Page 46 of To Dwell in Shadows
“Yes?” Sam asked warily.
Lamia’s eyes glittered with triumph. “Youmust compete in them as well.”
Sam let out a heavy sigh.
Endless clashes with his parents, or a set of games he could shape… and deliberately lose? The choice was clear.
He looked her in the eye and said, “If that’s what it takes, I agree.”
Chapter 23
Sam awoke the next morning with dread in the pit of his stomach over what he needed to do. Last night, he and Queen Lamia had spent the rest of their meal compiling ideas for the Dark Sovereign Trials. While Sam pushed for games that required skill and intelligence, Queen Lamia wanted challenges that relied on luck and physical strength. They came up with a list of twenty-five possibilities, which his father and the Council of Legions would narrow to three.
The trials would be vigorous, but that didn’t frighten Sam. What did was the need to conceal his true motive—finding the competitor most worthy of ruling. For that, he’d need his powers at full strength.
And that meant facing Zaybris.
He didn’t wake Selene. If he did, he’d be tempted to linger in bed, wrapped in her softness. Instead, he slipped from their room and summoned an imp to see if Vanthee was available.
A few minutes later, Vanthee met him outside the Sanctum. Her cheeks were flushed as though she’d been running. Her expression was serious before it shifted into dreamy adoration.
“I am here for you, my prince,” she murmured.
“Do you know where the vampire Zaybris is kept?”
“Of course. He’s in the Vaults of Eternal Torment.
“Can you take me to him?”
Her eyes sparkled with excitement. “It would be an honor.”
Vanthee led him past the Sanctum and into the Chapel of Mourning. There, behind the dais, she revealed a hidden passage with her tattoo. It was an entrance that opened onto a narrow spiral staircase. She offered her hand, which Sam ignored, and they began their descent.
Sam had assumed Zaybris would be held in the Crypts of the Forsaken, but the deeper they went, the more he realized the Vaults of Eternal Torment made far more sense. It was a place reserved for the worst, most irredeemable souls—those devoid of remorse, whose crimes demanded further punishment before justice could truly be served. It was also where the Vengeance demons cast souls they deemed unworthy of reincarnation, even if they sought it in the Afterworld.
They walked in silence for several moments, until Vanthee spoke. “May I speak freely?”
Sam cringed. “If you must.”
“If Zaybris had stolen my child, I would have found a way to destroy him by any means necessary.”
“But then his punishment wouldn’t be eternal.”
“Perhaps. But my rage would be boundless. I would be a protective, devoted mother. If given the chance.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Do you want children?”
Sam’s jaw tightened. “That’s not your business.”
“I ask only because it’s unheard of for a mortal to bear a demon’s seed. The idea that you may never become a father is a sad one.”
Irritation made his already heightened emotions simmer. He and Selene had talked about children, but neither had a burning desire to have them at the moment. “Grieve not. Selene and I can plan our future without your input.”
“But surely you must want your bloodline to live on. You owe that to your kingdom.”
“Don’t tell me what I owe,” he snapped. His hand tightened on the staircase railing. “Please, I need to prepare myself. I don’t care to chat.”
Vanthee went quiet.
They continued to descend what felt like thousands of steps—far deeper into the Underworld than Sam had ever ventured. The air grew heavier with each step, thick with the stench of misery and decay. In the flickering torchlight, a vast labyrinth came into view below them, its corridors twisted at unnatural angles. The very architecture felt wrong, as though the place had been designed to unsettle. Most paths led to abrupt dead ends or plunged into darkness, likely crafted to crush any hope of escape. Moans and distant screams echoed from unseen cells.
