The Underworld Crown (Series)

Chapter 31

All the breath was forced from me as Jackal's gaze pinned me down, his words forming a tight knot in my throat. Perhaps it was my imagination, but every small sound in the restaurant became audible. The scraping of knives and forks against plates, the sound of poured wine sloshing in tall glasses, someone coughing on the other side of the room – everything was too loud as Jackal stared at me patiently, enjoying my internal struggle.

My entire body was frozen, yet my mind told me to run. I felt a chill run down my neck, half expecting more guards to pop out of nowhere.

I was wrong about Jackal, I thought. This entire night was a set up. I looked around frantically for Alek, but he was nowhere in sight. With my heart in my throat, I knew I couldn't remain alone with Jackal any longer, staring down the barrel of a gun waiting to be fired.

"I have to go," I muttered, standing up abruptly. The legs of my chair squealed against the floor as I threw my napkin down on the table.

Jackal leaned forwards and grabbed my hand, holding it against the table.

"Let go of me," I growled, trying unsuccessfully to pull my hand free.

He didn't let me go.

"Serena. Please sit down. I'm not going to turn you in," he implored.

I scowled. "Oh yeah? How can I trust you?"

He watched me for a moment, contemplating. He let go of my hand, causing me to stumble backwards under my own momentum, but someone appeared behind me and caught me.

Alek.

"What's going on here?" he demanded, looking between us. But Jackal kept his attention on me.                  

"Sit down," Jackal said through a forced grin. "You're drawing attention."

In my peripheral vision I noticed other guests staring at us. The vacuum of noise I'd been hearing from the room died down, until I was able to solely focus on the man in front of me. He had a desperate look on his face and by his body language, it certainly looked like it mattered to him that this attention disappeared.

"Serena?" Alek asked quietly, placing a hand on my shoulder. "What's wrong?"

I didn't remove my eyes from him. "Jackal knows who I am."

Alek stilled, but he didn't freak out like I did. Instead, he and Jackal glanced at each other, a message passing between their eyes. It looked like they were coming to an understanding about something. Alek nodded and squeezed my shoulder.

"Jackal isn't going to hurt you," he promised.

I took one look at the trust and confidence in Alek's eyes and the desperation in Jackal's, and sighed, sitting back down. I crossed my arms as Alek slid into the seat next to mine.

Jackal shuffled in his seat. "I found out last night. A message has been sent to all the gods and goddesses in the Underworld. I can't imagine how many people would know of Serena by now."

"What was the message?" Alek asked, strictly business.

"A young girl and man on the run from Sloth City. Although Hades is only really interested in the girl being found. Word has gotten out that she supposedly has a stunning pair of eyes," he said, meeting my gaze.

"I added the stunning bit," he continued. "By the way, you really should buy contacts."

I flinched. I didn't even know the Underworld had eye contacts. Neither did Alek, apparently.

"It didn't take long for me to understand exactly who these people were when you two turned up on our doorstep. Serena had so much dirt on her it couldn't have been clearer she was on the run."