It’s more intense than I’ve ever felt.
My hand pushes across a metal door knob. Nerves buzz all through my body.
The door swings open under my touch, and there, standing in the corner, is Nollix Forester. There’s no godly glow around his image. Smooth skin and a tilted smile make up the man before me. I can’t explain it, but I just know.
He’s really here.
My gaze sweeps back and forth across the room. A shining desk sits in the far corner. The stack of papers my father was working on last night are toppled over and muddy.
The mud caking Nollix’s dark boots catches my attention.
The high ceilings are smooth, dark, and entirely ordinary.
“How did you get here?” The door pushes closed behind me, and I turn the lock firmly in place. I lean there against the warm door for several moments, just admiring the sharp details of his gorgeous features. My heart is in my throat. My mind reels to find some sort of answer.
I can’t help but remember how his lips felt against mine. Tingling and warm. Soft and caressing, so gentle, it made me ache for more.
Stalking steps bring him an inch from me. His gaze darts to my eyes before he finally wraps his arms around me and pulls me tight against his body. Nollix ishuggingme? The light touch against my back digs in, and he holds me closer yet. The smooth feel of his hands on my body causes a twirling effect within my core.
After several stunned seconds, I’m able to relax and return the hug as I bury my face in his neck.
His head tilts against mine, his words rustling against my hair. “That spot just above your father’s desk is a veiled entrance. It’s an exit of sorts, too, but it’ll be hell to climb out of.”
“How did you—where are we?” I pull away to look up at him, confusion puckering my lips.
The way he smiles isn’t comforting. It’s a manic smile that makes me wonder how stable his mind really is.
“It’s funny you should ask that.” His thumb brushes over my lower lip as his palm cups my jaw. “We’re just below the bell tower. I’d say we’re a few miles beneath the Earth’s surface, but a part of my soul was able to come here, and Carver’s couldn’t. So...”
My eyes widen slightly as I put it all together.
Nollix is half Demon.
“You think we’re in theunderworld?”
He nods slowly. Not saying it, but also not refuting it. I guess, in a way, Nollix belongs here, and this place accepted that part of him as if it owned him all along.
My father is vacationing in the underworld. Is this where he’s collecting his souls? Just interfering before they meet their end destination?
“Carver’s waiting at the top for us. He’s going to drop a rope as soon as he can get one. If you let me help you, I think we could climb out. We’d have to be careful though.”
My brows crease as I stare up at this beautiful man. So many days, I’ve been wishing to be anywhere else but here. I’ve lain in bed staring at the ceiling, hoping my knight in shining armor would rescue me from my cruel life. But running away... isn’t going to make this better.
That resolute feeling that I’d shoved aside for a while nudges its way forward again.
“I didn’t come here to be saved, Nollix. I might be a littleunstable,” that’s the understatement of the year, “I might be a little lost, but I think I know why I’m here. I’m here to make a difference. I’m here to find out how much damage my father’s done and how to reverse it.” A pause shakes through my thoughts. “I’m here to kill him once and for all.”
His eyes close slowly before he takes a step back. A couple of feet of polished iron floors separate him from me now. Quietly, he walks the span of the room. He stands between my father’s desk and a gray cushioned couch.
“We can end this from the surface. There’s absolutely no reason to start a war in the underworld, Vi.” His palms push against his hips as he studies me from across the room.
I shake my head. “If I leave, he’ll leave. The man took up residence in the underworld. If I go, I’ll never find him again. Not until it’s too late.”
A spasm shakes through his jaw before he pushes his hands down his face.
“Do you even know what he’s doing here?” He sinks down onto the couch, his legs spread wide. His features sag, his normal warm tone something sicklier now.
But that doesn’t make me go any easier on him. I have to do this. For our court but mostly for myself.
