae Min, I suddenly felt very alone in this world.
“What’s the matter?” Leon tried to glance over to see my phone screen, but I hastily put it away.
“Nothing,” I said, trying to make my voice to sound bright. “Apparently Naomi had some business to take care of in London. Something involving her sister and mother.”
Petyr murmured, “She left in quite a hurry.”
I forced myself to blink back tears. “It was an emergency, I guess.”
“She’s like this sometimes,” Leon said, his voice rough with irritation. “She can’t handle the hard stuff, so she leaves. And expects everyone else to pick up after her.”
I knew he was talking about his sister; they still had tension with each other over how Naomi broke up with her. Leon put his arm around me, and I leaned into his warmth, grateful for him.
“All done,” Petyr declared, giving me back my hand. “You’re lucky nothing important was severed. It was mostly a flesh wound. You shouldn’t need rehab.”
“Thanks,” I said, voice soft.
Maggie came over and squeezed my knee, warmth in her eyes. “We thought we’d lost you again, Silly. Where’d you go?”
Sitting there in the van, their eyes on me, I decided to tell the truth. “I took Beelzebub to the Underworld.” I worried my lower lip with my teeth as I felt them look at me, worried they might judge me—even though they never had before. “I decided that I didn’t want to give him back to Perseph—my mother.” Only Tae Min’s eyes registered shock at this, and I felt guilty that he was the last to know. “It was what he wanted, after all, and I knew he’d just help her try to escape. So I took him to his father, Hades.”
“And?” Petyr prompted, worry in his voice.
“And I don’t think he’ll ever escape again. But now Hades knows what I am,” I confessed, unsure if I’d made the right choice after all. “I thought it was the best option for Beelzebub, but I didn’t realize...”
Petyr’s voice was full of awe as he said, “Hades. You met the King of the Underworld”
Leon’s voice was a concerned rumble in his chest. “How did you get out?”
“I didn’t. He was going to imprison me in the Shadow Realm, but I managed to do what I did with Petyr that one time. I realm walked in another direction.” I looked over at the ambassador, who had finished checking my hand over; it was perfectly healed, surprisingly. “I wound up near Vincent Vikander’s territory, and he helped me fix this so I could get home.”
I pulled the piece of paper out of my jacket. Petyr and Maggie both stared at it, and a flash of guilt went through me. “Is that from my book?” the ambassador asked.
“Yes.”
“It looks like a god rune.” Maggie chewed on her lower lip, thoughtful. “You used this to realm walk?”
I nodded my head. “I’d tried it once before, but I don’t even know how it works, so I thought I should stop using it until I researched it further. But then Beelzebub escaped, and…” I trailed off. “I went into the Underworld and back out again. I guess now we know that I’m the Key.”
Tae Min said, “It changes nothing. You’re still you, no matter what. Trust me.” His words filled me with an indescribable warmth. “You probably shouldn’t visit Hades again, though.”
Maggie said, “We need to figure out what this symbol is before you use it again, Silly. It might be dangerous.”
“I have some books on god runes,” Petyr said. With a glance at the nearly demolished Collective he added, “Well, maybe had is a better word. I think some of my office is still intact.”
Elah spoke up next. “All of that can wait until tomorrow.” Reaching out to take my healed hand and rub his thumb across it, he murmured, “I think we all need some sleep.”
“Yes,” I agreed, thankful for his interruption. “I definitely need to sleep. I don’t even know what building I’ll report to for work tomorrow.”
Maggie said, “The Ambassador will ask the Elders about rebuilding it, I’m sure.”
Petyr put his hands in his pockets with a sheepish expression. “Actually, I’m pretty sure I’m not the ambassador anymore.”
“What!?”
&n
bsp; “Petyr, when—”
I asked, “Is this because of what you did? Why did you take us out of there so quickly, anyway?”
Damen supplied the answer. “They know what Selena is, don’t they?” He looked over at me with soft grey eyes. “A lot of my memories came back to me while I was using my powers. The mission I was on involved your mother—I was meant to deceive her, swear fealty to her even, in order to discover her secrets. One of the first things I discovered was that she was looking for the Key, and the second was that she wanted to find her long lost daughter. It wasn’t hard to connect the dots, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.”
Tae Min asked, “Why would Petyr stop being the ambassador because of that?”
Petyr supplied the answer in a grim voice. “Because the god Ignus has told them what Selena is, and now at least a few fae on the Elder council believe that she poses too great a risk to the universe to be allowed to live.”
A shocked silence settled around me. I gasped painfully, trying to soothe the stir of emotions in my chest. After everything I’d done, how hard I was trying to fight to be the best person I could be, it didn’t seem to matter. There was always a new surprise around the corner, and this time a new enemy.
“Ignus.” I said the name of the god aloud, looking over at my handsome knight. “Isn’t that the god you worship? You’re a blackfyre knight descended from him.” A memory struck me from my time in Hell. “The god with the amber eyes.”
“Yes, that’s him.” Elah squeezed my hand, staring into my eyes with something like regret. “I have a confession to make. I wasn’t sure at first, but now that I know what I do about you, and about my God—I have reason to believe that we were set up to marry because the Elders suspected this about you from the very beginning.” Softly, he added, “They told me to watch you, in case you turned to the darkness. I ignored their worries for the most part, and I don’t regret our engagement at all. But I think they believed that if I was close to you, they might be able to use me.”