“Let’s get the hell out of here!” I announced.
Chapter
Two
Barbie
Dried blood streaked the rusted iron of the train roof. Bea and I crouched low against the wind, her fingers digging into my arm like a lifeline while her other hand gripped the rail. The gale tore at our hair, relentless.
“Where are we going?” she shouted, her voice barely carrying over the train’s roar.
“To the heart of the Underworld, my friend,” I answered.
“What?” Fear flashed in her eyes, but adrenaline burned there too. “Shouldn’t we be trying to escape this maze and all this madness?”
Sy and I had felt the pull the moment I’d jumped onto this train—a deep, magnetic draw toward Heaven’s Arrow.
Back when I’d slipped into the House of Demons, the oracle had been waiting. Her message echoed in my mind even now:You must go to the Underworld for the Heavenly Arrow. It’s the only way to sever your bond with Sy.
And the only way to save her when I finally went down swinging against my father.
“New plan, Bea.” I leaned close. “We’re going deeper. We’re stealing from the Queen of Hell.”
She blinked, her face pale but steady.
The pull in my chest tightened—Heaven’s Arrow calling, almost begging to be found.
It’s a trap!Sy shouted.
I know it’s a trap, honey,I shot back.When has it ever not been?
Let’s head straight into the lion’s den then.
Demon’s den,I corrected.
“Wherever you go, I go, Barbie,” Bea said, her voice firm. No hesitation. No questions.
“You’ll be my shadow,” I told her. “When I say run, you run. When I say hide, you hide.”
You’re quoting Killian,Sy noted.
She doesn’t know that,I replied.We just need to keep our friend alive and get her out.
A pact, then,Sy agreed.The little witch has grown on me.
Together, we cast our senses wide, reaching into the pulse of the dark realm as the train thundered on beneath us.
This place felt unnervingly familiar. Not like home, but close—as if the Underworld itself was bending to my will, recognizing me as its rightful heir.
And I knew it had nothing to do with being Killian’s mate and everything to do with Queen Lilith. A dark, unwelcome thought surfaced, but I shoved it down hard. No time to unravel that knot. I had a mission.
I pressed my palms against the train roof and pushed with my will. The metal shuddered, then swerved sharply left, tearing free from its assigned track.
We were no longer just targets in a death maze.
We’re the tomb riders!Sy declared.
Tomb raiders,I corrected her again.But not really.
