Page 49 of Queen of the Wicked
“Also a talented seer,” he added. “She is a witch.”
Elithe tilted her head again, studying Alessia. “And what are you? You smell…” She inhaled deeply through her nose, causing Alessia to shudder. “You are not human, nor an angel… Certainly not demon…”
Alessia held the book up, causing the witch’s eyes to widen. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out, actually. Do you reside here permanently? I didn’t realize witches went to Hell.”
The witch snorted. “They used to. Well, some of us. Before, the realms craved balance, and now… If King Bastian could get his hands on me, he would.”
“It would be a waste,” Erebos replied softly. “You would not give him what he seeks. Your progress has been outstanding to watch, Elithe.”
“Indeed,” she hummed in agreement. “Alessia, would you mind if I touched your forehead? Just for a moment.” Before she could, Erebos yanked Alessia out of her grasp.
“You won’t lay afingeron her without permission,” he warned.
The witch eyed him curiously, understanding filling her features. “I see,” she said, fixing her hood back into place. With another glance at Alessia, she made to brush past them, placing a hand on Erebos’s shoulder. “Be careful, Lord of Hell. You’re playing with fire, and the Makers will not tolerate it for long.” She huffed a laugh, pointing to the book in Alessia’s hands. “In fact, it seems they have already started.”
“When Elithe saidKing Bastian would want to get his hands on her, what did she mean?” Seated at one of the tables on the top floor of the library, Alessia kept her voice in a hushed whisper in fear of the witch catching wind of their conversation. She’d been flipping through pages of the Book of Death while Erebos watched her with intrigue, seeming content with keeping her company.
The lord tensed for a heartbeat before he said, “Decades ago, when King Amos sat on the throne, the realms were a lot different.”
“Different how? Why would the king of Heaven want anything to do with a witch?” Her brows furrowed as she tried to remember the lessons her mom spent hours instilling in her. “I suppose there are goodwitches, although I have only met Allegra, and she was…”
“She is a good witch,” he clarified. Then, as he rapped his knuckles against the dark cherry wood of the table, he seemed to debate something before sighing excessively. “I am telling you this because it is in the interest of your safety, but what you are about to hear cannot leave this realm. It would endanger me, my close confidants, and all of the demons here who wish to live a better life.”
Alessia nodded slowly, then pushed the book to the side, giving him her full attention. “Okay. I promise I won’t say anything.”
Her word didn’t seem nearly enough for a secret this significant, but Erebos didn’t need much convincing. He confided in her seconds after. “King Bastian has had a fascination with dark magic for centuries. His moral compass was the opposite of King Amos, and it infuriated him that his brother had assumed the throne after their father's death instead of him. He spent years building an army of like-minded individuals to steal the crown, and two decades ago, during the Battle of Blood, he succeeded. It resulted in the murder of his brother.”
“That’s…horrible.” Alessia swallowed a rare lump in her throat, tears springing to her eyes. For the life of her, she couldn’t understand why she was so emotional.
“It was.” Erebos nodded with a forlorn expression. “Amos was a ruler everyone looked up to. His wife was pregnant when Bastian attacked the Celestial kingdom, and she died along with the heir to the throne inside of her.”
That power awakened, the feminine, sinful voice saying,'Listen, listen, listen.'
“But how was Bastian able to create an army of like-minded people in Heaven when only the righteous are admitted?”
Erebos’s lips quirked, impressed with her ability to catch on so quickly. “You are not the only one who has questioned that.”
Alessia’s skin buzzed beneath her flesh, feeling like a scientist on the brink of discovering a universal breakthrough. It was on the tip of her tongue butjustout of reach, and it was unbelievably frustrating.
“What you said to Kael when he visited…about the souls going missing…”
He nodded for her to continue.
And that’s when it clicked.
“Bastian is stealing evil souls from the soul yard to bring them to Heaven?”
“That is my suspicion,” he affirmed. “With no proof, there is little I can do at the moment, but I have been preparing since there has been a shift in the realms. Things on Earth have been…escalating. War is raging, dictatorships have begun, and it won’t be long before the Makers take matters into their own hands. I want to be ready when they infiltrate.”
Alessia had learned about the Makers who created the realms. Mara, the Goddess of Sunlight. Killian, the God of Darkness. Allistor, the God of Nature, and lastly, the sisters: Aster, the Goddess of Death, and Astra, the Goddess of Life. It was rumored they watched over the realms from the afterlife, overseeing all they’d created inthe stars and in the very air they breathed. With Bastian tampering with the balance, Alessia was unsurprised the Makers were pissed.
“What do you mean by infiltrate?” she asked.
He shrugged. “By creating something newly made. A harbinger, of sorts. They will steer the realms back to where they need to be and restore the balance. I will offer my army to whoever that responsibility is placed upon. Ally with them to send Bastian into the Unknown.”
Listen, listen, listen.
“The Unknown?”
