Page 57 of Realm of the Wicked

‘Yeah, I know. I’m the worst.’ I poked my head into the bathroom, with no luck there either.

I wouldn’t panic. I couldn’t panic. She was fine. Hiding somewhere. I was overthinking it. I turned to leave her room, but stopped myself, giving Archie one last look. ‘I hope you know I care about her. It might not look like it, but I do. I’m doing my best to take care of her.’

He meowed in response, and I didn’t know if that was an acceptance of me or not, but I decided to take it that way. He might have been a beast from Hell in disguise, but he was Stella’s, and for that, I had to try. He darted out the door, sprinting down the hall and I rolled my eyes.

I slammed her door shut behind me, my eyes catching the pulsing shadows in the corner. The Nihil. She’d been curious about them before, but if they’d taken advantage of her… I meant it when I’d said I’d make their life miserable.

‘What did you do to her?’ I yelled, storming closer to the corner.

We did nothing. They shook, trying to sway away from me like Jack had done on his rope.

‘Did she come this way? Did you touch her?’

Who?

‘You know who. Did you lay your shadows on her? Did you touch her?’ They would pay for this. For their disobedience. For hurting Stella. For something.

We’d never disobey you… master.

Their tone left room for debate, but there was also no trace of her in the air. For now, they were telling the truth. As for whatever they were hiding, I’d find out. But at the moment, Stella was missing. I shot another glance out to the forest, and hoped my instinct was wrong.

Somehow, I knew it wasn’t.

20

STELLA

The forest was even more dense than it looked from the garden or my bedroom window. Trees grew close together, thickly entwined with their neighbor, all of them laced with vines. It was hard to tell them apart. A twisted sort of bond, forcing them to grow and thrive without any chance of independence. They’d reach their potential attached to the other. When one fell, so would the other. Born together, die together.

I hadn’t meant to come this deep into the forest. I knew I’d disregarded Agatha’s warning about coming here, but I needed to come somewhere where I couldn’t feel Damien. My room was too close. The library was filled with too many… memories. I can’t.

I only meant to explore the edges. Clear my mind. Calm down a bit before I returned to the house for dinner. Maybe Damien would apologize, maybe he wouldn’t. I couldn’t keep up with him. The moment we’d shared in the hallway… I’d misunderstood, obviously. Seeing things that weren’t there. The person – the Devil – I’d seen torturing that man, that wasn’t the same person who so gently offered me a glimpse into my sister’s life.

Maybe he deserved it, a quiet voice whispered out in the recesses of my brain. Violence was something I struggled to justify, but I thought about what I knew about Damien. He did a lot of writing. A lot of watching. And not a whole lot of… torturing?

I shook my head, trying to clear my head. I didn’t know what to think or where to begin. I was confused. Very confused.

And very lost.

I’d thought I’d been making my way back to the house, but I could’ve sworn I’d seen that tree before. A half-dozen times at least. Not that they all didn’t look alike. But that tree had a knot that looked like a star, right in the middle, and was I going in fucking circles? Groaning, I pulled my hair up into my hands. Bits of leaves and twigs stuck out of it, dragging through my hands as I dropped it. Of all the days to leave my hair down, it had to be today.

Okay. No. I could do this. I’d been in Girl Scouts for three years when I was a kid, I could absolutely find my way out of this forest. It was just a bunch of a trees, right? A bunch of trees on a deadly estate on the fringes of Hell, but that was semantics.

The light was disappearing rapidly, making my heart pound in my chest. Right now, I could convince myself this was just a forest. But when it got dark? I wasn’t as sure I’d be able to keep the unsettled feeling at bay.

I closed my eyes, trying to visualize the way I’d come in. It was strange the way I’d been sure I’d been on the edges of the forest, walking in a straight line. Without warning, the estate had been gone. I should’ve been paying more attention.

But the forest seemed lighter before I hit the tree with a star. I just needed to keep it to my… left. Opening my eyes with a nod, I took off with a renewed confidence. Just trees.

Just a forest.

Just a devil.

The air was cooler in the forest, leaving goosebumps on my arms, and I wished I’d worn a sweater when I fled the house. Of course, that would’ve required forethought. Giving the dimming sky a quick glance to confirm the sun was still on my left, I kept walking. If I was lucky, Agatha would’ve saved me some dinner. Maybe Damien wouldn’t look at me with contempt and disappointment.

By now, the woods should’ve been getting lighter, but they weren’t. If anything, they were getting… darker? Roots twisted on the forest floor, fallen leaves crunching beneath my feet. In the distance, a bird called. Likely one of the two-headed ravens, warning me I’ve gone too far. I think I knew that all along. I’d gone too far the moment I’d asked Damien to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around myself in a futile attempt to keep warm.

The damp cold seeped into my bones, taking root deep within me. It was fine, because I was going to see the house through the edges of the trees any moment now. Any moment now I’d see… that fucking tree with the star on it again? No. No. No.