I stared breathlessly.
The curse was relentless. Normally, I only needed a quick bite—something to carry me over. Slim Jims were perfect for that, which was why I always kept some stashed. But this? This was excessive. This was…him.
He’d never admit it, of course. The Dark One would probably scoff at the idea offeedingme like some doting host. But I didn’t believe for a second this was Hell’s automated hospitality.
The only beings I’d encountered here were the Devil himself, the hellhounds, and twisted little creature he snapped in half like a breadstick.
No one else had access to me. Which meant this feast was his doing.
Why?
I chewed mechanically, trying to focus, but my thoughts whiplashed between everything he said and everything he’d done. His words and actions never matched. He’d called me disgusting, unbearable—and then carried me like glass, fed me like I mattered.
He hated my face.
And yet I’d awakened with his tail wrapped around me like a protective cocoon.
What the hell did he want?
A low rumble thundered through the room, vibrating the floor beneath my chair. I froze mid-bite, roll halfway to my mouth.
What was that?
I glanced toward the dark hallway beyond the door. Another rumble—closer this time. It didn’t sound like an earthquake. It sounded…deliberate.
Alive.
Something was moving.
I crammed the rest of the roll into my mouth and bolted toward the door without a second thought. Whatever wascoming, I wasn’t going to get caught off guard sitting at a table full of carbs.
The second I stepped into the hallway, shadows swallowed me.
Hell was quiet. Too quiet, most of the time. I hadn’t realized how eerie the silence was until something broke it.
A small thrill of hope sparked in my chest. Had someone broken into the Devil’s domain? Was that why he left again?
A smile tugged at my lips as I ran—toward the noise, toward the unknown.
But I stopped abruptly, feet skidding on the slick stone floor.
Wait.
The Devil said Harvest had been trying to breach his domain too—not just my family.
The smile fell from my face as a cold ripple of unease crept up my spine.
What if it wasn’t a rescue coming?
What if it was something worse?
The worry left me the second I heard Sebastian yell, “Kitty!”
A blue glow lit the distance ahead. I ran toward it, relief bursting in my chest—until a thunderous roaring swallowed the path. It grew louder the closer I got. Just past the final corridor, I spotted my brother and another silhouette standing before a swirling, unstable portal.
Purple and black energy spiraled, drawn inward, then flickered—wobbling violently before fading completely for a heartbeat. The portal wasn’t stable. It wouldn’t last.
Sebastian hunkered down, his cloak flaring as a gust of wind slammed into us. My hair whipped across my face. The air sucked inward, loud and aggressive, like the whole of Hell was trying to eat itself.
