Ignoring the pain burning under my skin, I reached out and gently patted the brave one’s head. It flinched then darted away. The other followed.
Alone again.
I turned to the door. It had no knob. Just a latch and a massive black padlock.
Of course.
“Why the lock?” I muttered to myself, casting a glance back at where the hounds had vanished. “What’s so important you have to keep it sealed away?”
I stepped closer.
My hand hovered over the latch.
Whatever it was…it had to be better than starving.
The lock was massive—bigger than both my hands combined. But with a single tug, the entire latch splintered and rippled from the wood.
The door creaked like it hadn’t been opened in centuries.
I peeked inside the crack.
Darkness. Of course. Everything in Hell was dark.
But something about this room felt…wrong.
A dull green glow pulsed from somewhere inside. Like the slow heartbeat of something buried alive. I stepped in, just a few paces, and instantly regretted it.
Dread swallowed me whole. It wasn’t cold, but chills erupted across my skin like I’d stepped into someone else’s nightmare.
I turned. The hellhounds stood at the threshold, watching—but not entering. They didn’t want to be here. If those two wouldn’t step foot inside…I shouldn’t be here either.
Panic jolted me, and I rushed back to the door.
It slammed shut in my face.
I flinched, heart lurching. “Seriously?”
The hounds had led me into... what?
Of course they wouldn’t help me. Why would they?
I knew better. But a woman could hardly think straight when her insides were twisting themselves into knots.
Another wave of pain tore through me, sharper this time. I collapsed to my knees, gasping.
My ribs felt like they were caving inward, folding and grinding, trying to crush my stomach from the outside in. I screamed and clutched my abdomen, but the pain only intensified. It wasn’t just hunger anymore. It was a curse becoming something…else.
Then I felt it.
Something was in the room with me.
My neck tingled. Every fine hair stood upright.
Even as I trembled from pain, I wasn’t alone.
The hellhounds refused to come in.
Which meant whatever was with me…wasn’t something even they could handle.
