Page 100 of A Match Made in Hell
I flick his chest in return. ‘That you liked me?’
‘Mm.’ He nuzzles my ear, and I think I might be content to stay like this forever. Not even the horde of angry demons lurking in Asphodel’s halls is enough to make me move. I fear I may be the laziest ruler Asphodel has ever had – although, in my defence, maybe none of the previous rulers had someone like Sath in their bed. How am I supposed to save my subjects when his hand is, once again, between my thighs?
‘Sath.’ I try to focus, lest a) I catch on fire, or b) I allow him to distract me for the third time tonight. ‘We should go. The sooner we send the demons to Tartarus, the sooner we can . . .’
‘Do this again?’ His smile dies before it can truly take shape, and his gaze turns sombre. ‘If this goes wrong, we may never do this again.’
‘At least you have an out,’ I say. ‘Promise me, if I can’t close the gates, you’ll go. Make your wish and escape to Elysium.’
‘If those gates stay open, Asphodel will be overrun. I won’tleave you to suffer that fate alone.’
‘Sath –’
He silences my argument with a kiss. I allow it for all of a few seconds before gently pushing him away and sitting up, covering myself with the sheets to prevent him losing focus. ‘You said the demons will be sucked through the gates. How powerful would the vortex be? How long will it take?’
Sath runs a hand through his hair. ‘It’s not exactly been tried before.’
‘Then we’ll try and get them to the gates before I open them. The closer they are, the quicker they’ll be gone, right?’ I pretend to think. ‘What are our chances of them forming an orderly queue?’
My joke falls flat. Sath, for all his encouraging kisses, has a crease between his brows. ‘We should wait,’ he says. ‘You’ve barely learned anything about your powers –’
‘The longer we wait, the more damage they’ll do.’ I magic myself some clothes and shimmy into what I can only hope works as battle gear: leggings, combat boots and a long-sleeved black shirt with a layer of steel plating on the inside. ‘The humans will help us.’
He doesn’t appear wholly persuaded – I can’t say I blame him – but he does put some clothes on (which is both a blessing and a curse), matching my all-black ensemble, before we head outside.
The entrance chamber is hauntingly empty.
Our footsteps echo as we move across the chamber and into the golden corridor, past the Sorter’s door – I freeze.
Past the Sorter’s door, which is wide open.
Shit. Dread sinks to the pit of my stomach. ‘I told them to guard this.’
‘We need to move.’ Sath doesn’t wait before doing just that, and I hurry after him, possibilities whizzing through my mind, all of them terrible. Clearly I did a poor job of compelling thedemons to follow my orders. I should have known they’d see through my performance on the throne yesterday, and now my naivety has left the Sorter free to do who knows what for who knows how long.
The cliff face is the most still I’ve seen it, with no shadows moving behind the windows and only one lift hovering a few floors above. It drops as we approach the railing, and I instruct it to take us to Dionysus, for lack of better ideas.
That balcony is empty too.
Inside, the strobe lights have been switched off, replaced with candlesticks, and black sheets are draped over Sath’s throne, like the demons have decided to play dress up and turn this place into Dracula’s castle.
The smell of copper and metal taints the air. Blood is smeared across the dance floor and over the surface of the bar. Humans huddle in the far corner, looking fairly unharmed save for the iron chains wrapped around their wrists. I run towards them, addressing a middle-aged man with grey flecks in his hair –Norman, Asphodel’s magic tells me.
‘What happened?’ I ask, kneeling before him and inspecting his manacles. ‘Where are the demons? The Sorter?’
‘Went looking for more of us. They said this was just the start.’ His gaze slides to Sath. ‘Good of him to show his face.’
‘He wasn’t the one who abandoned you,’ I say softly, waving a hand. Everyone’s chains click, their cuffs coming undone and hanging limply around their wrists. ‘That was me.’
A lump thickens in my throat.I did this. I left them to fend for themselves while I sorted my own shit out, allowing the demons to do whatever they liked in my absence. Black smoke curls around my knuckles. I take a deep breath, squashing my power down, thinking of how in a few hours from now, I’ll have fixed everything – something I wouldn’t have been able to do yesterday, not without Sath’s help. I had to leave in order tocome back stronger.
And Iamstronger.
I just need to convince these humans of that. Gesturing for them to follow, I stride over to the throne and rip off the black sheet before settling down. This is going to be a far less pleasant experience than the last time I was here, falling-slash-drooling on Sath’s lap.
They’re slow to move closer. I’m pretty sure the only reason they move at all is out of fear of Sath, who’s trying his best to usher them forward. I scan their faces as they approach, checking for a familiar one, but Harper’s not here. I can only hope she’s found somewhere safe to stay out of sight.
When the humans are finally gathered at my feet, I try to find the right words. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner. But this is the last time –’ I break off. If I fuck this up, this won’t be the last time. With a shake of my head, I plough on. ‘This ends today. This isourafterlife. I will not let them take it from us. Fromyou. And I will not bow to their demands.’ I tilt my chin in the air. ‘Asphodel is not the demons’ true home. It’s time they go back where they came from.’
