Page 5 of Queen of the Wicked
A blood-curdling scream echoed from the house, followed by the sound of breaking glass. It caused Alessia to flinch, scraping her knee open on the edge of the roof. Frozen in place, she hesitated and considered forgetting this plan entirely and helping her mom.
Keep moving forward, no matter the sacrifice.
Don’t look back.
Her parents' mantra filtered through her mind as her muscles trembled on the roof, begging for reprieve from the crouch she’d been holding. It was eerily silent—too silent—a vacancy of sound that could only mean one thing.
Evil had arrived.
She scrambled down the vine, her hands shaking while thorns split open her flesh. As soon as her feet hit the grass, she took off sprinting in the direction they practiced—toward the edge of the woods.
Everything happened earlier than expected. She was supposed to wait until midnight to learn who she was being protected from and who she was born to be. While her parents taught her about magic and its history, she wasn’t allowed to learn about herselfor the powers she carried until tonight.
Now she’d never get the opportunity.
Blood trailed down her leg from the scrape on her knee, staining the purple silk of her nightgown, and crimson leaked from her fingertips where the thorns destroyed her palms. She pushed her legs to carry her faster toward the trees until her feet finally hit the lush dirt. With no shoes on, she stumbled over vines and split the skin of her heel on sticks and rocks, but she wouldn’t let herself think of the pain right now.She couldn’t.
Alessia didn’t even know who she was searching for. Every secret kept from her was meant to come to light when the clock struck twelve, including the mysterious person she was meant to run to. Still, she had always been warned that there would be a chance this could happen, that the people searching for her would arrive earlier than anticipated.
She was close to the clearing,soclose, but just as she leaped over a thick tree stump, a tall, brooding figure landed in front of her.
Alessia rammed into a chest as hard as steel before hitting the dirt with a loudoomph.Stars clouded hervision, seeming to collide with the constellations in the sky above until she wasn’t sure which were real.
Head pounding, she squinted into the darkness, but the sliver of moonlight only provided an outline of black boots and, from the sound of it, chains dangling against the sides.
The figure sniffed once, a growl escaping his throat that chilled her to the very core. The sound was otherworldly, like a creature determining whether or not to sink its teeth into its prospective meal. “Amortal?Important soul my ass,” he grumbled. His voice sent shivers down her spine, leaving a flurry of goosebumps in its wake. “Tell me, Little Mortal, how did you manage to kill a seraph?”
She blinked at him in confusion, unable to make out his features in the darkness. She was taught about seraphims, the highest-ranking angels in Heaven, but why would one be here on Earth? They weren’t allowed in this realm without permission.
“Are you unintelligible?” he asked.
His question provoked fury to rush to the surface, and, in typical Alessia fashion, she was seconds away from telling this prick off—evil being or not—until she remembered that it wasn’t midnight yet. She wouldn’t be able to defend herself against an evil being. And who knew if her powers would even protect her against him? She had no choicebutto answer. She was at his mercy.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied, though annoyance still bled into her tone.
He stepped closer, and when she finally brought her gaze to his, she shrank back into herself.Any ounce of confidence vanished as his onyx eyes glowed brightly in the dark, like endless portals leading to the underworld. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to look away from them. They held her captive, and for a moment, she wondered if hypnotizing people was one of his powers.
They glowed for another few seconds until he eventually ripped his gaze from hers. “The blood on your clothing speaks otherwise. Now stop avoiding the question. Did you kill the seraph or not?”
She glanced down at her nightgown, mortified that the thin material was all that covered her. Blood stains ruined the lower half of the fabric, but they were from the scrape of her knee, not from a seraph.
Demon or not, she didn’t owe him anything, and for whatever reason, she wasn’t scared of him anymore, or…it.She may have been shocked that an evil being was in her presence, judging by the goosebumps that peppered her skin, but her heart rate was calming, and her fear was slowly dissipating. Likely because she knew she’d be coming into her powers soon.
They’d have to help her outsomewhat, right?
“When I was told to collect a soul, I didn’t expect it to be a living mortal.” His eyes glowed brightly again for a split second, like he couldn’t believe what he saw and needed a second look. “Killing a seraph is punishable by death. Did you know that?” He sniffed again and sneered, “You should be terrifiedright now. I am the Lord of Hell. Taker and punisher of evil souls.Yoursincluded.”
Oh, fuck.
Hewas what she was taught to run away from.
Her parents did everything they could to prevent her from being found. They’d dedicated their entire lives to ensuring she was prepared for this moment, and yet…she still wasn’t scared. Was she in shock? In denial that this was reality?
Her feet remained frozen to the ground, unable to run even if she wanted to. Then again, when the being’s eyes began to glow again, she started to think that her inability to move had more to do with his power than her state of horror.
That is, until anotherthudechoed behind him.
The being bristled and whipped around, and her cheek was hit with what seemed like…feathers? It was too dark to tell.Was he a seraph too?She was never taught anything about Hell, but that didn’t surprise her. Alessia’s parents both derived from Heaven. She wasn’t required to learn about Hell.
