Page 65 of Queen of the Wicked
“Oh my god.” Exasperated, Alessia drank a mouthful of the vile liquid, trying but failing to hide her disgust at the bitterness that coated her throat as it traveled to her stomach. It tasted rancid, like a dead fish baking in the sun all day. “Mm,” she said, attempting to convince them all that it was fine. “So yummy. It’s like—” Throwing an elbow over her mouth, she erupted into a fit of coughs.
Erebos instantly called her bluff. “Give me that,” he muttered, snatching it away from her. He set it beside them and shoved his own into her hands. “We’ll share the remainder of what I have. We shouldn’t be here longer than a few days. That should be enough to last us.”
When Eryx led them to their spot to rest, Erebos hadn’t given Alessia a choice when he sat down on the floor with his back resting against the stone, keeping her in his lap. She hadn’t fought him on it, either, so Ereboshad spent the past hour keeping her ankle elevated with his hand, his fingers gently caressing the swollen flesh.
They didn’t pack blankets or a tent, as they didn’t intend to stay in one place for too long, but Izara had lit a fire that was meant to keep them warm.
Initially, it had, but an icy frost had seemed to coat the walls the longer they sat there, despite them being in a realm crafted of fire. It caused Alessia to shudder, her breath noticeable in the golden hue that highlighted her face.
“Why is it so cold?” she asked.
Erebos furrowed his brows. “You’re cold?” Reaching to grab her arm, he hissed and pulled away. “Christ, Alessia. You’re freezing.”
“It’s hotter than Hades in here with the fire going,” Izara muttered. Eryx stood on the opposite side of the cave, keeping watch, remaining silent since the fight he had had with Erebos earlier. But Alessia had noticed that he stripped himself of his shirt, sweat trickling down his spine.
No one else was cold?
“Her lips are turning blue,” Izara murmured as she studied her. Suddenly, her eyes darted to the canteen with the vile liquid. “You don’t think?—”
“Shit,” Erebos said. “Is the water poisoned?”
Alessia’s teeth chattered as the cave seemed to drop another ten degrees, and the same foreboding sensation she felt before Kael’s arrival in Hell came crashing down upon her like a tsunami. It filled her veins with dread, clogging her bloodstream and arteries with pure, unadulterated fear.
Suddenly, the flames of the fire extinguished, casting her into total darkness. It provoked the breath to whoosh from her lungs as if she had just Traveled, but that didn’t make sense when she hadn’t initiated it.
Where was she?
Fear quickly took root as she whipped her head towards Erebos, where she should still be perched on his lap, but all she found was a damp stone floor and darkness.
She was alone.
That fear quickly transformed into terror, choking her as her eyes darted to find a source of light, only to be met with none. Her heart rate spiked, drumming against her chest when she crawled onto her knees, wincing from the pain that still throbbed in her ankle.
An instinct told her that someone was there with her, watching, waiting,observing.She felt it when the hair rose on the back of her neck. As trepidation trickled into her veins, preparing her for the moment the jumpscare would strike.
But she refused to be as idiotic as the people she watched in the horror movies growing up. She wouldn’t ask who was there or give them her name. Instead, she shrank into the shadows, willing herself to become as small and frail as she could. Her lungs ached, like someone had wrapped their fist around them and squeezed as hard as they could. It caused her to wheeze, a hand flying to her chest as if that would ease the discomfort.
And then the jumpscare happened.
Athumplanded beside her that nearly caused her to fly out of her skin.
Alessia scrambled away from the sound, her back hitting the stone wall behind her. A deep, familiar voice chuckled in response, but she couldn’t place a name to it.
“You can run, but you can’t hide,” it taunted.
Panic seized her, filling her chest with a swarm of static she couldn’t shake. Her body vibrated with dread, like she knew what was coming before it happened.
And then it did.
A sharp pain blasted through her ribs, shattering the bone on impact. A scream crawled up her throat, but she swallowed it down, gasping for air as the agony ricocheted through her stomach.
Where was she?
The entity was soundless, instead replacing her head with voices that came from every direction. It was cries of pain, the souls begging for help. They shouted for mercy, as if she were the one bestowing the punishment.
Nothing made sense.
Slamming her hands over her ears, she paused when her fingertips landed on short curls rather than her lengthy ones. She skimmed over the ends, how they swooped at the nape of her neck, and that’s when it dawned on her.
