The pain subsided, and I opened my eyes. The smell of ash and sulfur invaded my nostrils, and the surface beneath me was hot and dry red clay. I pressed my hands into the ground and got to my feet.
It was dark, and a red glow seemed to emit from the walls of clay around me. My heart swelled, and happiness burst forward in my chest. This place felt like home, more than my childhood home in Alaska with my mom and brothers ever did.
A chill zipped through me as I glanced around. Aziel wasn’t anywhere to be found. Distant chatter came from my left, so I started walking toward an archway.
The archway seemed to be an abyss of black goo, and I reached out to touch it. My fingertips grazed the goo, but it pulled, and my hand sunk in before my whole body lurched forward into the next room.
A middle-aged man with burn scars covering both muscular arms sat on a throne as he barked orders I didn’t fucking understand.
“Prepare her room, and get me the location of the demon.”
A demon with bright blue horns and pale orange skin bowed in front of him. “Yes, sire.”
“You may leave,” he told him.
The demon promptly left his presence, and the man turned toward the archway.
Bright red eyes widened, and his jaw went slack. A gray crown sat on top of his black hair, and tears welled up in my eyes at the mere sight of him.
“Lilith?” He stood.
I blinked, and I was back near the swimming hole with Aziel’s paws propped on my chest and his face near mine.
My senses went into overdrive. I could smell the mud and dirt around us and the clarity in my vision heightened.
A crunch of a stick breaking under the weight of something caught my attention. I snapped my head to my right in time to see a man, with what I could only describe as pure evil surrounding him like a black fog, as he emerged from the forest.
Black, beady eyes rooted me to the spot, investigating me like a fucking predator. He had black hair that was long on one side, short on the other. It was matted to his scalp and looked brittle, breaking off at the ends. He stalked closer, thin, sickly looking, and smelling of blood and rotting flesh.
My stomach churned. His face was elongated, and as he sneered at me, I noticed all of his teeth were razor-sharp instead of two incisors like an average vampire. The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck lifted.
My instincts screamed,get the hell out of there.
Aziel landed in front of me and arched his back with a hiss.
Full body tremors took hold of me, but I wrapped my arms around myself and squeezed my forearms, trying to contain them. “Viktor, I presume?” My voice shook, and it pissed me off.
“My name precedes me?” His voice was slimy and sent a shiver of disgust through my entire being.
I scrambled to my feet on wobbly knees. “You could say that.”
His head tilted as he continued to edge closer, stopping right in front of Aziel. His gaze flicked down toward him, and he scoffed. “What’re you doing out here with your cat? Don’t you know being around the gate to Hell alone is dangerous?”
What the fuck is this feeling? I’m scared shitless.
“Who said I was alone?” I asked, and Aziel glanced back at me before darting toward the forest to alert the guys.
“You’re speaking of the Draven clan, no?” A dark maniacal laugh boomed from him. “They’re a bit too busy at the moment.”
Surprise flitted through me, but I schooled my expression. “Of course you knew.”
“I was a royal vampire, after all.” He flashed his teeth, and I flinched back.
I do not want to be bitten by those.
“Was?”
“Do you not know?” he mused, inching forward again.
