Page 75 of To Dwell in Shadows
Ghar’s mouth hung open in surprise.
Chort gazed up at Sam. “You have my gratitude, sir.”
Sam mumbled, “And mine,” then looked toward King Asmodeus, who was glowering from his high seat, silent and stone-faced.
“Well... this is highly irregular,” Ghar said, his brow furrowing in thought. After a brief pause, he continued, “But the rules state the contender must retrieve the coin—they don’t prohibit having a proxy do it for him.”
He motioned for the other victorious competitors to gather around him. Once they had assembled in a line, Ghar turned to the crowd and declared, “Demons of the Underworld, behold the victors of the River of Hated Trial!” Several of the contenders waved, including Drath, whose body rippled with pleasure like a caterpillar. “Our next and final trial to find the king’s champion will occur in five days.”
Sam closed his eyes briefly, grateful that the end of this farce would be soon. He opened them to look at the polluted river, thesavage spectators, and the way his father swayed with fatigue in his seat.He had come this far in his quest to save the Underworld—he might as well see it to its completion.
Chapter 37
Selene didn’t know if there were taverns in the Underworld, but if there were, they’d be packed tonight. She carefully climbed down the scaffolding with the other trial spectators, the air buzzing like downtown Nashville after a Titans football win. Sam had been swept away with the other winners, so she started the walk back to the palace alone.
She was nearly at their chamber door when a gentle tap on her shoulder made her turn.
It was Queen Thema.
“Asmodeus is taking me to Gaia in a few hours so I can go through one of my Aurelian portals,” she said. “I wanted to say goodbye.”
“Right. I nearly forgot.” A pang of grief caught Selene off guard. She hadn’t seen much of Thema during her visit, but knowing she was nearby had been reassuring. It was also nice to not be the only non-demon in the realm. Selene reached out to hug her tight.
“I’m going to miss you,” Selene said against her shoulder. “Did you enjoy your visit?”
Thema pulled back. “I did, but… ” Her words faded into a bittersweet smile.
“But what?”
“I miss the person my sister used to be. She is still herself in many ways, but Lamia has been hardened by demonhood.Lilithwas more compassionate. Charitable.”
Selene nodded, secretly grateful that it wasn’t just her who found Lamia hard to deal with.
Thema waved a hand as if brushing the thought away. “No matter. It’s still a comfort to know she’s alive and happy. And with your help, we can keep visiting! When will you and Sam be coming home?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe in another month? Sam has… a few things to sort out here.”
“Then I’ll see you soon,” Thema said. She patted Selene’s cheek. “Goodbye.”
The next morning, Selene woke up determined to find something to help Sam crown the Dark Sovereign. After Sam walked her to the kennels and left to do whatever he did all day, Selene took off running toward the library with Zetta at her side. If they only had five days before the next trial, she couldn’t waste a second.
Once inside the library, Selene surveyed the space, strategizing where to start. Anything about the Dark Sovereign would be buried in the oldest texts, the kind of volumes that hadn’t been touched in centuries. That’s where she’d begin. She grabbed a precarious stack of crumbling books she’d been putting off dealing with for weeks. Balancing them against her chest, she made her way to a dusty corner table and began her search.
It was slow, tedious work. She took care not to damage the brittle, yellowed pages of each book she skimmed, though a few stillcrumbled into dust between her fingers. Most were written in Old English, filled with words she didn’t recognize or using a dialect now lost to time. She had to guess at meanings, piecing together sentences like a crumbling puzzle.
Her heart jumped when she spotted a minor reference to Baphomet in a battered book about the Knights Templar, but it didn’t give her any useful information. A little later, she thought she was onto something when she spotted a few cryptic sentences about the Thronefall Flame, until she realized it was a reference book about astronomy.
As she continued to pore through the old books, the musty scent of aging paper filled the air more than usual. Motes of dust floated through shafts of dim, slanted light filtering through the high, grimy windows.
She had been working for several hours when she leaned back to rub her eyes. She blinked up at the ceiling, then let her gaze fall to the rows of sagging shelves and piles of books on the floor. The hopeful optimism she’d entered the library with had turned into complete overwhelm.
She was starting to second-guess her hunch that something about the Dark Sovereign could be found here. Why hadn’t she started with a more traditional place for storing records like the Halls of Demonic Canon or the Chapel of Mourning?
She blew out a breath. The thought of watching Sam compete in another pointless trial made her feel sick. Their plan had once struck her as inspired. Now, it just felt impossibly naïve.
She absently ran her fingers up and down the cord of the traveler’s stone, reflecting on how life in this realm was nothing like she had expected. Or like Sam had hoped. She was friendless and lonely; Sam was burdened and overworked. She couldn’t wait for the day when they could finally settle into a normal routine. She lingered in daydreams of planting a garden behind their house in Snowmelt and of Brunie patiently teaching her how to bake.
Then she sighed and chastised herself for wasting time.
