hadn’t told my family about the little hitch in being bonded to a prince. Just how did I explain a power I didn’t understand, nor fully control. But if we were going into the underworld together, then they deserved to know everything they were getting involved in, including the dark magic inside me.
11
The night I was to break into the underworld finally arrived, and with it came a chill that permeated the air. A bundle of nerves and uncertainty knotted inside me for so many reasons, the primary one being my plan to rescue a prince.
It had been nearly three months since I laid eyes on Ashor in the flesh, had been able to smell him, touch him. I was half afraid of what I might do when I was face-to-face with him. First, I had to get there.
My boots were nearly silent as I moved through the woods, Kira on my right, Angel and Emma on my left. The guys were directly in front of us. I prayed the information Cayden had received was accurate or all of this would be for nothing and I’d miss my only opportunity.
I refused to let myself think about failure. It wasn’t an option.
Almost six months had gone by since the first time I was taken into the underworld. If someone had told me I’d voluntarily walk my ass back through the gates of Hell, I would have asked if they were on drugs. Yet, here I was, gearing up to take that long trek into Hell’s Mist. Without a guide, the in-between was meant to keep those wandering souls trapped. It was meant to confuse and fuck with your head.
The bond tying me to Ashor was a constant tug inside my chest. It yanked on me every so often, reminding me that I needed to find him. Day or night. Awake or asleep. The pull to him never eased or rested. If anything, it grew more and more relentless.
Our first challenge was opening the gateway to the in-between. One didn’t just stroll into Hell or knock on a door. Just as demons had invaded our world since the dawn of time, we were essentially going to be trespassing into the underworld, something that was way less common. Except for Angel. She was sort of an anomaly. This was Kira’s job, to open the portal that would allow us into Hell’s Mist.
The night progressed as normal when the six of us were together. Chase was full of piss and vinegar, as usual. Travis was cocky grins and senseless humor as we descended a hill. My boots sank into the grass, sweat beading on my brow from the humid evening air. The crescent moon loomed overhead, low in the sky. It was the only source of light, the stars hidden behind moody clouds, mimicking my disposition.
For an hour we hiked through the woods, avoiding the main roads, to a voodoo temple that Kira claimed was a shrine to Priestess Hecate, the goddess of night, of the moon, and the underworld. According to my mother, Hecate was the keeper of crossroads and had the ability to unlock the door between realms. I never put much stock into magic, but after what I’d seen in the underworld, my mind was open to possibilities, so I was willing to try anything, even visiting the temple of a goddess. It was there we would find a forgotten portal into Hell’s Mist. We were sneaking in, avoiding any detection of our presence, meaning we couldn’t get into Hell through the normal channels demons used. It would raise too many brows and questions that undoubtedly would alert a certain queen of our whereabouts.
We were going in quiet and stealthy. So an abandoned portal nestled in a graveyard was our ticket inside. Once we crossed to the other side, I’d bid my demon mother good goodbye and let Angel do her thing, guiding us to hopefully the correct gate. “Tell me again how you know about this portal?” I asked my mother, staring at the rusty iron entrance of a graveyard.
Kira shrugged, her dark hair tumbling over her shoulders. “All worlds have their secret passageways. In this world, they are long forgotten, rarely used, or guarded. Mortals spend their lives avoiding Hell, not seeking entrance.”
“Uh-huh,” I muttered, eyeing the fence that bordered the cemetery. The closer we got, the less sure I was of this idea.
Travis and Chase each gave us a boost up over the fence. I jumped down on