AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Avery, where are we? Where have you been all these months?” She inhaled. “And why do you smell like a male?”
Despite the circumstances, Daphne gave me a girlish look, her brows wriggling in question.
I tugged at the collar of the shirt. “I have a lot to tell you.”
It would’ve been easy to put the conversation off, but she deserved to know. Even if, as it became clear during my explanation, my answers left a lot to be desired. There were gaps as I told her about dying and winding up in Hell. She took it in stride. I told her an abridged version, describing my training with Cole. I skipped over less savory details, like him setting the demon on me in his training, just explaining he was “effective.” I also skipped over the stuff about me having been his queen since I still didn’t understand what that meant, only mentioning he seemed to be in charge here, although I’d never been here before. I did tell her I’d poisoned him to rescue her—skipping my particular methodology—and about my mysterious powers. She quizzed me on them, but unfortunately, I didn’t understand how they worked.
“If I’m in Hell too,” Daphne asked after she’d had a few minutes to process, “does that mean I’m also dead?”
“No more than Avery is now alive after having traipsed through a portal to rescue you.”
I twisted to see who had interjected. A familiar face greeted me, beautiful and ethereal, as if the melodic voice could ever have been mistaken.
“Welcome back,Soteria. We have much to discuss.”
Chapter XIV
“Hecate!”Iexclaimed.
I jumped from the bed and turned around to hug the witch. She stiffened under the hug but wrapped her arms around me a moment later. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed the older woman, but the action felt natural.
We separated a moment later, and I returned to my friend’s side.
“So… I’m definitely not dead? But Sabine was telling the truth about killing Avery?”
I felt like an idiot for not having thought of it more. My only defense was the gauntlet I’d run through had left me fully depleted.
Hecate nodded once in confirmation.
“Makes me wonder what the difference even is between living and dead then,” I mused. “I mean, could we just go back to the realm of the living through another portal?”
Hecate took a step toward me. Her dress today was ornate as usual, but not the most complex gown I’d seen her in. Her hair was wrapped with thin silver chains into a carefully positioned style, her eyes lined in thick black makeup.
“To begin with, what happens when you die. Your friend will be trapped among the stars while you would fall into the pits.” A pause, as if she cut herself off from saying more. “And those are the least of the consequences for walking among the mortals.”
More talk of consequences without specifics. “I need answers, Hecate.” I wasn’t sure if it was a demand or a plea. “Cole claims it’s too painful to explain, but I’m tired of being kept in the dark.”
I expected Hecate to argue, to side with Cole as it seemed she so often did. But instead, she acknowledged my words with another nod. “Very well. But let’s not discuss it in this room. I’ll find us something more suitable.”
She turned back to the exit. Daphne and I exchanged glances, then as one, we started to follow her.
Daphne was dressed in fresh, fitting clothing instead of the dirty rags she’d worn for ages. Hecate looked regal as ever. Whereas I… I was in Cole’s shirt.
“Can we grab me some more clothing on the way?”
Hecate turned and cast a critical eye over me.
Then, in a decisive movement, shook her head. “It’s not bad for them to see you like this.” She turned back and continued to the exit as she explained. “Not all the time, of course, but until a suitable wardrobe is created, this carries a message.”
The message was, incorrectly, that I was shacking up with Cole. I wasn’t sure how I felt about being the subject of that gossip. Once, I’d been used to constant gossip and mockery in the pack. The months with Cole, with no one else around, had been a unique respite from that brand of torture.
But as we walked through the hallways with Hecate guiding us, no one dared whisper behind their hands this time.
“Why were you locked up anyway?” I asked Daphne as we roamed the halls.
Daphne’s expression hardened. “It was right after the Choosing. There was chaos when they ran after you. I wasn’t sure what I expected to happen. I tried to run after you, but my father grabbed me and held me back.” Resentment sparked in her eyes. “The ceremony continued. No fated mate for me, by the way.”
“You’re better off without them.” I grimaced.
