“Me? What are you talking about?”
“You can search this place for me, Sabrina. You can go to all the places I can’t go, and you can find my sister,” I said. “And because you leave scent trails—unlike myself—you can mark off every nook and cranny in this maze of a place without getting lost or re-treading the same ground.Youare the one who can find Dora.”
She popped out from under my shirt to look me in the face. “You used this time to think of an idea that isn’t completely stupid. I would applaud you, but at this point, you have been seen and overheard talking to me numerous times and by many people. If your nestmate’s captor knows of you, then they most certainly know of me.”
I tipped my head. “I know. I realize that, but it’s all we got right now. I can’t get into half of this place, but you can. And that’s a start.”
It was impossible to read a single emotion on her face. “You must know that not even I will be of much help to you in the vampire’s territory. Snakes find their prey in the darkness through body heat. Vampires give off none.”
“Hmmm. That is a problem, but we’ll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it,” I said. “The first thing to do is check out Tristan. Honestly, I... don’t think he’s deceiving me. I think he’s exactly what he appears to be. A friend.”
“A... friend?” Sabrina rose higher, leveling her eyes with mine. “What is this word? What does it mean?”
I laughed. “Are you kidding?”
She waited me out, staring until my smile dimmed.
“Wait, seriously? Are you really asking me what the word friend means?”
“Is it a human word?”
“Well— I— Yeah,” I burst out. “A friend is... a friend! They’re someone you like. Someone you trust. You spend time with them, confide in them, enjoy their company,” I rattled off to a face that showed zero understanding. “Come on, Sabrina. Do you really not have friends in hell?”
“If afriend,” she replied, “involves all of that silly, boring, ridiculous stuff you just said, then no. Such a pointless thing does not exist here.”
I gaped at her, truly stunned for the first time since I arrived in this nightmare. The denizens of hell lived likethisevery single day of their afterlife, and they didn’t even have friends to get through it. “What... about love?” I whispered. “Do demons have love at least? For their parents? For their children? For their romantic partners?”
“Of course not. Love does not exist,” she said with no trace of mocking. “It is a human fantasy. Something you waste your time with to make your mortal existence bearable— Oh, and what isroman... tic?” Sabrina sounded genuinely curious. “And how are you confusing the translation spell? My lord swore I would be able to understand your human speech.”
I seriously thought I might cry. Hell was a terrible place. Of course I knew this even before I came here, but it never occurred to me that the true reason it was so horrible wasn’t because of the fire, brimstone, cruelty, or torture.
It was because you had to endure all of those things without friendship, romance, or love.
“All of that aside,” I got out, “I don’t think Tristan is involved. He looked genuinely surprised and embarrassed when he got an eyeful of my boobs. If he knew I was Dora’s sister and he was just trying to get me to reveal myself, why go thatfar in the performance? I mean seriously, can you even blush on demand?” I tossed my head. “My point is I want to give him the benefit of the doubt until there’s proof. Get into the werewolf wing and suss out all you can learn about him. Because something tells me the return of the Slaughterer of All But One is big news on their side of the door.”
“Very well.”
Sabrina slithered down my leg and set off with no more argument—which was a miracle in and of itself. I followed her with my eyes until she slipped into the darkness.
I blew out a breath. “Okay. Time to—”
Clink.
I whipped around, eyes snapping to the end of the hall—just in time to see the figure dart back and disappear around the corner.
“Wha— Hey? Hey!” I chased after them, beating it down the corridor. “Who are—?”
I skidded around the bend, but there was no one there.
THAT NIGHT, I PERUSEDthrough my textbooks—looking for any mention of the witches. Shockingly, there was a lot. In the books assigned for the History of Hell and the Great Invasion, there were pages upon pages about witches—
—and none of it was flattering.
I assumed it was because demon editors didn’t believe in censorship, because the whole thing was just a rant about what bitches, cunts, whores, and all the rest witches are. I mean, for real, the ink bled with hatred towards all things witch. There was no end to the information on how much witches suck, but I couldn’t find a single line related to the history Professor Radu shared with us that day.
Nothing about how witches rose up to stop the vampires, demons, and fae that were stealing their blood, souls, children, and lives. Nothing on the covens that became so formidable, they started to give the supernaturals a run for their money. And definitely nothing on how they banished them all from earth, threw them in hell, and slammed the gates behind them.
“Was Radu there?” I muttered to myself while flipping through my rewritten notes. “Is that why he knows the truth? But even if he was, why is it a secret? The lords of hell would really prefer demons believe hell was invaded instead of admitting they were beaten by a bunch of girls?” I snorted. “Men.”
