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A few more people hopped into the car with us, and we drove in complete silence. No music, nothing, only the sound of the man beside me breathing. As the car rolled forward, he placed his hand on my back, his fingers tracing slow circles which soothed me.
Five minutes passed before someone turned on the radio, and a rock song I could not place floated through the speakers.
“What the fuck is this shit?”
A man groaned from the front seat, then switched the song to rap music. The words blended as we rode down a hill, the steep decline causing my heart to race. It felt like I was free-falling, about to roll off the edge of the world… and then muscular arms pulled me back.
We came to a stop, two men argued in another language, and then doors opened. Someone grabbed me, rough fingers poking my sides. The fog slowly cleared from my brain as we exited the car. Images were becoming clear, though the darkness still consumed me.
Attempting to get my bearings, I blinked a few times to adjust to my new surroundings. My backside hit a hard surface that shot up my tailbone, waking me from my slumber. This is all a dream, I told myself, though I knew that wasn’t true. I pinched my arm, not surprised to feel the gentle tug at my forearm, a reminder I wasn’t sleeping.
“Wake up, Alex,” a man boomed.
Following his command, I forced my eyes open, shocked to see a dark street lined with shops.
“Run,” he ordered. “We’ll give you five minutes… and then your ass is ours.”
I glanced to my left, then my right. No one was there.
What the fuck?
Am I losing it again?
With a groan, I pressed my palm to the pavement, using every ounce of energy to pull myself up from the ground. My fight-or-flight mode kicked into high gear, adrenaline coursing through my veins like gasoline. Panicked, I bolted down the street, desperate to find my way home. Four sets of footsteps pounded the pavement behind me.
Breathing hard, they followed me into the heart of Beacon Bay. They were so close I could smell the mixture of their colognes. Citrus, sandalwood, clean linen, bergamot, and their sweat filled the air.
My legs ached by the time I rounded the corner, flying past the deserted storefronts. Ignoring the groan of my muscles and the throbbing at the base of my skull, I raced down the sidewalk. I blew past the hair salon, an indie bookstore, and two boutiques. The River Styx was at the end of the block, with its red and black sign dangling from the metal hooks.
Like it was taunting me.
All the Devils are here.
I needed a break, a second to refill my lungs. The men were on my tail, seconds from catching up to me, their footsteps growing louder. A group of drunken men staggered down the street toward me, dressed in dark jeans and short-sleeved T-shirts. One guy smoked a cigarette, took a few drags, then passed it to his friend, who pounded a beer.
“Help me,” I yelled to them. “Help!”
Their eyes flicked toward me. Instead of rushing to my aid, they studied me with fascination. Wicked smirks turned up the corners of their mouths, so terrifying but beautiful. I ran toward them, but I got a better look at their faces under the lamplight as I approached. Their skin looked like… a fucking snake.
The Serpents.
My mouth dropped in horror as fear rocked through me. The tallest of the group had golden scales, and another man had yellow scales with white chevrons. The dark-haired man at his side had greenish-yellow skin, and the last one, the black mamba, had dark brown scales.
“You want answers,” the black mamba hissed. “We can’t give them to you. Not until you remember what you did.”
I attempted to turn and run in the opposite direction, but the men who followed me to The River Styx were only a few feet away. Except, they weren’t the men I thought were behind me. To my left were The Serpents and to my right… the Salvatores.
No, no, no…
I closed my eyes, blinked a few times to clear my vision, but they were still there.
Four Serpents.
Four Salvatores.
Shifting my gaze between them, I sucked in deep breaths to calm down. My lungs worked too hard, the air draining from them with each shallow breath I took. Five, four, three, two, one… I chanted the words in my head, telling myself it would be over soon.
“Not real, Alex,” I whispered. “Not real.”
“What you did was real,” Luca snapped in his deep, murderous tone. “You need to face it, Alex. Until you do, you’re stuck here… with us.”
“No,” I muttered. “I want to go back. I have to find Aiden.”
He shook his head, giving me a sexy grin as he slid his thumb across his bottom lip. “Aiden can’t help you anymore, baby girl.”
