Page 7 of King of the Unsightly

My breaths came out in short, jagged bursts as the night sky loomed over me with millions of scattered stars illuminating the field like a stage light.

My hands tied behind my back, I stumbled as I ran for my life.

I didn’t even make it ten yards before her body slammed me into the ground.

The wind knocked out of me, I rolled onto my side and gasped for air. My hands and knees covered in dirt, she picked me up and flung me over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

I couldn’t catch my breath before she chucked me into the back of the SUV.

The woman put her slender pointer finger to her ruby lips and whispered, “Don’t make a sound.” And she slammed it closed.

The engine turned on, and she peeled out of the empty parking lot.

Every bump and turn sent me flying. I tried to kick my way out, but the constant whiplash made it impossible.

My head smacked against something and a loudOoofescaped me.

My vision blurred, along with my concentration, as a strong queasiness settled in my stomach. I honestly thought my drinks from earlier might flee my throat and paint the whole back.

The SUV screeched to a halt.

The silence suppressed my breathing altogether. Or had I forgotten how to when the door shut and the crunching of dead leaves rang in my ears?

The closer the sound came, the more a deep-rooted turmoil churned inside me.

The back clicked and popped open.

Rust, pine, and salt hit me all at once.

I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my hands into tight fists. My nails dug into my palms and a sharp twinge of pain shot through me. Blood oozed and trickled down my wrists.

I heard the click of her tongue as she dragged me out by my shoulder.

My knees smacked onto the gravel and anotherOoofescaped me.

I cautiously opened them, and a rusted sign saying Hades Cliff in an off-white color towered over me.

The crashing of waves hitting sharp rocks launched me into another panic. I rambled on despite her previous threat. “From one girl to another, your boss seems like a dick—”

“He’s not my boss and you talk too much.”

The woman pushed me in front of her and all I could think about was why this place was so infamous and had the second name of Widow’s Peak.

Rumors swirled around after so many deaths. The townspeople swore the River Styx resided right below the cliffside, and that Hades himself would cry out to all the damnedand condemn them to jump, leaving countless grieving widows behind. Oh fuck. Was I like the damned in the story?

“Don’t move,” the woman barked as she shoved me onto a bench facing the ocean.

A small squeak slipped out as the view stole my breath in a holy fuck kind of way—my focus remained on the spiked rocks at the bottom, harsh tides thrashing up against them.

All my blood drained from my body, and I gulped. “You honestly don’t have to do this. I mean, you guys probably have the wrong girl,” I whispered more to myself than to her, shaking like a newborn calf.

I was content with staying on this bench for the rest of my life. If I had claws, I would have dug them into the sides, so she would have a hell of a time prying my cold, dead body off it.

The woman scoffed. “We’re out of his territory.” Her chilling stare froze me in place. “Now ... the coven wants you and the keys, but I have another agenda, first. Tell me where Larisa’s grimoire is?”

“Larisa? Wait . . . My mother?”

“You have ten seconds before I throw you. Don’t test me,” the woman hissed, baring her canines, her face full of contempt.

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