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Screams tore me from sleep,and my eyelids snapped open to concrete surroundings. An invisible hammer pounded against my skull, and aches ricocheted through my body. The rattling of metal pulled me from the haze clouding my thoughts.
Icicles shredded my veins as I tugged on the thick iron cuffs around my wrists, another pair encircling my ankles. Memories prodded my mind, nightmares trying to drag me under. I swallowed back the bile as the concrete cell came into focus, my arms and legs bound with heavy chains connected to one wall. Steel bars ran along the far side and dull gray bricks stretched out beyond that.
Where was Fane? Had he gone looking for me? Did he know Karn’s demons found me?
I was such an idiot. If I’d just stayed with the demon shifter and confronted the ravens, I wouldn’t be locked in a fucking cell.
Another wave of wails and shrieks resonated, and deep, chilling laughter followed. Cold air swirled around the cell, spreading goose bumps on my flesh. Blood, sweat, and fear hung heavily in the atmosphere.
Mykel had taken me to Karn’s territory in the Underworld. And from the look of things, this was as close to hell as possible.
Footsteps scraped against the concrete ground outside my cell and chains rattled. A dux demon with garnet horns poking from his raven hair shoved another figure bound in heavy manacles. As the guard angled in my direction, he gave an eerie smile that poured frost over me like I’d been dipped in an icy ocean.
The prisoner stumbled into the bars, revealing his dirty, bruised face. Barely any life remained in the fae’s magenta irises, leaving behind a hopeless void.
“Keep moving, faerie boy.” The demon yanked his prisoner off the bars and shoved him forward, his legs trembling so much I was surprised they could hold him up, much less walk.
Was that what my future held? Or would Karn just find a way to get the Infernal Sol out and then slaughter me?
No. I wouldnotdie in this hellhole. Maybe I deserved it, but I’d rather go out fighting than rotting in some cell or being torn apart by a psychotic demon lord.
I clamped my lids shut and pictured the demon shifter.“Fane! Fane! Can you hear me?”
No response or any spark of a presence registered. For the next few minutes, I tried to contact Fane through our mental link, but maybe we had to be in the same space to hear each other. I had no idea how to separate from my body, and even if I did, I didn’t know where to find him.
My skin prickled as a figure stepped into the dingy yellow light cast by a single bulb swaying in the hall. Blond hair curled around his sharp chin, and those blue eyes glowed like neon lights.
“You’re a hard one to find, Tatum Teague.” Karn’s voice, like silky darkness wrapped around jagged spikes, slinked through the shadows surrounding my cell. The way he said my name had alarms raging through my ears. Karn dragged his long finger over the bars, his nail scraping the metal.
I brought my knees up to my chest and curled my arms around them, trying to appear casual when I really wanted to start thrashing against the binds. “Well, here I am. What do you want?”
His laughter could make a grown man piss himself. “You know what I want, little girl.” The demon lord smoothed the lapel of his crimson blazer that matched his slacks. He looked like he’d been dipped in blood. “I want the Infernal Sol back.”
“Oh, that.” I shrugged. “I don’t know what happened to it. I lost it while running from the bull sub-demon. Maybe you should ask him.”
The wry smile tugging at Karn’s lips had my temperature plummeting. “Such a pretty mouth you have. Do you always fill it with lies?” He yanked the door open, and the eerie shriek of steel reverberated like a scream in a horror flick.
I scooted farther away until my back hit the brick wall. “I’m not lying. I don’t know what happened to the Infernal Sol.” Technically true. I had no idea what happened to the amulet—now that it had vanished inside me.
If he saw the tattoo below my ribs, would he know it was courtesy of the Infernal Sol?
“We’ll see how much you don’t know in just a moment.” A flash of metal appeared in his palm, but before I could defend myself—not that I had many options—he slammed a small dagger into my thigh.
My scream rebounded against the concrete walls, and pain erupted in my leg. I snarled at the demon lord who loomed over me, grinning. “What the hell!” Did he plan to brutally stab me until I either caved or bled to death?
His joy transformed into confusion, and Karn’s brow furrowed as he jerked the knife out, examining it, my blood dripping from the blade. “I don’t understand. This is pure silver. You should be writhing in pain.”
I covered the small wound with my palm. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
His head tilted. “You smell like a shifter. Fane Maverick’s essence and scent are all over you, so I assumed he turned you with a bite.” He reached forward, and I tensed as he used one long finger to brush the hair from my neck, revealing the tattoo. “Interesting.”
“You still stabbed me. Itdoeshurt.” Blood bloomed across my jeans, but the wound didn’t sear like hot acid had been poured over it, and severe weakness didn’t penetrate my muscles from the poisonous metal.
Maybe the silver blade didn’t affect me like it should because I hadn’t shifted yet. Or maybe it was because of Fane’s demon side.
Did silver affect him at all?
The cruel twist of Karn’s lips had my stomach clenching. “Don’t worry. I have plenty of devices at the ready to cause you immeasurable pain.” He stood, his shiny shoes gleaming even in the shadows of the cell as he walked to a wall and flipped a switch. “Get ready.”
