that out… let’s just say, your usefulness to me will have run out.”
Ouch. Well, okay then.
The abervoq roared from behind us, different to his usual bellow—melancholier, if anything. I had a sense it was sad that I’d left, and still chained to the wall, it could not reach me.
Shadow’s eyes darted over my head toward the bellowing creature. “I will figure you out,” he warned me. “And when I do, whatever threat you pose to me or the Shadow Realm will be eliminated.”
Blah blah. “Yeah, I get it. You want to kill me. You’re sad you can’t kill me. All you dream about is killing me. It’s a fun dance.”
He released me, but already anticipating this move, I landed easily on my feet. This time, when I scrambled around him, he let me go.
When I reached the door, I turned back for a second. “Don’t hurt the abervoq. I’m sure it has no idea what the deal with me is.”
“Leave.”
Okay, then.
Thankfully, there didn’t appear to be a way for Shadow to kill these creatures, or he’d have done that from the start. Shooting one last worried glance behind me, I took another step toward the door, but for some reason couldn’t make myself leave.
Shadow didn’t turn back to me, but he seemed to know I was still there. “I won’t hurt the creature,” he bit out, clearly reluctant to give me any reassurances. “Can’t promise the same for you after your insubordination.”
Sticking my tongue out at his back, I decided that was the best I’d get. I just had to hope he had more honor than the stories said. Truth be told, he absolutely had a temper, and there was that coldblooded murder of Victor—who’d totally had it coming—but for the most part, he wasn’t unstable. If anything, every one of his actions was controlled and strategically planned.
Today was the first time I’d seen him truly lose it. I’d pushed him too far, as per my one true talent.
“I’ll check on the abervoq,” I yelled as I ran out the door, slamming it behind me. After the dark room, it was bright enough in the hallway to have my head spinning and dots dancing before my eyes.
And I felt panic. All the freaking panic. Dealing with Shadow had distracted me briefly, but now I couldn’t help but remember that I’d had a nap with an abervoq. One of the most feared creatures in the Shadow Realm.
Why was I befriending such a being?
Possible explanations ran through my head, each more farfetched than the last. But I mean, in reality, was anything truly farfetched at this point?
30
Shadow stayed away from me for days, and for the first time, it bothered me. I found myself with a shit ton of questions and no answers, and after many sleepless nights, I was desperate to see his grouchy face. I mean, he was a god, with centuries of life and knowledge under his belt. He had to know something helpful and I was anxiously needing answers.
“Still sweeping, I see,” Angel said, bursting through my dark thoughts. At some point my “Angel Face” nickname had turned into Angel, and now I couldn’t think of her by any other name.
I shot her a smile, feeling slightly cheered to see her in her normal lunch spot. “Are you actually joking with me at this point? Did Hell freeze over?”
She tilted her head. “Is that what humans think Hell is? A world of fire and torture?”
I nodded. “Yeah, for the most part, it’s all brimstone and burning. Eternal damnation. Blah blah.”
She considered this, her brow furrowed. “Is that the worst afterlife their minds could conjure? Because, for me, I’d take being burned day after day over other events. That’s just physical pain…”
The magenta of her eyes deepened, swirling into a magma spiral, and for some reason, I expected the color to spill from her irises and leak down her cheeks.
“You’ve lived through a hell worse than burning, haven’t you?” I asked.
She didn’t reply, the usual bread in her hands as she used it to sop up a soup she would never taste. For a moment, I freaked that I’d overstepped and the small grounds I’d made in a friendship with her would be destroyed.
“I have,” she said, and I felt a pang at the thought of her suffering. “And I’d take fire any day over an eternity of closing my eyes and seeing their deaths.”
Her voice trilled with the sort of sadness that was soul deep, buried in her