Queen of the Underworld | Book 3

• forty-four •

//song: devil's playground - the rigs

Mal crossed the large room. The small girl was being watched closely by everyone she passed as she approached a small group with her Guard closely behind.

I couldn't even focus on her. I was shaking where I stood. Breathing was getting harder to do.

Asmo--a demon. It explained so much.

The energy I first felt from him that then disappeared as the months went by finally made sense. It was much darker from anyone I'd felt it from. It was darker than Damien's who was the most powerful dark male fae of all.

It made perfect sense.

If it were true, even the dark fae's were afraid of him.

I should be afraid of him.

But that's not what he wanted from his queen. He said I was different, that I treated him differently from others. He saw me as his equal and his equal would not run away.

I stepped back, shrinking the distance between us. I whispered softly so only he could hear. "This doesn't change anything."

I dared to steal a glance towards him and was rewarded with a small smile.

I swallowed my fear. Leah was right. Half-demon or not, he was in the palm of my hand.

I turned my attention back to Mal as she turned to a small group of people in the room. She was still as skinny as I remembered. Her white dress hung from her small frame like it was too big for her.

I could see the bones of her tiny wrists as she gestured to the woman she spoke to.

Asmo motioned to a door nearby. I followed him into the next room and watched him as he leaned against the wall and away from her view. I ducked away from view too, leaning against the same wall Asmo was.

It was just the two of us in the small room. A small fireplace was the sole source of light. It bathed the room in a warm glow.

He nodded in the girl's direction in the other room. "She's distracted. Use your gift. Read her, like you've read me before."

I wasn't sure how he knew that I had done it before. I frowned. "Won't she notice?"

He shook his head. "We're hidden for now, but you don't have much time. We have to go back in so we don't look suspicious."

I let out a long breath and closed my eyes. I could hear her speaking in the other room, her words thick with the strange accent. Slowly, I could feel the same energy I had felt from her once.

A picture of her came into focus in my mind's eye.

Dark, polluted energy crushed me. I reached out and gripped Asmo's hand for balance. He held it back firmly, helping me stay grounded where I was.

It took over. It reached inside me and gripped my core. Ice moved from my middle and outward.

It wasn't dark magic, it was more ancient than that. It was feral, chaotic. Nothing thrived-- it just consumed.

And there was sadness, such devastating sadness...and fear.

So much fear and something else, something slightly familiar that didn't belong...

My head pounded. A deafening roar thundered in my ears.

I didn't know where I began and the darkness ended. Chaos pulled me in, fear and pain kept me rooted-

Someone pulled me harshly and I found myself in the same room.

I looked at Asmo's hand on my arm. For a moment, his eyes were completely black. "Be careful with the demons," he whispered. "They can take over if you're not prepared." His eyes returned to normal. He shook his head. "This is very unusual. I didn't anticipate they'd be a threat and go after you like that."