“I’ve never been one to look back.”
“Neither have I.”
With that, we started down the golden road leading to the palace. As we got closer to the entrance, my head tipped back to examine the double doors. They were at least twenty feet tall with a large, swooping arch at the top. The intricate designs etched onto the door weren’t only demon symbols, but some of them were the faces of demons and hellhounds.
When Bale’s breath sucked in, I followed her gaze to one of the faces to discover a striking likeness of Fiora.
“Shit,” I muttered.
Bale’s hands fisted like she was about to batter down the door. “I hate him.”
I almost rested my hand on her shoulder, but she didn’t look in the mood to be comforted.
“If he’s alive, we’ll destroy him,” I promised.
Two hellhound statues decorated either side of the door. One stood on all fours with its hackles raised while the other had its front paws in the air and stood on its hind feet. It was frozen in midleap.
Bale rested her hand on the head of the one about to leap and rubbed its frozen ear. “I hate this place.”
I agreed with her as I studied the doors before turning to survey the caves and unscalable mountains. “If he’s here, he’s inside the palace.”
Bale shifted beside me and lowered her hand from the hound’s head. “And there’s no avoiding him.”
“There will be killing him.” I didn’t care what this asshole could do, I would keep Bale safe, and I would carve his head from his shoulders.
Bale grasped one of the handles and pulled the door open.
* * *
Bale
As we steppedinto the palace together, I somehow managed to keep my jaw from falling as I took in all the gold surrounding us. In the light streaming through the windows, the gold sparkled and danced as it blinded and entranced.
It was beautiful and hideous. I loathed it and found myself awed by the stairway rising before us and going to the second floor before splitting off into different halls and different stairways that coiled higher until they curved into the tallest peak above our heads.
I couldn’t tell if there were dozens of stairways or if the sun reflecting off everything created an optical illusion. Either way, it was impressive.
I’d seen pictures of human palaces in their books that I’d looked through over the years. Many of those palaces were majestic with their large chandeliers, colorful tapestries, jewels, paintings, and an array of colors to catch the eye. They were somehow so much more and so much less than this place.
The entryway was so large our footsteps echoed throughout the rooms on either side of the fifteen-foot archways. To my right and a couple of hundred feet away was the entry to another room and more gold. I didn’t see any furniture or anything else within.
“It’s enormous,” Wrath said.
“And we’re going to have to search the entire place.”
“I’d rather take on the calamuts again.”
“So would I,” I muttered while he closed the door. A shiver of unease ran down my spine when it clicked shut.
“If Mytaz is here, I think he would have come for us already.”
“Unless he doesn’t know we’re here yet.”
“There’s no way he wouldn’t have seen as walking through his graveyard out there.”
“There’s a whole section of tunnel we didn’t explore, and for all we know, there are more offshoots of tunnels on that end. We have no idea what’s on the other end, and we have no idea where all the caves in this place go. We can’t end up as one of his trophies.”
Fire danced in his black eyes when they met mine. “I willneverbe anyone’s prisoner again. If he’s here, I’m going to kill him.”
