Chapter Seven
Nina
Ihad arrived in a cavernous space, sweating so much that I almost regretted not changing out of my skirt and waistcoat earlier.
I stood on a walkway made of inky-black stone, not too dissimilar to the obsidian walls in the palace of Temptation.
A giant arch, made of a material that matched the stone beneath my feet, stood at the end of the walkway.
At the centre of the vast chamber was a column of fire that soared into a black and crimson sky streaked with stars.
The flames didn’t burn like any I’d seen before; they shone red, white and gold, and crystal embers spewed out but vanished on impact with the ground.
As I neared it, I felt an unusual tingling pass over my body.
My ears pricked up at the sound of someone hurling insults. The coarse voice sounded familiar. I spun around and saw a figure emerge from one of the walkways, stumbling under a bone arch. I would have recognised him anywhere, a soft face in a wicked world.
“Dominik?” I moved towards him, but his expression stopped me short. There was no joy in his face, only confusion and shock. “Either I’ve finally lost it, or you’re real. And honestly, both options suck.”
His eyes widened. “Nina?”
I stopped a foot in front of him, looking up into my friend’s kind eyes. What a stark contrast to the fiery cavern around us.
“It’s really you,” he said, his voice strained as if the words were a struggle. “But how?”
“The pyre collapsed and . . . I died. I ended up here.” My anger bubbled at the memory of flames dragging me into Hell. “Did you get caught in the fire too?”
“I—” He faltered, raking a hand through his hair, gaze darting around the hall as if searching for an answer. “The Cunning Folk told me what awaited me.”
“The Cunning Folk?” I frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“They knew more than they ever admitted. I think they always knew where the lost ones would end up.”
“So every disappearance back home . . . every tragedy . . . they were all killed and brought here?”
“I think so,” he said carefully. “And I don’t think they ever tried to stop it.”
My entire life, every warning, charm, and ritual had been a lie. They hadn’t protected us at all.
“There’s nothing we can do now except face what’s ahead.”
I steadied my breath. “You mean The Cycle?”
He nodded. “What do you know about it?”
“Not much,” I said with a shrug. “The demons want us to play their game, but it’s not that simple. Make the wrong move and we could come to a worse fate than death.”
“Yeah, I got that impression when my demon said if I disappoint him, he’d annihilate me.”
I snapped my gaze to him.
Dominik looked the same as he had the night of the pyre, brown hair falling over his forehead. Which was only a few hours ago, wasn’t it? He still wore the olive tunic I’d come to see him wear often, same scuffed boots. It was like nothing had changed, though everything had.
Would it have been easier to be here alone or with him? I wouldn’t have chosen either option, but a selfish part of me was relieved to see his face.
“We must do everything we can to survive.” His eyes darted about the cavern.
“Hard to do that when a Letheling nearly eats you.” The graveyard came back to me in flashes. Statues frozen in terror. Shards of red glass glinting in the light.
“A Letheling? What in the—”
“It’s a pretty terrifying creature birthed in Hell – and souls happen to be its favourite snack,” I said matter-of-factly.
“And you fought this thing and survived?”
“I wouldn’t say I fought it . . . but yeah, I managed to survive and tell the tale.”
“Then you’ll make it out of The Cycle alive.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to face more creatures, tricks, or wicked souls, Dominik.”
“Neither do I. That’s why you might want to think about bargaining with a demon. Once you’ve aligned with one of them, The Cycle will be over for you. That’s what the Demon of Chaos told me at least.”
“Why would you bargain with them at all? That doesn’t sound like the smartest idea.”
“Once you’re bound to a demon, you’ll get a free ticket out of The Cycle, and you can start eternity in the afterlife.”
I blinked.
“Alexei is a talker,” he said. “Where did you . . . end up?”
“Temptation.”
He was staring at me, puzzled.
“I just want to know if we can get home—”
“Don’t get your hopes up,” Dominik cut in. “We don’t know what’s possible. We’re dead.”
“Trust me, I know.” My chest tightened. “I get that loud and clear.”
He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “We can’t trust the demons. But you can trust me. I don’t want to be here any more than you do. So let’s help each other.”
I paused, studying his face. He seemed older somehow, yet the spark of defiance still burned beneath his kind eyes. And suddenly, I couldn't ignore the reality that lay between us: if only one Champion could win, what would that make me? The damned or the damning?
“Do you think this can end well for us?” I asked quietly.
“I had a chance to talk to some of the bound souls in Chaos. They mentioned loopholes . . . Maybe we can bend the rules. Play the demons at their own game.”
Hope lifted in my chest like the first spark of fire. Not much, but enough to keep me moving. “If I can help you, I will. And if we both survive, we can figure this out together.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” His gaze flicked to the bone archway he’d come stumbling out of just minutes before. “I’ve just made it through the Domain of Fear. A word of advice: don’t let him get the better of you. Don’t let your nightmares win.”
Butterflies churned in my gut at what lay ahead. “I don’t think I can go through with this.” The words slipped out, and I wondered how scared I must look to him.
Dominik gave me a small smile. “You might not be the strongest or the fastest, but you’re brave, Nina. Don’t forget it.”
A shaky laugh escaped me.
“And when you complete that bastard’s domain, see what you can learn in Temptation. You’re good at slipping through cracks. You’ll find something worth knowing.”
The corner of my mouth twitched. “Is that meant to make me feel better?”
He shrugged. “Did it work?”
“Not even close.”
He laughed softly. “You can do it.” He squeezed my arm, grounding me.
“When you need a safe place, come to the Heart of Hell. Alexei said he never leaves his domain because this is a neutral zone. They can’t use their magic here, even if they wanted to.
So, if you find any information in Temptation, wait for me here. ”
I nodded. “Where will you go now?” I asked, not wanting him to leave.
“Back to Chaos.” He offered a faint smile before stepping away.
“Do you have to?” I called after him.
“I don’t think we have much control over our lives anymore.”
Dominik strolled under an archway of twisted trees. He glanced back with a smile, and I almost forgot we were in Hell for a second.
Something rippled at the end of the walkway, shimmering as delicately as a cobweb. It reminded me of a veil flowing on water. When Dominik reached it, he stepped through and disappeared.
My hammering heart was louder than the roaring furnace in the centre of the Heart of Hell. I sucked in a breath, my eyes scanning the archways that loomed like gaping mouths.
At the end of each walkway was that same rippling veil.
Leander had said there were six. So why seven archways? One for each demon . . . and one unclaimed?
One stood out from the rest because it was in ruin.
A blackened bridge stretched past a crumbling archway but ended abruptly, as if a meteor had crashed through its centre.
The remaining halves of the walkway seemed to defy gravity, protruding like broken bones reaching towards one another but unable to touch.
There was no way to cross without falling into the depths of Hell.
A flicker of movement caught my eye further down the broken path.
A rising plume of smoke spread as thick and tall as a man.
I squinted and could have sworn the smoke had two golden eyes.
It was only visible for a moment and gone the next.
The smoke receded and disappeared into the depths of the abyss.
I held my breath, waiting for it to reappear, but it never came.
When the pyre had exploded on Firstfire, I’d seen eyes just like those. Was something watching me?
A cold dread settled over me.
The invisible tug returned, the same feeling I had when I first received the summons from the Domain of Fear. It jerked me forward, and I stepped towards the archway made of bone. I couldn’t fight it. I was being called to participate, whether I wanted to or not.
I was the Champion of Temptation and had no choice but to submit.
I blinked and took a breath before I passed beneath the arch. I couldn’t shake the feeling that the monster with golden eyes was following me.
Probably waiting for its moment to strike, like all the other wicked things in Hell.
My grip on the invitation in my pocket tightened as I approached the shimmering veil. I stepped over the threshold, letting the darkness wrap around me.