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“Bianaca!” I picked up my pace as I stumbled through the darkness, my hands outstretched as I reached for her.
“Kace?”
My hands touched her hair as relief filled me. Fumbling slightly, I gave her shoulders a quick squeeze and tried to pull her into my chest. She remained rigid in my embrace, though I knew it was probably from the fear.
Before I could assure her everything would be okay, the ground fell out from underneath me. I released a harsh exhale of air, my hands struggling to remain holding her, as I fell backwards for what felt like minutes, pinwheeling through darkness.
I landed on the ground with an audible “oomf” as Bianaca fell on top of me and then rolled over. The force of her collision blew the air out of my lungs, and I wheezed, struggling to inhale and exhale at a normal pace. My body ached fiercely from the fall, my lashes fluttering shut.
“Fuck,” I moaned, before forcing myself onto my elbows and searching desperately for Bianaca. “Are you okay?”
There was a moan from in front of me, though all I could see were two legs sticking out from where they were hidden behind a couch. We must’ve fallen straight into the next circle of Purgatory, though I had no idea which one we were supposed to be in. Bianaca moaned again, though she didn’t immediately get up.
“B?” I scrambled to my feet in concern.
“Kace?” Bianaca’s shaky voice sounded from directly behind me, and I spun towards her. She was leaning heavily against Beau, her features shrouded in darkness and pain. I couldn’t tell if he was comforting her or the other way around. Though her eyes were impossibly wide in her face, she appeared relatively unharmed. And Beau…
Beau’s face was ashen, not a speck of color to be seen, and he kept glancing down at Bianaca as if seeing her for the first time.
“Where are we?” a gruff voice inquired. My relief felt almost palpable as Tanner and Aiden stepped out of what appeared to be a kitchen, both of them clutching at their heads as if they were fighting off migraines.
“The next circle of Purgatory,” Heath answered from where he’d materialized on the other side of Bianaca, his tone rough with emotion. He cast a furtive glance in her direction, but when she turned to stare at him, he quickly looked away.
What the hell was that about?
A muscle ticked in his jaw, but otherwise, his face remained impassive and unreadable.
“Which is?” Aiden barked.
“Heresy.” It was Kelly who answered, stepping out of a long hallway directly to the right of the living room. Her harem of men followed behind her, all of them regarding the room with a wariness that belied their inscrutable expressions.
“Heresy?” I asked, walking backwards so I could grab Bianaca’s hand. She startled at the contact, her eyes flicking in my direction as a delicate blush stained her cheeks, before lowering her eyes. “So we passed Wrath?”
“Yes.” Beau’s voice was so soft, I barely heard it. But there was no mistaking the darkness permeating his tone, the shadows taking up residence in his blue gaze. What the fuck had happened to him while I was traveling through the darkness? To all of them?
“So we need to—”
A low, feminine moan broke off whatever Aiden had been about to say. His eyebrows jumped up so high, they reached his hairline.
“What the fuck?” Tanner snapped, turning towards the noise.
Towards the feet still sticking out from behind the back of the couch.
During the chaos of everyone’s arrival, I’d forgotten that the girl who fell on top of me hadn’t been Bianaca. It just hadn’t seemed to register in my brain that the girl I’d stumbled into in the darkness hadn’t been the girl now clutching my hand.
So if that wasn’t Bianaca…
Then who the fuck was she?
And how did she know my name?
Tanner moved to place his hands on Bianaca’s shoulders, holding her still, as Aiden stomped forward, Beau directly behind him. My muscles tensed, an instinctive fight or flight reaction to what my body perceived as danger.
“Who the hell is that?” Tanner demanded as Aiden went very, very still. He wasn’t even breathing as his mouth parted, not a single sound escaping him.
“Is it Maria?” Bianaca queried, her voice wobbling.
Beau glanced helplessly in our direction, shrugged, and then stared back at the unknown female.
Aiden’s face had drained of all color as he collapsed to his knees. It was the strangest sight to see. For as long as I’d known him, nothing could ruffle Aiden. He had the regal demeanor of a king but without the arrogance.
Bianaca struggled towards him, practically elbowing Tanner in the gut, but he didn’t release her shoulders and I didn’t let go of her hand. Not until I knew what the threat was.
“Aiden?” I asked my best friend cautiously.
But he didn’t turn to look at me.
His voice was subdued, almost a whisper, but I heard it as if he’d been screaming. It broke through the silence like the hiss and boom of fireworks on the Fourth of July.
