Page 14 of Realm of the Wicked

I whipped my head from side to side to absorb as much of my surroundings as I could. From what I could see through the moonlight, the hallway was just as elegant and stuffy as the formal sitting room had been. Thick, green damask carpet cushioned our steps. Paintings hung on the wall, but where I would’ve expected haunting Victorian portraits to stare back at me, instead I saw sunsets. Waves crashing into a rock on the beach. A copse of trees, dusted with snow as light as sugar. Each painting was a depiction of a delicate scene of nature, almost intimate in their depiction. I felt like I was seeing a part of Damien he wouldn’t want me to see.

Without the fireplace, the air in the hall held a chill, and even with holding Archie closer to me, I shivered.

Somehow, Damien heard my shiver. He looked back at me over his shoulder. ‘There’s a fireplace in your room. I told Agatha to light it before I left.’

Great. Here I was in the aging estate of the Devil who kidnapped me and he was considerate enough to make sure the fireplace in my room was lit before he brought me to it. This wasn’t helping my running story of hating him very much.

I did, though. Hate him.

‘This place is massive,’ I whispered, more to myself than anything.

‘I was here by myself for a long time, and it was intense even for me. It’s a lot of space for one person.’ Damien sighed, an entire lifetime evident in the mournful sound. ‘But Agatha helped. Fuck knows she has enough personality for ten people. At least.’

Once more, the words spilled over my lips before I could stop them. ‘Are you and Agatha together then?’

I tried to convince myself the only reason I’d asked this question was because I wanted to know of my place here. Was I here to be tortured? To serve Damien? To serve Damien and his wife? I did my best to ignore the discomfort bubbling in my veins picturing the latter.

Damien’s laugh was quick and full, echoing in the endless hall we still walked in. ‘Don’t let Agatha hear you say that. I’ll never hear the end of it. Agatha and me, together.’ Damien laughed again, and I couldn’t help the soft smile pulling at the corner of my lips at the sound of it. ‘Agatha and I are most certainly not together. Even if my role allowed me to be in such a partnership, I promise you, Agatha would kick my ass before she even considered a proposal.’

Allowed me to be in such a partnership. This time, I held back the questions my tongue wanted to spit out faster than my brain could process. I tucked the information away, filing it for later.

The hallway seemed to spill on for ages, never-ending walls of maroon and redwood. The chill never seemed to leave the air either.

‘It’s kind of dark in here,’ I murmured.

Damien slowed, looking around the hallway like the darkness had just occurred to him. ‘I forgot humans aren’t as adept at seeing in the dark.’

I started to roll my eyes, but stopped when Damien snapped his fingers and all of the sconces in the hall immediately shone with lit candles.

‘If you’re expecting me to be impressed by a bit of magic⁠—’

‘I’m not.’

I glared at his back, then realized I couldn’t remember the route we’d taken to get to my room. I should’ve been paying more attention. As I tried to focus on our path, a massive, black blur raced toward us. It barreled into my side, and I wobbled as Archie screeched. ‘What the fuck?’

Damien turned around, a small smile on his face. ‘Ah. Luna must’ve realized we have guests.’

‘And Luna is…?’

‘My Hellhound.’ Damien offered this information like it should’ve been obvious.

I stared at Luna, who looked back at me with a lolling tongue. Even sitting, she was massive, her head coming to my waist. Her black fur smoked, and her eyes were a piercing red. ‘I thought you hated animals.’

‘Cats,’ Damien corrected, scratching Luna behind her pointy ear. ‘I hate cats. Although Archie being a cat is still up for debate.’

In my arms, Archie squirmed, desperate to get out of my grip. ‘No, Archie. She’ll eat you.’

‘We could only be so lucky.’ Damien gave Luna a pat. ‘Go, Luna. I’ll be done soon.’

I stared as the massive dog trotted down the hall, swirling smoke covering her. I had so many questions, and none of them felt appropriate.

‘Come on. We’re nearly there.’

‘Are you keeping me in a tower or something?’ The joke fell flat on my lips, coming out more nervous than I wanted it to. ‘I feel like we’ve been walking forever. Even the wallpaper has pomegranates on it.’

Damien gave me a quick look over his shoulder. ‘The estate is quite extensive. I’d recommend not traversing it on your own in the dark until you’re comfortable. One wrong step and you could end up in the real Hell you seem to think this is.’

This wasn’t Hell. But he was the Devil. We were still on Earth. Tomorrow, I’d meet Agatha. Grace was safe. I held these facts close to my chest, like an armor I could construct out of hope and words.