Inferno of Darkness (Divisa Huntress #2) - J.L. Weil Page 0,24

pleading, and damn near crying for a glimpse of Ashor. I didn’t know how long I stood there staring at my own reflection. It could have been five minutes or five hours, but I was reluctant to leave. It was the ringing of my phone that finally pulled me reluctantly away, the rich food I’d eaten at dinner churning in my stomach.

When I reentered the bedroom, jazz music drifted in from the open windows, filling the apartment with heart and soul. Exposed beams lined the pitched ceilings, adding height and old-world charm to the room. I went to the bed and plucked up my phone, reading the text from Chase.

You kill her yet?

My lips twitched. And if I did?

He responded, I’d say about damn time. Angel wanted to make sure you got there okay.

I’m fine. Mommy is teaching me all the tricks and tips of being a succubus. I couldn’t help but tease him.

A minute later he replied with, That better be a joke unless you want my face to be the first thing you see when you wake up tomorrow.

I rolled my eyes, flipping my blonde braid off my shoulder. Not even you can run here that fast.

Is that a challenge?

Hell, no. Now go bug your wife and leave me in peace.

Be safe, cousin, he sent back.

Always.

The phone was silent for a few moments as I lay on the bed listening to the sounds outside in the street below. But then my phone buzzed again. Another message from Chase. If I don’t hear from you at least once every day, I’ll assume the worst and come looking for you. You’ve been warned.

I shook my head, sending him a quick message. Okay, stalker.

Throwing my phone onto its charger, I peeled back the blankets and snuggled up onto a pillow. I lay in the soft bed, my thoughts racing from Ashor to Kira and the impending blood oath. Was I making a mistake? Was Ashor worth whatever price my mother would request? It wasn’t just him at stake. I had to do this for Angel, and to protect my cousin-in-law, I needed Ashor. He was the only one with the knowledge and power capable of stopping the queen.

It took time, but I eventually tumbled into a heavy sleep with the hope that if I hadn’t been able to see his reflection, then maybe, just maybe he would be in my dreams.

It was pathetic and bittersweet. I was hungry for any form of contact with the prince, but the only way to achieve that connection was through a nightmare of misery and darkness.

This time, Ashor wasn’t shackled to the dungeon walls or imprisoned in a cell of darkness. There were no rats scuttling in the corners, no creatures lurking in the shadows. His wrists weren’t cut and bleeding, his body wasn’t mangled. He wasn’t a prisoner at all.

The prince was riding on Treachery, galloping through endless plains, dark hair whipped againstt his face by the wind. Treachery’s hooves pounded into the earth, shooting fiery embers into the dust.

Why wasn’t he flying or moving through the shadows? He was capable of both. Where was going in such a hurry?

Through his eyes, I watched the underworld blur past. He rode alone and with such haste that I could only assume where he was headed was of utmost importance. At least to him. I, on the other hand, didn't know what to make of this dream.

As he approached a ravine, a sickening feeling wrenched in my gut. I’d never seen the Court of Envy or the River Styx, the most famous river in the underworld, but every bone in my body was telling me that was where Ashor was headed, to fulfill his own blood oath to his mother.

In one sweeping motion, he jumped off Treachery, standing at the cusp of the ravine. Black wings sprouted from his back. I couldn’t see the change, but I felt it—raw power exploded through him.

Thunder cracked overhead, a display of anger and dominance, and when the flash of light faded, so did Ashor. Swallowed by darkness, the prince raced toward a speck of light. Like an arrow singing through the air, wind and chaos rushed over his face before he burst out of the night and into the day.

He landed in a crouched position, one hand steady on the ground before straightening as his gaze spanned over grand mountains, deep caverns, and mossy trees hung with tendrils of vines. The court was colored in various shades of greens