Chapter Seven #2
My throat tightened—breaths coming in short rasps.
Tristan moved to the wardrobe and took out a pillowcase. Again, he was all shy smiles as he wrapped the ice for me.
“Who brought you directly to that ssscene of blood and horror?” Sabrina’s hisses slid into my ears, curdling my insides. “Who threatened you until you were forced to reveal your secret?”
Those beautiful, golden eyes filled mine as Tristan leaned over the mattress—trapping me between his body and arm—pressing the ice to my wound.
“Who now has the power to break the glamour and reveal your true identity to anyone, anywhere, and at any time he pleases?”
“I— I... uh...” My lips moved but nothing came out.
“And who now has you even more effectively trapped and at his mercy than your precious nestmate, Adora Hunter?” She rose high over his shoulder, meeting my wide gaze. “Consider, human, that you needn’t have found your nestmate’s captor.”
Tristan cupped the back of my neck—his large, powerful, ichor-stained hand encircling my bare, weak throat without strain. He tipped my head back, resting it against the ice, and propping the ice wrap on the headboard. Tristan didn’t move back or let go even though he could, and should have.
“Because he has already found you.”
CLASSES WERE CANCELED for the rest of the day.
Naturally, there wasn’t some big announcement.
I just had to wander the hall blindly for almost an hour until walking into empty room after empty lecture hall gave me the hint.
But far from being annoyed, I used the time to sort through my jumbled thoughts.
Sabrina had a point. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the easiest. From what she told me.
Tristan had bigger things than me to worry about, so why did he go out of his way to approach me?
Why did he protect me from that fae, beat up Kazuya and those guys, and pledge to have my back?
Why would he assume I was a homicidal witch just because I asked if he’d seen those guys around?
Was he just a gold medalist in jumping to conclusions, or did he purposely push me into revealing my true self? An act I fell for hook, line, and sinker.
I groaned, stopping dead in the middle of the hallway. With classes out, I was taking the chance to map out the school and orient myself. So far, I learned one thing about this place—it was horribly segregated.
So far, I came up on three massive doors.
One had the beautiful visage of a wolf carved into the wood.
And that wolf was the only thing that could be easily seen amid the locks, chains, and deadbolts keeping it shut tight.
Since werewolves were vampires’ only source of blood in hell, I did understand the precautions.
But what I didn’t understand was why when I knocked and asked if I could come in, a peephole slid open, the person took one look at my red eyes, and told me to fuck off back to the rest of my demon scum kind.
Very much shut down, I kept up my wandering and exited what I was calling the east wing, and made for the south wing. That is when I left hell... and found heaven.
“Beautiful,” I breathed, stepping out of the crimson-and-ebony-dipped hallway into a pearl-and-ivory-painted paradise.
Instead of skeletal hands holding weedy little dripping candles, the ivory holders on the walls carried huge, fiercely burning torches. Swirling damask wallpaper drew me in—literally. I drifted closer, running my fingers along the surface, and gasped.
If a cloud could properly be touched, I had no doubt that this is what it felt like. The pearl and ivory paper pressed back against me, enveloping my fingertips in tiny little hugs.
My feet carried me across the plush, cream carpet—bringing me out of the receiving room and further into the narrow hall.
Large, colorful portraits took up space on both sides, each of them displaying the captured image of stunningly gorgeous fae with magnificent wings, jeweled crowns, and haughty—bordering on unfriendly—expressions.
I slowed down beside one portrait in particular.
A handsome man with long, golden hair; brilliantly beautiful eyes; a frown dripping with distaste, and a pointed, upturned nose glared down at me, but that’s not what drew me.
What stopped me were the words King Ravenscar written in curlicue letters on the bottom frame.
I reached the double doors at the end of the hallway.
I didn’t need more of a clue that this was the fae wing, but I did need a clue on how to get in.
There were no chains on the door, but also no doorknobs or keyholes.
No single obvious way to get in. There also wasn’t a response when I knocked. Not even a shout for me to go away.
Leaving the south wing behind, I headed back out to the main room, and went past the part of the manor housing the demon’s mess hall. On that side of the mansion, all the lights disappeared.
No skeleton sconces, no torches, no wax-covered chandeliers. No, there was nothing to see by except...
I squinted—taking one step, then another into the pitch-black hallway.
Small, marble-sized dim lights floated through the corridor like fireflies.
“Wow,” I whispered, drifting closer. “What is that? They’re floating in pairs like lovebugs.” I reached out. “So pretty—”
“Ow,” a dry voice said.
“Ahhh!” Shrieking, I snapped my hand back—lurching away. Not lovebugs, they’re eyes! I whipped around, seeing the dozens upon dozens of pairs of moving, shifting, staring lights with new clarity. Vampires!
A slippery voice tickled my ear. “Are you lost, little demon?”
It was everything in me not to scream when cool, bloodless, unseen fingers brushed my cheek.
“Shall we show you the way home?”
“N-no, thank you,” I squeaked. I was booking it for the entrance before I finished my sentence. “So sorry to bother you, please enjoy the rest of your evening!”
Laughter followed me out of the northwest wing and into the light.
I didn’t stop running until I was back in front of the demon mess hall. Everywhere else I’d been I had hit closed doors, locks, and chains, but the doors to the vampire wing were wide open. What did it mean that they had zero problem letting their potential prey walk right through the front door?
“Human.” Sabrina tightened around my middle. “You requested I be silent and give you time to think. Knowing what an arduous task that is for you—”
I was really starting not to like this reptile.
“—I heeded your request, but are you at any point going to explain why you’re doing all this pointless running around?”
“It’s not pointless.” I rested my back on the cushioned wall. “I need to know what I’m up against, and now I know that they only let werewolves into the werewolf wing. They don’t even open the doors to the fae wing, and as for the vampire wing...” I shivered. “I’m assuming vampires don’t sleep?”
“They do not.”
“Of course not,” I muttered, “so if I go bursting in there with my torch to look around, I’ll be seen by everyone.
” I released a long breath. “He was right about this being the perfect place to hide her. There are just too many blocked-off places where most aren’t allowed to go.
It’s not possible for me to move around this place unseen. ”
“Good. You begin to understand the futility of your task.” Sabrina had the nerve to sound proud of me. “I assume this means you will now give up and surrender your soul unto my lord.”
“You assume incorrectly,” I snapped. “I can’t run around this place freely... but you can.” I winced. “Without the running—naturally.”
“Me? What are you talking about?”
“You can search this place for me, Sabrina. You can go to all the places I can’t go, and you can find my sister,” I said.
“And because you leave scent trails—unlike myself—you can mark off every nook and cranny in this maze of a place without getting lost or re-treading the same ground. You are the one who can find Dora.”
She popped out from under my shirt to look me in the face.
“You used this time to think of an idea that isn’t completely stupid.
I would applaud you, but at this point, you have been seen and overheard talking to me numerous times and by many people.
If your nestmate’s captor knows of you, then they most certainly know of me. ”
I tipped my head. “I know. I realize that, but it’s all we got right now. I can’t get into half of this place, but you can. And that’s a start.”
It was impossible to read a single emotion on her face. “You must know that not even I will be of much help to you in the vampire’s territory. Snakes find their prey in the darkness through body heat. Vampires give off none.”
“Hmmm. That is a problem, but we’ll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it,” I said. “The first thing to do is check out Tristan. Honestly, I... don’t think he’s deceiving me. I think he’s exactly what he appears to be. A friend.”
“A... friend?” Sabrina rose higher, leveling her eyes with mine. “What is this word? What does it mean?”
I laughed. “Are you kidding?”
She waited me out, staring until my smile dimmed.
“Wait, seriously? Are you really asking me what the word friend means?”
“Is it a human word?”
“Well— I— Yeah,” I burst out. “A friend is... a friend! They’re someone you like. Someone you trust. You spend time with them, confide in them, enjoy their company,” I rattled off to a face that showed zero understanding. “Come on, Sabrina. Do you really not have friends in hell?”
“If a friend,” she replied, “involves all of that silly, boring, ridiculous stuff you just said, then no. Such a pointless thing does not exist here.”
I gaped at her, truly stunned for the first time since I arrived in this nightmare.
The denizens of hell lived like this every single day of their afterlife, and they didn’t even have friends to get through it.
“What... about love?” I whispered. “Do demons have love at least? For their parents? For their children? For their romantic partners?”