Strife’s arms are firm around me as he allows me to find my feet but doesn’t let go of me. “We sensed the influx of light magic within the church. We thought we might have lost you.”
His voice chokes up a little, and I recall the way Anarchy had exclaimed about the fact that I had still been alive right before Emil brought us here.
It’s clear my pack was worried about me.
Before I can reply, Riot and Rumble knock into us, their arms somehow wrapping around me, too.
All three of them envelop me in a hug that feeds my wolfish soul with all the feelings ofpackthat I so desperately need right now.
Anarchy and Lucian soon join them, wrapping me up from behind.
“What happened?” Lucian asks, his voice muffled at my shoulder.
“Did you get the book?” Anarchy’s question sounds right after Lucian’s, but Riot speaks at the same moment, their questions overlapping.
“Where are we?” he asks.
None of them has any reason to doubt that the keeper is still our ally. When we parted outside the church, Emil was as much a part of my pack as they were. They won’t know that they can’t fully trust our surroundings like they could when he transported us places before.
He never endangered us before now, but to believe that he won’t betray me would be foolish.
My voice sticks in my throat as I try to find a way to tell my pack what happened.
I’m honestly not sure if we should be standing around discussing it. I have no idea what dangers lie in this place or if we should be running for our lives already.
Before I can find the words, Anarchy asks softly, “Darkness… what’s wrong with the keeper?”
Her eyes are wide as she tugs away from me. Wide with concern. Not fear. She has always made it clear she doesn’t entirely trust him—which was smart, as it turns out—but the press of her lips and the soft light in her eyes tells me she’s concerned about his welfare and not the possibility of betrayal.
Emil has remained exactly where he was before, uncharacteristically motionless and unusually quiet, his head still bowed and expression obscured.
I try to tell myself I can’t be concerned about his welfare right now. I don’t know what his end game is, and his demeanor could be a ploy to soften my distrust.
“The keeper is no longer my ally,” I say, hardening my voice. “He is not to be trusted. And so I have named himEmil.”
Names have power.
The dark elves, Lucian, and even Jonah, know this. So the meaning of my declaration won’t be lost on them.
Anarchy’s lips part. “Enemy?”
She and her brothers and Lucian stiffen where their arms remain wrapped around me.
Jonah, on the other hand, speaks wryly from the other side of our group. “Well, it makes sense now why we’re here. Because only an enemy would bring you to the mouth of the Underworld.”
The Underworld.
I fight the urge to turn around to check Emil again.
He told me he was taking us to hell, but I didn’t imagine he meant literally to the Underworld.
Anarchy’s line of sight doesn’t waver from Emil, but her voice is filled with new alarm. “We’re in hell?”
Oh, in so many ways.
At that moment, the sound of footfalls reaches me from within the long tunnel. They’re soft and prowling and can’t be good news.
“It seems so,” I say. “And now we’ve got company.”
