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As a bonus, Erus sounded well. A little confused maybe, but unharmed.
“Yes, I’m here. Where are you?”
“Forget about me. Where are you?”
“I’m not sure. There’s a river, and what looks like a village at the top of the hill. I’m outside some kind of high rise.” He winced when Erus swore loudly, his voice loud enough to make Orrin’s ears ring. “What’s wrong?”
“Orrin, what the fuck are you doing in the Underworld? I told you it was dangerous.”
It was true that he had been trying to find a way to follow Erus. In hindsight, his ideas had been short-sighted and incredibly stupid, but he figured he could be forgiven this once. Panic, like love, made people irrational.
With that said, his arrival hadn’t been by design, and therefore, wasn’t his fault. “Honestly, I don’t know how I got here. Someone grabbed me from behind at the hotel. I thought they were pulling me into the elevator, but instead, I ended up by the river.”
“There’s someone with you?”
He already knew the answer, but he looked up and down the street anyway. “No, I’m alone. Doesn’t anyone live in this village?”
“Stay where you are. I’m coming to get you.”
Oh, thank the fae. He would have done everything in his power to help his mate, but honestly, he was not cut out for this hero stuff. He could do the diplomacy thing all day, but search and rescue were not skills he possessed.
“Hold on, I think I see someone.” Indeed, three figures emerged from the darkness, their forms distorted and misshapen. “What is that?”
“Run! Go, get out of there!”
He didn’t waste time questioning the directive. If his mate told him to run—and in that frightened tone—he was going to fucking run. The only problem was that he had nowhere to go.
Tucking his arms against his sides, he sprinted over the rocky ground. At first, he tried to find help in some of the shops, but instead, he was welcomed by silence and locked doors. After that, he decided the best thing he could do was stall until Erus reached him.
Sadly, it quickly became apparent that he was no match for the creatures that stalked him. They moved like water, flowing from one building to the next. Worse, every time he looked over his shoulder, more of them had joined the chase.
Some scurried over the rooftops. Others had taken to the air, their copper-colored wings carrying them on the wind. A few chased after him on the street, their talons clicking over the stones.
Turning on a burst of speed, he cut to the left, ducking between a couple of rudimentary dwellings. The shortcut deposited him right at the edge of the town, and momentum propelled him down the hill toward the river. Halfway down, the sand shifted, causing him to lose his footing, and he ended up tumbling ass over teakettle to the bottom.
Landing on his back hard enough to knock the breath from his lungs, he wheezed as he rolled over and shoved to his feet. His journey had ended, though. Unless he planned to swim the width of the river, he had nowhere else to go.
“How deep is the river?”
“Don’t touch the water!”
It was too late anyway. The hairs on his nape stood on end when several of the beasts landed in the sand, forming a loose circle to cage him in.
These had to be the Keres. They looked like something straight from one of his nightmares. Wild, crazed eyes of burning red peered from gaunt, waxy faces. Thin strips of stained fabric hung off the bony hips of a few, but for the most part, they were all completely nude.
A female with matted dark hair lunged at him, a hissing growl erupting from her black lips as she gnashed a set of gruesome, pointed teeth. A couple of males behind her fluttered their wings in agitation, while others began chanting in guttural growls.
In all the ways he imagined dying, he had never considered he would be eaten alive by a flock of Keres on the banks of a glowing river in the Underworld.
Two Keres rushed forward, one male and the other female, and grabbed him by the upper arms, their long claws digging into his skin. Orrin didn’t even try to fight them. What would be the point? He was outnumbered and overpowered.
“Goodnight, sweet prince,” the male rasped against his ear.
Something hard and heavy cracked against the side of his head. His vision blurred, and his legs buckled, sending him sprawling face down in the sand. He struggled to keep his eyes open, to remain conscious, but he knew he fought a losing battle. Darkness crept closer, dragging him deeper, and only a single thought remained as he sank into the void.
He was so royally fucked.
Chapter Nine
