The Underworld Crown (Series)

Chapter 35

There's something mind-numbing about sitting in silence. Since leaving the bar, I'd found a ladder down a side alley. I climbed it to a top roof, which looked over the late evening bustle of the city. I sat on the edge of the roof and let my legs dangle, loneliness setting in. Watching people weave their way through the streets was a painful reminder of how different I was from this world.

A choking sound fell from my lips as I struggled to contain my emotion.

I was so different from everyone here – they'd lived in the Underworld their entire lives, never knowing what they were missing on Earth. I didn't know whether I should feel grateful to at least have that experience, or better off ignorant like them.

I knew in the back of my mind that not everyone here was bad – Kadyn, Leo and Raven had proved that – but Alek had forced me to look at this world through red-coloured glasses. Even though the sky already was red. I cocked my head slightly. From this perspective, it looked like the sky was bleeding. Dying.

How ironic.

A cool breeze ran across my arms and made my hairs stand on end. I folded my arms over my chest and held them close, briefly wondering how it was possible for the wind to reach us even hundreds of metres below surface level.

For a while I just sat there and let myself cry. I didn't monitor how much time had passed. I gripped the edge of the roof tightly. I'd trusted Alek – and he'd gone and broken that trust. His betrayal rocked me, making me question whether this was all just a bad dream I'd wake up from. My belief that he'd never hurt me made his betrayal that much worse.

The worst part was – and I hated to admit it – that I'd been falling for him.

It seemed entirely stupid when I looked back on my feelings, like it was a school-girl crush. There were bigger things going on that demanded my attention.

I took a deep breath to try to steady my trembling hands.

But you need him, the back of my mind whispered.

Alek may have lied to me about his motives, but he hadn't actually yet followed through with serving me on a silver platter to Hades. And, much to my annoyance, that had some weight in a world where the only trustworthy notion was that no one could be trusted.

And I'd remember that, even though I had no choice but to seek Alek's help. Again. I took another deep breath, telling myself that this would be different. Our relationship would be purely transactional, nothing more.

Because I knew that without him, I was as good as dead.

Or worse.

I wiped the remaining tears from my eyes and stood up, dusting myself off. Before I retreated down the ladder, I grabbed the bounty poster from my pocket and tore it into pieces, letting the scraps drift away in the wind. A sense of relief flowed through me.

Back at the bar, guests danced around each other on the dance floor, clinking their glasses with one another and toasting to another day of survival in the Underworld. I seemed to move through them in slow motion. By the time I got back to the apartment door, my heart was beating loudly in my chest. I didn't bother to knock and opened up the door – half expecting to see Alek waiting for me on the couch.

Surprisingly, he wasn't. It was quiet, and eerily so.

"Alek?" I called out, shutting the door softly behind me. The click of it closing emanated around the room.

No response.

I walked around the apartment, looking in the kitchen, bathroom, my bedroom and his for any sign of him – but he was gone. Even the trusty bag he took with him everywhere had disappeared from the floor of his bedroom. Panic started to set in.