Page 22 of Queen of the Wicked
Eryx covered his mouth with his hand, stifling a laugh. “It’s much more complicated than that,” he explained. “The dungeons are filled with unexplainable creatures, and the pits of Hell are hard to navigate. It’s a maze, and you have to plot a good way out before going in there. It’ll take some time to find a safe route.”
Alessia groaned. “Howmuchtime?”
Izara shrugged. “As much time as it takes.”
Alessia turned to Erebos. “Okay, well, our blood pact also states that you help me find my mother, so if planning a route through the pits will take a while, can we at least focus on that in the meantime?”
“We are going to accomplish one thing at a time,” he replied tightly. “First, the pits, then we will find your mother.”If he even could.Bastian could have taken her mother; if that were the case, Erebos would be helpless in retrieving her. He couldn’t enter Heaven without permission, which Bastian would never allow. Finding her would be remotely impossible.
“Then I would like to help plan the route with you,” Alessia stated bluntly.
Erebos was instantly filled with rage. “What part of you thinks you’re qualified to weigh in on the decisions ofmyrealm?”
“Technically,”Eryx started, but Erebos raised a hand to silence him.
“Shut up, Eryx.” Eyes blazing, he turned to the woman beside him, loathing how she wouldn’t back down from a fight. “You’re insignificant to this process.Wewill create the plan and notify you when it’s complete. That’s final.”
The chair she was sitting in slid back with a screech that echoed off the high ceilings. “You’re a realdick,you know that?”
Izara choked on her water.
“And you’re an ungrateful brat,” Erebos responded with a shrug. “We all can’t be perfect, can we?”
Twirling on her feet, she stormed out of the ballroom, her heels clicking with determination across the marble floors. “Enjoy your booty call!” she screamed. The guard at the door cleared his throat as he opened it for her to exit, and when they were all alone again, Eryx burst into laughter.
“She called you adick!” he hollered, grasping his sides. “I can’t remember the last time that’s happened.”
That was because it hadneverhappened. Alessia fueled the rage he had buried inside of himself for years. The hot lava was beginning to bubble, and Erebos was a volcano destined for eruption. If Alessia kept it up and continued to push, she wouldn’t like what she discovered.
Izara tried not to smile, always in work mode. She never let herself relax. “She will need a lot of training,” she said quietly, changing the subject. “She is nowhere near ready for the pits. If she truly wields most of your powers, we will need her to be able to use them. Eryx and I will not be enough to defeat the creatures if they decide to attack.”
“Of course,” Erebos said. “See to it that she is prepared before we leave. In the meantime, Eryx and I will determine a safe route.” Izara wouldn’t tolerate Alessia’s temper tantrums. While Izara may be quiet, she was the greatest soul seeker and friend he had. The woman was always on alert at all times, and if Alessia thought for a second she’d be able to get her way around her? Erebos puffed out his chest, stifling a laugh.
He couldn’twaitto watch her try.
Suddenly, his stomach rumbled, and he looked down at his already clean plate, then to Alessia’s, which was barely touched. He released a groan and cursed this stupid connection between them. He wanted to sever it. He didn’twantto feel the need to care for her, but he couldn’t let her go hungry, and since his plate was wiped clean, this feelinginside of him wasn’t his own.
“Also, please ensure Ambroz brings a plate of dinner to Alessia’s room,” he told both of them.
Izara dipped her head in acknowledgment. “As you wish.”
Chapter 11
Alessia
Ambroz had sent dinner up for Alessia minutes after she slammed the door of her room, but she didn’t feel like eating it. She didn’t feel like doinganything.The events over the last few days were hitting her, and she was overwhelmed. Completely and utterly overwhelmed and confused.
Climbing out of the extravagant bed, she found herself craving that tiny twin bed at her parents’ house—the one with the quilt her mom had made specifically for her. God, not even outside looked the same as Earth. Even at night, the sky never grew dark. It remained that bloodstained red.
Alessia feltstuck.She was helpless in this situation. The only person she could rely on was also the person who didn’t have her best interests at heart. If it were up to Erebos, he would have killed her the moment he had the chance. She wouldn't be here right now if it weren’t for the blood pact.
Suddenly, the large room began to feel cramped.Alessia placed a hand over her chest, attempting to calm her heart rate down, but it continued to beat rapidly as the walls started closing in on her.
She needed to leave, to beanywherebut within the four walls of that room.
In a rash decision, she grabbed the robe Isla had placed in the bathroom and stormed into the dark hallway. She could hardly see anything save for the dim red glow from the sky outside, which cast even scarier shadows along the walls. Wrapping the robe tighter around her, she padded barefoot along the marble floors, the coolness against her skin slightly leveling her nerves.
How had she gotten herself into this predicament? Why did she bring up the blood pact in the first place? She could have just said fuck it and had the serpahims come back for her and take her to Heaven. Perhaps that was always meant to happen. Thatiswhere her parents derived from, after all. Being here, despite its beauty, she missed home. She missed that sense of familiarity.
