Queen of the Underworld | Book 3

• twenty-four •

The silence following my words was deafening, settling the dark magic within me that thirsted for revenge. Leah looked between Damien, Julian and I, gnawing on her bottom lip.

Julian wouldn't look away from me. His eyes held mine but I wouldn't look away. I wouldn't back down.

Anger sparked in his grey eyes. "The Hell you will."

I looked at Damien, ignoring Julian's words. "Well?"

Damien looked between the two of us, not uttering a word. There wasn't any doubt he felt the tension.

I picked up the teacup again, blowing to cool the liquid. "Damien, when are we leaving?"

He shook his head in disbelief. "It's not that simple."

"It is," I said plainly. "Specter me to the Underworld and I will kill her like I killed her father."

Julian dropped his hands and faced Damien. "Is she serious?"

"Em." Damien's voice was cool. "Mal is a Silvertongue, she turned the Guard and Mehnit against you. We are fugitives, no one in the Underworld will help us. We will be stopped as soon as we arrive."

I frowned as I looked around the room. Someone was missing. "Where is Azazeal?"

I watched them all look at each other briefly then look away. 

Damien moved next to me and took a seat in the empty chair. "Azazeal is dead."

I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach.

Azazeal had been innocent. He had only done as he was commanded. He was human once, but then his life was stolen from him by faerie magic. I went to Elysium and had what was needed to make him human again. I tried to save him.

And I failed miserably.

Damien placed a hand on mine. "Em, I'm so sorry."

I only looked at the cup in my hands. "How?"

Damien shifted in his chair. I could sense his unease. "Mal killed him first. He wouldn't obey her, even with her Silvertongue abilities. He still followed you."

I looked at him again when he paused.

"Azazeal was only protecting me. It was when she started her coup." He shook his head. "Let me start from the beginning. A couple of hours after you left, she woke up. She's..." He chuckled for a moment. It was low, quiet. "Brilliant. She didn't speak English before. She learned it by speaking to me." He stopped. "She was raised by that man in the cabin, isolated from everyone.  They lived alone--just the two of them. She's smart but...unstable."

I snorted. "You don't say."

He smiled slightly. "She's obsessive. Possessive. She's like a child. She--" He stopped, shaking his head in disappointment. "She took a liking to me because I was a stranger and kind to her. My guess is that she was warned against everyone that wasn't in that cabin."

I swallowed.  

"She's a Silvertongue. She's technically heir to the throne and a woman. She's powerful." He heaved a breath. "Something like you, except that now you're weakened--"

"Speaking of which," Julian interrupted. "I'm going to kill that bastard cousin of yours the moment I get my hands on him." The intensity in the stare he gave Damien sent chills down my spine. "I will kill Asmodeus, Damien, Head of the Council or not. He betrayed the true queen, and by the Old Laws, you can't stop me."

I looked at him bewildered. "No, you won't."

The silence that followed was deafening. It made my skin crawl.