Rhadamanthus
There was only silence when darkness fell. Not true darkness, but a blood-tinged red that lit up the sky and outlined the endless fields beyond the city.
Now, there were more fires. More people. A ship load of creatures from Avalon arrived in the dead of night, fleeing the horrors stalking the island they once called home.
My demons who remained there, who could travel through the shadows, warned me more would be coming. Some took refuge in the north, where the terrain was wild and belonged to the shifter packs. Others took to the islands, praying to the Goddess the glamours and protections they built would be enough to keep Dante and his army out.
But there were too many falling for his lies, bowing to him out of fear.
Enough are coming here, I reminded myself as I brought the tumbler of amber liquid to my lips. Soon enough, we may not have the space to accommodate them all. Sloth planned to open their gates if it came down to needing more room, but I would not put that responsibility on the Houses, as much as they wished to help. Lust and Gluttony were sending representatives daily to help with food distribution.
None had seen war like this before. When the humanworld went to battle, we sequestered ourselves within the bounds of our realms, in our warded towns, and we stayed quiet. We remained diligent and ensured they did not turn their guns or atomic bombs on us.
Now, though, our supernatural communities in the human realm were locked down. Academies going dark, hiding their students from the influence of Dante. Too many Phoenix agents were trapped in the human world, agents who were trained for battle.
It should have brought me some peace, knowing Ivy’s people were finding refuge here. That they were joining the fight rather than hiding from it—or submitting tohim.
And yet, I felt nothing. I feared a small part of it was because of my soul. When I’d been close to her, I’d felt a wide range of emotions—emotions that should not have come easily to me, considering my deal with the Goddess when I claimed the Elysian throne and became its king.
But with her gone, taking my soul with her, I felt…empty.
And I could not simply blame my soul for that.
For the first time in three thousand years, I’d felt alive. In her presence, I had been more than just the shadow of a king, ruling the throne of death.
I was more than just Rhadamanthus, an eternal demon.
For a short time, I’d been Damon again.
I scrubbed a hand down my face, eyes blurring with exhaustion. But sleep evaded me, a symptom of my soul being in another realm—though even I could not bring myself to believe that lie.
My gaze went to the mark on my hand, the snake that bound me toher. It should have brought me some peace, seeing its dark red lines upon my flesh. But instead, it only dredged up memories of the cottage ruins. Of watching shadows slice through the Luna Fae prince and my wife falling to her knees in anguish. I would do anything to remove the memories of her scream as she lost him. And I would do anything to wipe my mind of the momentheput the collar around her throat.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I forced the memories from my mind. In all my years, I’d seen destruction. War. So much death. And yet, watching that collar go around her neck while I could do nothing was the most horrifying thing I’d witnessed in my long life.
I turned from the window finally, the glass tumbler empty. I dropped it, felt the shadows claim it, and released a breath. There had to be better things for me to do other than wallowing in the darkness of my own mind.
It was only a matter of time before Dante attacked the Underworld. As far as I knew, he wasn’t trying to take the ocean; the Titan’s Channel would not allow him or his army through, and the cursed waters would keep him busy if he ever dared to try. But there were other ways into the Underworld.
And he could shadow jump.
It was not the same. I’d seen it with my own eyes. Not quite using the shadows to move between places, but close enough. I had no knowledge of any other creature with the same ability. It was only demons. Specifically, those from House Elysian—and hellhounds.
I left the war chamber without looking back, entering the quiet hallway. Sao appeared at the end of the corridor; he’d been my assistant for many years and would likely go on to serve me for another century before he trained his replacement. He was not an Elysian demon, unlike the one who came before him—and those who’d been by my side since my ascension to the throne.
He was from Sloth, which to most would deem unusual, given his role. But it made him all the better to work with. Those from Sloth were smart in ways most were not. They saw things usually overlooked. And they were brilliant at finding ways around sticky situations when necessary.
The demon in question bowed as I approached. “My King,” he breathed.
“Sao,” I greeted. “What news do you have for me?”
Give me anything, I thought desperately. I needed something to take my mind off my ownfailures.
Sao rose, placing his hands behind his back. “The witches you requested are here, as are their families.”
I released a breath. “Thank you. Where are they?”
“In the throne room. I wanted to update you before seeing them to their?—”
