“So much for showing me to my room,” I mutter, looking around for the means by which to escape this security measure. Roman doesn’t say a word, and I wonder if he’s testing my abilities, the same as Carys was. Testing and finding me lacking.
Damnit.
This is not my world. I don’t understand the rules, so how the hell am I supposed to… That thought trails off as a strong memory bisects it. I might not have been born here, but I do know a few rules. I’ve been here long enough to learn a truth. The demon world, the prison, Roman, Koda, and basically every other demon entity I’ve met here so far, all have one thing in common: illusion.
Nothing here is as it seems. Which means this floor is probably an illusion as well, but how would that stop regular demons from getting into the Citadel? They would surely know about the illusions…
“Will the air hold me if I step out onto it?” I ask Roman. I don’t expect him to answer me, and I’m correct as he crosses his arms and gives me a challenging smile in response.
Testing my theory, I step one foot out and press it tentatively down—only to find myself toppling forward when there’s no resistance. Temple whines and almost leaps after me, but I manage to maintain my balance and step back onto solid ground before my wolves panic.
“What the fuck?” I mutter, shaking my head as I shuffle back. “I was sure it was an illusion.”
Roman leans closer to me, his voice a low whisper. “Until you use your demon power, you will never see the path.”
He told me, back in Vegas, that I had to embrace the demon side of myself, or I’d always be fighting a battle with half my weapons in play. After so many years of keeping my darker side locked down, only letting it out when I really needed it, it’s hard to let it rise up and exist as part of my normal day-to-day energy. But I’m in the demon world now. I need every advantage, and I suspect that Roman won’t give me any more hints. He wants me to solve this for myself.
Closing my eyes, I allow my dark energy to rise, slowly at first, and then faster as it becomes harder to regulate, until it fills every inch of my body with a searing cold sensation. Still, I refuse to allow it to take over, needing to know that I’m still in control of it. When I open my eyes again, knowing full well they will be as purple as my demon wolves’ eyes are, a small gasp escapes me.
No longer does the space look like a massive pit, darkness shrouding everything. Now I see the path—a path of stones that are illuminated around their edges, giving the space around them a shimmery, silver sheen. It must be this path that Carys effortlessly traversed, projecting the illusion that she was walking on air.
“Who can see these stones?” I ask Roman.
“Royals, very powerful demons, and the few demons chosen to serve the royal family. Carys doesn’t control the pit, but she does have some control over the ledge.”
Which explains why it’s narrower today than Roman was expecting. No doubt she heard about me from her children and was prepared for my arrival.
“And if I step off the path?” I ask.
There’s still no visible base to the dark pit surrounding the glowing stepping stones.
“You’ll end up in the Scourge. It’s at the bottom of the pit, which is filled with all the hellish thoughts, fears, and physical pain you could ever imagine. The last place in the three worlds you want to go.”
“So… Hell, basically,” I say. A sudden thought occurs to me, and my hand shoots out to grab his arm. Roman’s energy spikes at the contact, but he doesn’t outwardly react to my touch. “Could my father have fallen down there? Maybe he slipped? Or was pushed?”
Roman shakes his head but doesn’t shake off my hand. “He’s one of the few demons who doesn’t fear what lies down there. That’s not what happened to him.”
“How do you know?” I push.
“Because I went down there and checked.”
“Oh.” I’m equal parts impressed that he just strolled on down into the Scourge that others fear and frustrated that the answers to my father’s disappearance are so elusive.
I remove my hand from Roman's arm and curl my hands, fighting to draw the power back inside. At first, there’s resistance to my command, but then it’s faster. The more in sync I get with my demon side, the easier it is to manipulate the energy. I like that, but it also feels like the calm before the storm. The glimpses I’ve had of this energy, the darkness I can draw with my anger, make me believe that very soon, it’s going to grow strong enough to destroy life with a mere thought. I have to be in control of it if that happens.
“I’ve hated my father for a long time,” I admit to Roman once I’ve subdued my power. “But now I feel cheated out of meeting him. Which is crazy because I never wanted to meet him. He destroyed my mother.” I rub my forehead. “There’s a decent chance that I'm finally losing my fucking mind.”
Being this open with Roman, in the house of my enemies, is the very definition of bad judgement, and yet without my sisters, my vulnerability is seeping from my essence.
Roman doesn’t immediately react, but the color of his eyes slowly lightens. “You’re a lot like him. He might never have spoken to me about your existence, but I know my friend well enough to say with assurance: He would be proud of the woman you’ve become.”
I chomp down on my lip.Damn him for making my chest ache.I’m not emotionally ready to admit that this ache is triggered by the thought of a virtual stranger being proud of me. Father or not. Or the fact that Roman voiced his opinion with such sincerity.
“I don’t even know his name,” I murmur.
“Jareth,” Roman replies. “Jareth LaGarde.”
I shake my head at how strange it feels to hear my father’s name for the first time when I’m standing in his home. Or that I’m hearing it from a demon who is, himself, still a mystery to me.
