He might have said more, but I was already nodding, already agreeing on blind faith.
It was only after I said yes that I realized the man wasn’t human atall. He’d been hovering over the river—the same river that the moment you touched the foamy currents, you’d die.
The river that King Dahes of the Dead owned.
And I just sold him my soul.
Dahes openedthe door to my room the moment I woke up screaming from my nightmare.
He paused in the frame, letting the light filter in. I sat up, clutching the blanket to my chest as I pushed my back against the stone wall, feeling the sweat cling to me.
A single sconce lit the hallway, and I fought the urge to stare at the ghost that flew behind him.
“Do you have the map memorized?” he asked, his eyes searing into me.
I nodded.
I stayed up well into the night studying it, knowing I wouldn’t be allowed to bring it with me today.
“Good,” his voice loosened as he stepped inside my room. My body tensed. He never did this. He never checked on me before a hunt, and he rarely came to my room first thing in the morning.
My days were usually spent waiting to be called on. I had hours to make myself numb, to shut off my emotions before I was forced to see him, but I couldn’t reset myself first thing in the morning.
Seven years had passed since I made my deal, and I still couldn’t stop dreaming about the night it happened. It was like all my emotions crashed out of me while I slept. I normally stayed horizontal, letting my ragged breathing fade before I washed off the remnants of my nightmare.
Breathe. One. Two. Three. Four. Exhale.
I forced myself to do a cycle of breathing, forced myself to not think about that night, to shake off my lingeringnightmare and focus on the devil inside my room. He told me my hunt would start in the morning—whatever that meant—but I assumed he’d send a sentry to come and get me.
“Do you have any questions on where I want you to meet when it’s over?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. I’m ready.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
“I… I have to get dressed.” My voice wavered. I could feel my nightgown sticking to me, could feel my long hair snaking around my neck, plastering to my skin.
“Don’t stop on my account.” His voice was smooth as he gestured to the foot of my bed. A new, folded clean gown was waiting for me.
“I—I normally have a bath before I dress,” I stalled, not wanting to change in front of him.
Dahes’ eyes narrowed on my chest, on the fact that my breathing was still ragged.
Shit. Stop thinking, Magnolia. Be numb.
“By all means.” He nodded toward the arch in my room. It might have been a door at one point, but now it was just an open space to walk through. My bathroom was simple. A singular clawed tub sat in the middle of the room with a basin to the side.
There weren’t any mirrors. Sometimes I’d catch my reflection in the pointed glass ceilings in one of the main rooms, but even then, it was blurry at best. I had no idea how much my face had changed since coming here seven years ago. I knew I was older. I knew my cheeks had hollowed out and my hair was longer. But it felt like forever since I actually saw myself. It had been even longer since Ifeltlike myself.
The truth was, I wasn’t myself anymore, not even the shell of who I used to be.
I was just another ghost, forever trapped inside his castle, unable to move on.
I slowly walked into the bathroom, praying I would hear the door close behind me and it meant he left my room, but as I turned, I found Dahes still standing in the empty frame.
Why the hell did I mention that I bathed before I got dressed? Ishould have just put the gown on, despite the fact that I was covered in sweat from my nightmare.
“Undress, Magnolia.” My thoughts dissipated at those two words, and my gaze snapped to Dahes as his compulsion ran through me. “And don’t call on your Token,” he added.
