Page 58 of Queen of the Wicked
Before she could reply, Erebos and Eryx rounded the corner, each with their own backpack. Alessia couldn’t help but admire how casual the lord looked in only a pair of trousers and a t-shirt. It was far from the tunic and dress pants he wore on a daily basis, and where his hair was usually slicked back with gel, now the curls fell freely in disarray with a few strands flopping onto hisforehead.
“You’re late,” Izara muttered, examining her nails.
“Our apologies,” Erebos replied. He came to stand beside Alessia, resting his bicep against her shoulder. “I had business to finish before our departure.”
Callum?Alessia asked through the mind link.
Yes. I’m happy to report his soul is no longer with us.
Alessia had figured as much, but she still didn’t know how to feel about Erebos taking on that responsibility for her. Callum tried to hurt her, so it should have beenherdecision whether or not to kill him. Erebos didn’t need to act as her knight in shining armor, yet he did so without any questions asked.
What had plagued her since it happened was the question ofwhy.They had agreed to be cordial for this mission, but cordial didn’t equate to taking a kill for someone else so that they wouldn’t carry the weight of it.
“I will see you when you return,” Isla said to Alessia, reaching to squeeze her hand. Izara jabbed the button on the elevator, tapping her foot impatiently against the marble floors when Eryx stepped up beside them, bowing slightly to the handmaid. That sign of respect wasn’t normal here in Hell. Alessia had read more of the Book of Death in her free time, and those who had not been freed yet were deemed insignificant to the realm. They were meant to be ignored, but with the way the general stared at her, she was anything but.
“Did you receive your package this morning?” he asked.
Isla’s eyes widened. “Youdelivered it? Did you…”
“See what was inside? Yes, given I was the one taskedwith chasing the books down.” He leaned in closer to her ear and whispered, “I hope you enjoy your scandalous reading material, Isla. It soundedriveting.”
Her cheeks were the color of a cherry now as she dipped into a curtsy. “Thank you, Eryx. I hope you all return safely.”
“Likewise. I’m looking forward to a book report.”
Alessia failed to hide her smile at the strangled squeak that worked its way up Isla’s throat. The handmaid fled down the corridor, escaping the general as fast as she could. It left Eryx grinning as he stared after her, so deep in thought he hardly noticed the elevator doors opening.
“Well, come on then,” Izara beckoned, breaking him from his trance. “The Seeker isn’t going to find itself.”
“It’s worse than I thought,”Alessia whispered.
When they approached the pit’s entrance a mere hour ago, she assumed nothing could be more intimidating than the spiked edges surrounding the cave’s mouth, resembling a warning of foreshadowing for those who dared to enter what awaited them on the other side.
It turned out she was sorely mistaken.
In the depths of the pits, light was nonexistent. Izara had shot her flames to light the sconces on the walls, which provided a faint golden glow along the jagged stone pathways. Judging from the cobwebs clinging tothe archways and cracked stone, it was clear no one had been inside the cave in years, if not longer.
With each step they took, the feeling of unease grew. Alessia couldn’t shake the sense of foreboding, wondering at every turn if they would encounter one of the various beasts depicted in the texts Erebos had read. She had never been claustrophobic before, but with the way her chest squeezed, she assumed she’d developed a new fear.
“Turn left,” Eryx instructed, squinting to stare at the map. “We should be—” He came to a sudden halt, lifting his foot clad in a black boot. “What isthat?”
The group drew closer, examining the boot in question, where a string of sticky green goo was stuck to the sole. Izara ignited a ball of flame, squatting to investigate it further. “It looks to be a mucus of some sort.”
“Mucus?” Eryx’s face paled. “From what?”
“Let’s not stick around and find out,” Erebos replied.
The general grumbled, using his sword to cut through the goo to release his boot from the floor before they continued onward. With the substance weighing heavily on their minds, chatter ceased, and they walked cautiously through the eerily quiet passages.
Water dripped from the ceilings, creating a steady rhythm that Alessia latched onto if only to quell the fear leeching into her bones. She kept close to Erebos, whose presence seemed to provide a sense of calmness she desperately needed. It wasn’t until she felt a tug at her arm that she realized the lord was stripping her backpack off.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He arched a brow as he slid the strap onto one of his shoulders, where his own already resided. “What does it look like I’m doing? You’re uncomfortable.”
How did he know that?Her back had ached for the last twenty minutes, but she thought she had concealed her discomfort from the rest of the group. “I can handle carrying my backpack,” she said.
“You could, but why suffer when I am willing to carry it for you?”
