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A small box with a black ribbon sat next to the glass vase. My lips pursed as I pulled on the silky material to release the bow and lifted the lid, revealing a slip of paper folded into a square. I unfurled it and read the neat black handwriting.
Found you.
The silver bullet nestled within tissue paper gleamed in the sunlight cascading through the sheer curtains on my window.
Ice trickled down every vertebra, and my pulse doubled as the realization sank in. The demon shifter had been in my room.
Did he touch anything? Did he take anything?
My breath quickened as I tiptoed toward my closet and yanked it open, sending the few clothes I owned—mostly black—flying on the hangers. The jerk probably couldn’t even fit in the small space. He certainly wouldn’t be able to squeeze beneath my bed.
But the bathroom…
My fingers curled around the knob before I whipped the door open. Empty.
Tingles crawled over my skin at the thought of that beast in my room, among my things. He warned me that he could find me again. And he was so cocky he gave me a silver bullet. Did he really not think me capable of ending his life?
“You’re a popular girl today.” Roxie flounced into my room, eyeing the bouquet of tulips and the box in my hand. “What’s the gift?” Her neon green workout shorts and sports bra barely covered anything.
“Nothing.” I marched to my dresser and shoved the silver bullet, note, and box into my top drawer. “What do you want? I’m kind of busy.” I came here to get my shit together for my first assignment, which happened to be in the Underworld.
The fact that I was leaving Earth to go to the demon realm alone had not fully set in yet.
Roxie plopped on my bed and leaned back on her hands, smiling as if I hadn’t caught her screwing the guy I liked. “Just wanted to see what you were up to.”
I slammed my drawer shut and glared at her. “Are you really going to pretend like last night didn’t happen? That you didn’t fuck Hawk after pushing me to go for him?”
Roxie groaned and planted her black sneakers on the ground. “That was the Rapture. I had no control over my own actions. I swear. I never would have done that on purpose.”
She was worse than Hawk.
“But you had control over whether you took that shit. And you had control over convincing Hawk to do it with you.” The memory of the two of them together bombarded my mind, working my gag reflexes into a frenzy. “Youchoseto do those things, Roxie.” I stormed to my closet and yanked out a duffel bag already full of a few essentials. As a foster kid, I’d developed a habit of being prepared to run at any moment.
“I’m sorry, okay?” She flicked her hair over her shoulder and didn’t even bother to hide her eye roll. “I shouldn’t have done it. I totally regret it, and I feel really bad about it, Tate. I swear.”
“That’s great, Rox. I’m glad you feel bad about it.” I should have known better than to trust her. Hawk was one thing, but Roxie had been so persistent when she arrived that I eventually cracked. Maybe she only wanted to be my friend to get close to Hawk. “I have to go. I have an assignment.”
Her brows furrowed as she stood. “Hawk didn’t say anything when I saw him earlier. Aren’t you two partners?”
I threw the bag over my shoulder, suddenly thankful to get the hell out of this place without either one of them, even if it was to slip into the Underworld. “Not this time.”
* * *
Demons meanderedthrough the cobbled streets, passing me without a second glance. The runes a powerful faerie with ties to the ravens drew on me—now invisible—would mask my human and raven energy. My faux leather pants, black boots, bralette, and sheer shirt matched the current fashion for most of the other citizens in Vlehull. Even my bright locks hanging out of the hood on the ripped jacket helped me blend in. The only things missing were the tattoos and piercings.
I slipped by two demons arguing on the street near a light pole that spilled an eerie crimson glow over the bland grayness of everything. None of the stone buildings that rose high in the ebony sky appeared particularly stable, leaning precariously or consisting of odd geometrical shapes like the set of a gothic Tim Burton movie. Most of the structures shouldn’t have been able to stand, but magic existed in the Underworld. Anything was possible.
A large dux demon stomped by, a pair of colorful horns curling out of his forehead. His lime green eyes flitted right over me without acknowledging my existence, much less my human essence.
This was why Captain Coltrane wanted me for the job. Even without the fae runes, the demons probably wouldn’t have noticed me yet.
An intense, briny odor drifted through the air, and smoke plumed from a nearby metal cart where a demon with fluffy yellow hair and scales grilled meat for a line of customers trailing down the road. My stomach grew queasy. I didn’t want to imagine the kind of animal that had become those sizzling slabs. Hell, human parts could be cooking on that flattop.
Contrary to popular lore, the Underworld was not all fire and brimstone. Some regions did consist of fire and ash fields, but the realm also had cities, settlements, and even kingdoms. Families of royal demons reigned in some parts.
A dog barked, and a golden retriever bounded down the road toward the food cart. The grilling demon laughed and tossed a piece of meat to the furry animal, and when he opened his mouth, his jaws unlatched, revealing several rows of saliva-dripping teeth as he caught the morsel of food.
Nota golden retriever.
