“Well.” He shrugged. “You have one, so I thought maybe I might get one too. You don’t own the market on cats, you know. Maybe the rest of us are searching for our own furry cuddle pal.”
I thumped him in the chest. “That’s not funny. My cat is going to be cranky I’m not back yet.” I missed Rourke like crazy, and for my wolf it had been almost intolerable. I had to block out her constant yearning or it would have been overwhelming. Being apart was hard for both of us, but I knew it was harder on him at the moment. Being separated from a mate felt like an open, aching wound. I just prayed that if he was coming after me, he would show up soon. I didn’t want to leave him to be here alone.
There was a loud thud against the door, but not a blast.
“Is that all you have, sweetheart?” Lily called. “That wasn’t very—”
The explosion burst my eardrums and sent both Tyler and me flying backward. We smashed into the wall, the metal cabinet busting through the partition to land on top of us. It had indeed taken the brunt of the blast. Tyler kicked it off and we both sprang up and ran. “Lily!” I called, squinting through the dust the blast had caused as I sprinted toward the door. “Where are you? Are you okay?”
She was nowhere to be found.
She’d been right in front of the door, so it was possible she’d been vaporized. There was commotion out in the hallway and I poked my head out. It was hard to see anything, but her voice carried: “Well, what are you waiting for, idiots? Run!”
I cursed myself and my internal human mothering.
Tyler grabbed my sleeve and propelled us forward. “Let’s go!” He shoved me in front of him and we raced down the hallway.
We ran hard. After maneuvering through two hallways I called, “There’s no one here. This can’t be right!”
“We have to keep moving no matter what. This place is a maze, but I bet there’s only one front door. Here, let me go first.” He came up beside me, but I grabbed his arm.
“Wait,” I said, slowing. “This doesn’t feel right. Maybe we should duck into one of these rooms. Something’s definitely off, just like we stated before. I bet Lily lied and there’s another portal somewhere and she directed us to right into a trap.” Once again I contemplated the Sholls. The mending room we’d come out of was close by. I could smell my scent trail, but surviving the wyverns would be next to impossible without Lily.
“Jess, we need to keep moving. You’re right, this is too easy, but what else are we going to do? Come on,” he said, dragging me along behind him at a quick clip. He brought his nose up to scent the area. “I’m getting a read on something different up ahead.”
I followed him cautiously, trotting along. “Different is not good in this place.”
“You’re telling me. I want out of here so bad it hurts, and I also want a bacon cheeseburger, a regular shower, and—” He held his hand up and switched to internal. There’s movement around that corner.
We both stopped, but I couldn’t hear anything substantial. Tyler began to inch forward again. Tyler, wait. My gut is telling me not to go. Not to mention my wolf, who had begun to howl.
He stopped, turning to me. Fine, but what do we do? Are there any windows in this place? They haven’t exactly given me a tour.
No windows. In fact, the sun here burns the skin. We’re going to have to duck into one of these rooms and think of something else. I moved toward a door. This one had a knob.
It turned slowly. No movement. I braced my shoulder against the door.
Nothing.
Try the next one, I told him, gesturing down the hallway.
“That one won’t work either,” an arch voice said from behind us.
My head whipped around.
The Prince of Hell stood very regally at the end of the long hallway we stood in. He was dressed in a three-piece suit, hair shellacked, precise in all ways.
Except for one thing.
A line of fingernail tracks running from his cheek to his chin.
11
The Prince’s wounds were closing fast, but that didn’t bode well for Lily. Drawing blood, or in this case motor oil, from the Prince of Hell was no small feat. As my brother had learned the hard way. Though the demoness was already in hot water, so maybe it didn’t matter.
“You will not escape through any of those doors.” The Prince took a step forward. “They are impassable. I had not thought you would encounter” he flourished one of his hands—“the demoness, and that meeting has thrown everything off. But make no mistake, we have been awaiting your imminent arrival. We’ve made plans, but in your… eagerness… to make another defiant alliance you have managed to throw a wrench in them. So, I am once again forced to come here and take care of things.”
“My eagerness?” I scoffed. “Of course I was eager to save my brother. And I’d pair up again with anyone who would help me. And I’m sorry, but I’ve ruined everything?” I sputtered. “In this situation”—I waved an arm between us—“you definitely win the spoilsport award. If you hadn’t kidnapped my brother, I’d be home right now curled up with my mate under the covers watching reality TV. Instead I’m here fighting my way through the horrors of your world. And, by the way, this place sucks. You need to redecorate and possibly import some sunshine that doesn’t blister off the skin.”