Chapter 31
STELLA
I wasn’t in Hell any more. I couldn’t be, because I wasn’t cold. What a strange contradiction that was. Everyone though Hell was hot, and here I was, grateful to be warm once more.
Warm. Comfortable. I laid in a bed, covered with fluffy blankets. I opened my eyes, recognizing my bed in the Fringe, and I smiled to myself. When I rolled over, Damien was laying on his side, dark waves an absolute mess as he watched me.
‘I told you I’d save you.’
The curtains surrounding my bed fluttered in the breeze, and I trailed my gaze over Damien’s strong chest.
I never doubted it, I wanted to say, but the words were stuck. Then the lights were turning on and I wasn’t in my bedroom at all, but still in the awful room in Hell.
Silas loomed over me as I scrubbed my eyes, trying to convince myself that Damien had only been a dream. He tossed a bundle of black at me. ‘Get dressed.’
I glared up at him. ‘I am dressed.’
He leered down at me. ‘Not appropriately for where we’re going. Get dressed, or I’ll do it for you.’
‘I’m fine, thanks.’ I snatched up the dark pile, which absolutely did not feel like enough clothing.
‘Next time, then.’ Silas grinned at me and left the room like he was just biding his time. Which, maybe he was.
Everyone’s expressions bothered me down here: Clarissa’s, the woman who sporadically brought me meals, Silas.
Not because of how fake everyone seemed to be either, but the opposite.
They didn’t bother hiding their true feelings here.
Everything they thought or felt was written across their face as plain as day.
And why should they hide it? They were already in Hell. Not like it could get any worse.
Regardless, it was unnerving to see people’s innermost thoughts and feelings on display. Fear, longing, hatred, envy, it was all there for anyone to see.
As Silas closed the door, I held up the scrap of black fabric.
A lace dress, like the ones I used to wear when I was young and fun and frequented nightclubs.
Only this one was missing the lining, sheer, leaving little to nothing to the imagination.
I sighed. I doubted I had much say in the matter.
Besides, Damien asked me not to make too much of a scene.
And if Clarissa had her way, I wouldn’t care for very much longer.
I stripped off the basic pants and shirt I’d been wearing, sliding the thin lace over my body with a shiver. The lace definitely didn’t help with the chill in here.
Fuck. I looked down at myself, tugging the hem down on my thighs the best I could, but there was no way to make more fabric. ‘I hope you know what you’re doing, Damien,’ I muttered darkly, running my hands through my hair. Least they could’ve done was offer me a brush.
Damien wouldn’t leave me here to rot. I knew that as much as I knew the sky was blue, and Tuesday came after Monday. He’d get us both out of here.
I thought back to the way his eyes flashed in the dim light of my room.
I couldn’t explain it, could barely understand it, but something in him was desperate to keep me safe.
For the first time, I wondered if I underestimated the depth of his feelings.
It felt like I was merely scratching the surface of something I had no true knowledge of.
Then Silas was there again, not bothering knocking, nor concealing the lustful gaze he raked over my barely clothed body. He let out a low whistle. ‘I’m not one for messing around with humans, but I gotta say, there might be something to Damien’s thought process here.’
‘You’re a pig.’ I crossed my arms in front of my body, but it provided little coverage.
‘Now, now. Don’t be cruel.’ He pulled a fake pout, but his gaze simmered with an unspoken annoyance. ‘Clarissa promised me I could play with you, and if you’re mean to me, it’ll only hurt my feelings and then who knows what I’ll do.’
I sneered at him. He stared back. Don’t make a scene. Don’t make a scene. Surely, Damien would forgive this one instance of disobedience.
A slow smile spread across Silas’s face, exposing sharper and sharper teeth. ‘What will it be, princess?’
I balled my hands into fists. I was out of my league here, and he knew it. Damien was right; I needed to at least pretend to play nice until I understood more.
‘I’m sorry,’ I gritted out.
‘What a good girl,’ he crooned. ‘I’ll be sure to tell all my friends at Wrath how sweet you are. You’ll be so popular there. We don’t normally get people with a soul down here; normally, your man takes care of that for us ahead of time.’
He reached for my elbow and on instinct, I recoiled.
‘What is Wrath?’
‘Only the most exclusive place down here. Clarissa requested your presence. You’re lucky, really.’
‘Lucky. Sure.’ You’d better know what you’re doing, Damien. ‘I’m going to guess I don’t have a choice in this little excursion.’
‘Correct.’
I hated his smile.
‘But you do have a choice in how painful it is for you. Good girls get rewarded.’
Gag. On the other hand, rewarded might mean more freedom, which might mean figuring out a way out of here.
This time, when Silas reached for my arm, I let him grab me.
He pulled me out of my room into a dark hallway, where dark-gray walls lined a mahogany floor.
One hall led into the next, all of them lit by flicking candles in rusty sconces.
I tried to keep track of the path Silas took, but the halls were disorienting and all blended into one another.
Without Clarissa, Silas was chatty.
‘Why does Clarissa even want me there?’ I tested the waters after five minutes of listening to him rant about someone named Rory. I couldn’t figure out if Rory was a human, a demon, or a pet.
‘Oh, princess, didn’t Damien tell you?’ He tsked, tightening his grip on my elbow. ‘I guess I should’ve expected it from a surface dweller.’
‘Tell me what?’ I prompted, not wanting him to get off track with another story about Rory.
‘Well, Clarissa’s been looking for a way to punish Damien for ages, and imagine her surprise when you fell right into her lap! Obviously, she’s not going to just hide you away. She wants you on display, showing everyone she finally got one up on Damien. Wrath is the perfect place to show you off.’
I glanced down at my short dress. I didn’t want to dwell on what show you off meant in this context. I could imagine. ‘Why does Clarissa hate Damien so much?’
He shrugged. ‘Not sure. Rumor is that they once had a fling, and it ended poorly. You know how these things go.’
No. No, I absolutely didn’t. Clarissa and Damien, together? The need to gag was back. If Damien had once been with Clarissa, what did he see in me?
I didn’t ask any more questions after that, because apparently, I wasn’t prepared for Silas’s brutal honesty.
It didn’t matter anyway, because he was leading us toward a massive set of carved black double doors.
A red neon sign hung over them, announcing Wrath.
Well. Who would’ve thought there would be a bar in Hell?
‘In we go!’ Silas announced, pushing open the door and all but shoving me inside.
I stumbled across the threshold, righting myself before I fell flat on my face. Breathing deeply, I pushed my hair out of my face to take in my first sights of Wrath.
What I saw had me holding back a gasp, because showing my shock would do me absolutely no good.
Clarissa wanted me to be off my game. But Wrath was something far beyond anything I could imagine.
Tall tables tucked away in dark corners, demons of every sort mingling, some more so than others.
Some looked like Damien, human, only more.
Some looked like Silas, with dangerous teeth and claws.
Some weren’t bothering to hide anything.
Full sets of deep maroon wings sprung from broad shoulders, tails snaking along the ground.
Damien might have been disgusted when I asked him why he didn’t look like the stereotypical devil, but these demons embraced it.
A couple – one human-looking woman, and a demon with wings but no tail – were tangled in each other, kissing deeply.
The demon’s hand disappeared under her dress, and she moaned loudly, not caring who heard.
It was so intimate, I had to look away. Next to them, a man who could only be human sat amongst a table of demons, who laughed, clinking their drinks together.
His eyes locked onto mine, completely vacant.
Whoever he’d been before, he was no longer.
He was nothing but a shell, left for their entertainment.
Would that be me, once Clarissa had her way? A husk?
Except Clarissa didn’t want to just steal my soul; she wanted to destroy it. Maybe there’d be nothing left of me to even entertain with.
When I finally caught my breath, Silas placed a heavy hand on my shoulder. ‘Welcome to Wrath. Isn’t it incredible?’
‘That’s one word for it.’
‘Come on. Clarissa’s waiting.’ He pulled me forward by my shoulder, dragging me through the dimly lit room.
Demons everywhere stopped what they were doing to stare at me as we passed, some openly gaping.
They dropped people they held in their arms, whispering Damien’s name, or even shouted obscenities.
Silas greeted several people as we made our way to the back, where a raised platform held a table. Clarissa looked over everyone in an ornate chair, bored out of her mind.
‘Is that her?’ The demon Silas was currently speaking to didn’t bother concealing his curiosity.
I showed him my teeth, while Silas squeezed my arm, continuing to speak for me. ‘Yes, can you believe it? How many years has Damien acted like he’s better than the rest of us, only to stoop so low with her?’
The demon leaned in, fingering a lock of my hair with a sharp claw. ‘What does Clarissa have planned for her?’
‘Oh, you know Clarissa. Always keeping things close to her chest.’ Silas leaned in with a wink. ‘But I heard from a very reliable source, a select few will get a chance for some alone time with her.’
Now I was here, in the den of Wrath, surrounded by the moans of passion and pain, I couldn’t block out the ‘alone time’ he spoke of. Damien wouldn’t let that happen. I recoiled, pulling my hair from his grasp with a swat of my hand. ‘Don’t touch me,’ I snapped.
Silas snarled at me. ‘What did I tell you about behaving?’
I frowned. ‘I want to see Damien.’
‘Damien isn’t allowed in here.’ He looked over to his friend and they shared a look.
‘Why not?’
‘Excuse me a moment.’ Silas dragged me away from his friend. ‘I fucking told you to behave, and that you’d be rewarded, so why are you being such a fucking brat?’
My mouth dropped open. ‘I’m being a brat? You dragged me to Hell, and you have the audacity to call me a brat?’ Definitely was failing at the whole don’t cause a scene thing.
He dragged his palm over his face. ‘I’m beginning to doubt you’re worth the trouble.’
‘You and me both,’ I grumbled. Where was Damien? He should’ve been here by now. He said all I had to do was ask for him. My false sense of confidence was crumbling with every second I stayed here, surrounded by depravity.
Silas tugged me toward Clarissa’s stage. ‘Come on. We’ll let the boss see you and then we can go have our fun.’ His slick grin made me sick.
I tried to pull out of his grasp, but he held tightly.
As I twisted and turned in his grip, I did my best to take stock of the room.
Dark hallways stretched endlessly in between shady booths, some draped with maroon curtains concealing what lay behind them.
Probably dead ends, or more things I didn’t want to see.
But they also might give me a bit of time.
Silas didn’t bother warning me about the step, and I grunted as I caught myself from falling on my face once more.
‘Ah, Stella. How wonderful of you to join us. I’m sure you’re loving Wrath.’ Clarissa leaned forward in her chair, unsmiling.
‘It’s definitely something.’ Anxiety bubbled in the pit of my stomach, a reminder that I was running out of time.
‘Yes, we’re quite proud of it. A place for us to be ourselves without influence.’ She leaned back in the tall velvet chair, drumming her nails on the armrest, finally smiling. ‘If only Damien could see his perfect treasure now, on display for our pleasure.’
‘You’re disgusting. All of you,’ I snapped, summoning every ounce of mental strength I still had, finally tugging my way out of Silas’s grip.
Clarissa sat up tall, tossing her pale hair behind her back.
‘Let’s get one thing straight, little girl.
You’re here to make a statement. So you’ll shut up, look pretty, and make a fucking statement.
And maybe then, when you’re crying and begging for mercy while I’m crushing your soul between my hands, maybe then Damien will finally repent. ’
‘He would never,’ I hissed.
Clarissa’s gaze shuttered. ‘Maybe not. But I’ll enjoy it either way. Because even if he doesn’t, I’ll still have won.’ She looked to Silas. ‘Go ahead and do what you will with her. Just keep her face somewhat presentable. It’s the one thing she’s got going for her.’
‘No!’ I stumbled back, jumping down the small bank of stairs and darting over to one of the curtain-covered hallways I’d seen.
Silas was close behind, quick, but I had the element of surprise.
As I neared the hallway, I tugged a loaded table over, the glassware shattering on the floor, the demons who’d been sat there hissing at me.
It gave me the extra five seconds I needed to dart into the hallway.
Except once the curtain fell, the hallway was pitch-black, not a single speck of light to be found.
‘Shit.’ Silas was behind me, screaming obscenities, and I knew the only way was forward. I pressed my hands out, trying to find a wall to cling to.
Instead of a wall, I found myself falling forward, someone tugging my arm, pulling me deeper past another curtain. Before I could scream, a hand slapped over my mouth.
‘Make one sound and we’re both dead.’