Page 13 of Lust

Twila bursts into laughter. “I forgot you could sense auras. I’m so jealous.” she sighs. “Apparently, she's the queen of the Succubi so I doubt you're the only one reacting that way. What’s she like?”

I shrug. “She seems nice enough, but who knows? She gets excited over the most mundane things. What’s succubi?”

“A succubus is a female demon that seduces men. The male version is Incubus.” she crosses her arms on her knee as though this is important for me to know. “This place is teaming with them.”

A realization hits me. “That’s why I feel turned on all the effing time. It’s really distracting. I’ve had three cold showers since getting here and I’ve not been here a full day yet.”

“You should count yourself lucky.” Twila’s eyes widen as she breaks into a sly grin. “Can you imagine what it must be like for Juliette? She’s probably slept with half the staff already.”

I think back to breakfast and how she ogled the demon waiter. I snort. “Probably. You know she got through then?”

Twila nods. “I do. Hades told me. Rowena got through, too. I was so happy to find out you all got through. I’d hate being here all by myself.”

I huff good naturedly. “All by yourself with Hades and all the other demon swingers you two hook up with.”

Her cheeks color slightly adding to the pink. “You know, I couldn’t cope with this place without my girls. Being with Hades doesn’t change that.”

I sigh, then a thought comes to my mind. “How did you get down here? They brought us down unconscious so I have no idea.”

She swivels her eyes to the closed door, then back to me. “There’s an elevator that stops at all the basement levels,” she says in a whisper. “I’m not supposed to tell you.” Her eyes go wide. “You can’t tell anyone!”

My mind automatically goes back to Dade. He spent so much time in the lower level searching for a way out and he never found it.

I shrug. “I don’t know who I’d tell.”

“Rowena and Juliette? Remy?” She pauses. “Dade.”

Just hearing his name chills me to my core, but underlying that is the intense sadness. I can’t think about him. Not when Twila is here and is so happy. I swallow back the lump in my throat and think about what she just told me. “I won’t tell Dade, you have my word, but if there’s a way out, that means we don’t have to do these ridiculous games. I can figure out how to get to it and I’ll take Juliette and Ro with me.”

Twila’s pupils dilate as she tenses up. “No, you can’t. If you all escape, who do you think they’ll suspect told you?”

I place my hand reassuringly on hers. “I’ve spent enough time down in the lower level to figure it out myself. I did guess that’s the way out. I mean, what other way out could there be?”

Her eyes narrow as she scrutinizes me. “You went down one time and that was because I gave you the key. You can’t try to get out,” she insists.

“Yes, and Hades saw me down there,” I point out. “But it doesn’t matter, anyway. I’d been down there loads of times before you gave me the key. Anthura gave me one on the very first day in Purgatory so I could do her laundry. In fact, I’m expecting her to message me to go to her room and start again here.”

Twila gives me a hurt look that tugs at my conscience. “You never told me that.”

I recall how Twila always struggles with feeling inferior and remorse washes over me. “I didn't tell anyone. I was embarrassed. Anthura was tormenting me under the pretense of assigning chores.”

“You should have told me!” Twila's eyes widen in horror and concern.

I shrug. It’s hardly the worst thing that’s happened to me since coming here. “We’re in Hell. I expected a little torture.”

Twila's expression tightens. “Yes, well, she can’t do that now. She’s no longer in charge. Please don’t go looking for the way out, Quinn.”

My heart falls. “What about Jenny? She’s being tortured as we speak and you’re asking me to put off finding her.”

She looks sad as she speaks. “You’ll get caught. The demons are not stupid. They’ll know if you try it and then what do you think will happen? You’ll be out of the games forever with no way to get to her.”

Damn. My ticket out of here and I can’t do it. “Fine,” I concede. “I won’t go looking unless I absolutely have to.”

She nods in acceptance.

“You said Anthura isn’t in charge anymore? I thought she was awfully quiet this morning. Noémi did all the talking.”

“That’s because both her and Moloch have been kicked off the game's leadership team apparently. They are both contestants now.”

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