Chapter 1
Out of breath, bone-weary, and above all things determined, Penny staggered up to the lone door in an unassuming mound of earth, the entrance to the vampire lair. Darius had better be in its depths. Reagan was being held by the elves. The shifters and warrior fae who’d vowed to protect her had been forced to retreat from the elf castle to regroup, and Darius was their only hope for getting her back.
Penny just hoped Reagan would be alive long enough to rescue.
“This is it?” she asked, chest heaving, trying to catch her breath.
Emery stopped beside her and wobbled a little, bracing his hands on his hips. “Yeah,” he panted, only still going because Penny had pushed him. She was the better runner, able for longer distances. He was hardier, though, experienced in pushing past his limits and ignoring pain. He was the absolute best guy to have in a pinch, something he’d proven again and again as he led them at a breakneck pace through the Realm, taking the absolute fastest route to the lair.
Penny brushed her sweat-soaked hair from her face and nodded, pushing forward. “Okay then.”
Not great at kicking in doors, she used her magic instead, fashioning a sort of explosion. It ignited and then concussed, bursting through the doorway and billowing into the space beyond. The door ripped off its hinges and clattered to the ground with the burst.
This wasn’t a time for skulking, and magic wouldn’t hide them from the older vampires. They’d sense someone in their midst even if they couldn’t see or hear her and Emery sneaking around. No, it was time to embody Reagan’s swagger. For Penny to show her power and make vampires think twice before attacking the strangers in their midst. At least until they found Darius.
He had better be in there!
“Grab those sticks, Emery,” she said, straightening to her full height as she pushed her shoulders back and strutted forward like Reagan would.
“Torches,” Emery murmured, pulling his backpack around.
“Right, torches, yeah.” Emery had grabbed them off some goblins who had tried to ambush them and steal their stuff. They’d gotten their bodies sliced in half for their efforts. It was Emery who’d insisted on rifling through their things and taking anything of value. There were no heroes in the dangerous parts of the Realm.
A sucking darkness enveloped them as they entered the vampire lair, the narrow hallway opening up into a huge sort of hall. A path ran between a series of large stone pillars, the darkness shrouding what lay at the end.
Light flared from behind her, and Emery handed forth a torch, the flame licking the chilled air. Rough-hewn stone tried to catch her toes as she made downward progress into the lair’s depths.
“They will be all around us in moments, if they aren’t already,” Emery said softly.
He needn’t have bothered to explain. Penny could feel the vampires’ predatory magic curling around her, flirting with hers. She could sense the bleating warning of a breached territory crowding the air. She could sense the presences drifting closer, hostile, hungry, and playful. These types weren’t interested in a quick meal.
Penny didn’t say a word as she continued along, mostly because Emery didn’t. He was right behind her, the glow of their fire sticks—torches—creating a halo around them.
A woman’s sultry voice slithered out of the darkness. “What, no magic from our illustrious natural mages?”
“I’m not here to fight, but I will,” Penny said in a strong, sure voice that she did not have to work at. Apparently, blind fear for her friend had brought out some heretofore hidden well of inner strength. Reagan wasn’t the only one she was embodying on this journey—she’d been acting a lot like her mother, who took nonsense from nobody, and she wasn’t even sorry for it. “We’re looking for Darius.”
“They know why we’re here,” Emery murmured, and Penny could feel the placating spell being woven behind her. He didn’t intend to kill any of these critters if he could help it.
She had no such reservations.
“If they know, why aren’t they leading us to him?” Penny said through clenched teeth.
A body appeared up the way. The vampire was in what Reagan referred to as its monster form—swampy green with lank black hair framing a long, drawn, and, well, monstrous face. Long white fangs dropped down from black gums, and its claws clicked together as it wiggled its fingers.
It hissed, and stringy drool dripped from its mouth.
“Rumpelstiltskin’s foreskin, what is it trying to do, scare us?” Penny wove elements together at a blinding speed.
“No, no, wait—”
Emery’s hand on her shoulder was too late. She let her magic slam into the swampy monster. The spell burrowed between its ribs, making it jerk back, before igniting. Guts and grime flew everywhere, slapping off Emery’s hastily erected shield, something Penny had forgotten about. Getting slimed with that stuff would’ve been gross.
The remainder of the body dropped to the floor. Other vampires in monster form pushed away from the path, and a couple of creatures, unseen in the deep darkness, hissed.
“That might…cause a problem,” Emery murmured. “We should try to remain peaceful.”
Penny marched on, uncaring, the image of Reagan fighting a crowd of enemies, alone, seared into her mind. She’d done that so Penny and Emery and the others could get away. She’d sacrificed herself to a terrible fate so they could run like cowards.
“Fuck ’em,” Penny said with lead in her stomach. This situation was worth that real swear. She’d never get that image out of her head. Never. And if something happened to Reagan before Penny could get there—if Reagan was killed—Penny would never, ever forgive herself. They needed to hurry, and no swampy monster trying to intimidate them would get in her way.
A female form appeared on the path down the way, hips swinging exaggeratedly, legs ending in long, spiked heels. A bustier hiked up her ample bosom and a leather duster billowed around her. Her plump lips pulled up into a sarcastic sort of smile before she came to a stop.
“Hello,” she said in a velvety voice, her gaze skimming Penny and then lingering over her shoulder, clearly on Emery. “You are trespassing.”
“You are in the way.” Penny kept her pace even though she recognized the vampire as Vlad’s right-hand woman. His assistant, if vampires could be said to have them. His protégée, maybe. They’d met in Ireland, at the meeting that had been held prior to the storming of the Mages’ Guild.
“She’s right…”
This time Penny did slow as a second female form appeared beside the first. Shorter, dressed in a chicwhite dress that draped around her shapely calves, Marie was no less beautiful. Her smile was equally condescending, but it was not directed at Penny.
“My oh my,” Marie said, taking a step past the first vampire. “You are sure making a habit of choosing the wrong side.” Marie held out her hand for Penny, the large ruby on her middle finger glittering in the firelight. “Come, Penny. Darius is waiting for you.”
Penny heaved a sigh of relief and let her guard slip a little. Unfortunately, that also prompted her magic, which had been on high alert since the scene at the castle, to let loose.
“No, no, wait—”
Vlad’s assistant’s face never changed, haughty and arrogant. But suddenly she was airborne, caught up in a blast of wind and magic, turned end over end as she was propelled backward. She landed out of sight, the repeated thuds echoing around the vast space. Penny didn’t even know where she’d picked up that spell, but she was pretty sure the vampire would tumbleweed for a while before she could break free. She’d come out bloody, but she wouldn’t die.
Marie laughed in delight. “And that was just a mere fraction of what she is capable of. Imagine.”
Penny was well aware that Marie was pandering to the crowd. She and Darius needed to get vampires on their side—and away from Vlad—in preparation for the war that was surely coming.
That was all well and good, but first they needed to save Reagan. She was the only one who could help them win said war.
“Okay…” Penny made a hurry up gesture. “Let’s get to Darius. I have news.”
“Yes, of course.” Marie led them past a host of gawking younger vampires, their inexperience indicated by the green hue of their monster forms, but the vampires recovered quickly, and the path was soon clear again.
“What has Darius—”
“No, no.” Marie tsked at Penny. “Let’s discuss our private business in private.”
“Right. Fine. Good. Hurry up.”
“You are so tired you are nearly falling down.” Marie hooked an arm that might’ve been lined with steel around Penny’s back, holding her up.
“I’m good.”
“You certainly smell good.”
“Gross.”
At the end of the path, in the bowels of the earth, a cavernous room awaited them, with three thrones sitting side by side.
“Really?” Penny said, rolling her eyes.
Chests of gold and gems were arranged around the thrones, the treasure glittering in the warm glow of candles and larger sticks—torches—in metal rings along the walls. A table stood off to the side, laden with food, and Penny’s stomach growled.
“Come.” Marie led them down a hallway to the right, then another passageway, both lined with large paintings that were probably worth something. Pausing at a large door with a cross on it, she pushed it open and stepped aside. “Here you are.”
Penny stepped through with magic at the ready. Marie had always been on Darius’s side, who was on Reagan’s side, who was on Penny’s side, but that didn’t mean one of those sides hadn’t flip-flopped since. One could never trust a vampire.
Darius looked up from a round table in the center of the room, beneath a large crystal chandelier. A massive four-poster bed rose behind him, crisply made. At the side of the expansive chambers, beside a marble fireplace, sat a desk strewn with papers. Candles glowed from many surfaces, and a fire warmed the hearth.
Where does the smoke go? Penny couldn’t help but wonder. Sometimes, it still felt like she was new to this magic thing.
Emery closed the door behind them and then sealed it with a spell to lock Marie out. “Darius,” he said, strutting over to the table.
“Yes, Mr. Westbrook, welcome.” Darius stood from his chair, looking fresh as a daisy. His hair was perfectly styled, and he had on a three-piece suit. The guy could do suave in his sleep. “Miss Bristol.”
“Oh my God.” Tears welled in Penny’s eyes. “Darius, you have to help. Reagan has been taken! The elves—”
“Yes, I know. Please.” He gestured to one of the chairs. “Have a seat. Would you like something to eat? I had a meal prepared. I can send someone to get you something. It’s probably not wise for you to leave these chambers just now. Not with your…theatrics a moment ago. I’ll need to smooth a few things over before you are free to roam.”
Penny wiped at a tear that got away. “You know that Reagan has been taken?”
“Yes.” He glanced at Emery before resuming his seat, clearly not planning on pressing them to sit with him. “I received word a couple days ago. She was being tortured for information.”
Penny sagged under the knowledge. She’d known that would be the case, but it was still hard to hear, and his blasé tone stuck something sharp in her middle. “Do you even care?”
Emery was there in a moment, trying to guide her to a seat. She waved him away.
“Do you even care?” she repeated, louder. “Did you actually even love her, or was that just a vampire trick?”
Darius scribbled something on a parchment before laying down the pen and leaning back, his focus narrowing on Penny. “I have spies in and around the elf castle. Word was sent to me that she was taken by the elves. From then, I’ve received regular updates. Of her torture, of her rescue, of her current situation…”
Penny held Darius’s gaze as she stilled the magic gathering above her head. “Her rescue?”
“Yes.” Darius braided his fingers together in his lap. “Lucifer got word of her entrapment before I could get her out. He stormed the castle, as it were, and took her with him back to the Underworld. She is now in his inner kingdom, heavily guarded but looked after. Safe, for the time being. News of her has not spread through the Underworld. Not yet. I am not sure what that means in relation to our situation.”
This time Penny let Emery help her to a seat. A few tears escaped her eyes, the stress and anxiety of these last few days giving way to a different form of stress and anxiety. “Safe?”
“Yes. For the time being. He does not plan to kill her.”
“But does he plan to let her go?” Emery asked.
Darius’s eyes narrowed slightly. “That is the question, is it not? I would guess the answer is no, but she has only been in his care for a day. It’s hard to say how things will progress.”
“Okay, well…” Penny looked at the papers and parchment spread across the circular table and nearby desk, maps and notes and drawings with labels she couldn’t read. “Okay.” She took a deep breath and wiped the tear streaks from her face. “Now what? How do we get her out?”
Darius studied her for a long moment. “First, you rest. We can do nothing with you at this level of fatigue. You need to eat, sleep, and restore yourself to optimal levels.”
“But—”
“She is safe right now, Penny.” Darius’s gaze took on a keen edge. “She is treasured, and she is not alone. A druid was seen leaving the elves’ castle within Lucifer’s fold.”
“Cahal?” Emery asked, pulling a chair from the table and sliding it nearer the wall, putting distance between himself and the vampire.
“I would guess so, though I cannot be certain. He is the only druid I can think of that is capable of entering the Underworld.”
“Not to mention he has a vested interest in Reagan,” Emery added.
“Just so. He will guard Reagan, as best as he is able,” Darius said. “He will steer her, guide her. He is her best chance at keeping her head.”
“Keeping her head?” Penny sat forward. “Why? What’s down there?”
“She has been through trauma, and now she will be a treasured pet to the man who is the master of lies. She will discover how much Lucifer cherished her mother. Listened to her mother. Left when her mother asked him to. That will be alluring to Reagan. It’ll make her think she has some control in this situation—that his fondness for her mother will translate to a similar fondness for her. She is only stubborn to a point. Her mother is a weakness. Lucifer will exploit that weakness to gain her trust. I am hoping Cahal, when the situation arises, can shine a light in a dark place.”
“And if he can’t?” Emery asked.
Darius tapped his pointer fingers together, the only indication of his agitation. “Then it will be incredibly dangerous for us.”
“So you have a plan?” Emery asked.
“Of course,” Darius replied, and Penny let a breath whoosh out of her. “I have been planning for this moment since we first entered the Underworld. I feared it might come to this, eventually. This or something similar. I have made extensive networks and some allies. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to properly infiltrate the inner kingdom. They are incredibly loyal to their master. Still, we should be able to sneak in. I have a couple of routes plotted out.”
Penny stared at him with her mouth hanging open. He hadn’t mentioned to Reagan that he was preparing for something like this, that he was worming his way into the Underworld just in case. If he had, she would’ve told Penny. Reagan wasn’t good at secrets.
All this time, the vampire had been playing the long game, strategizing how to get Reagan back before her father even knew she existed. Any doubt that Penny had possessed about his intentions toward Reagan dried up completely.
“Wow.” Penny glanced at the large bed behind Darius. “Okay. Food. Rest. Then we storm the Underworld.”
“More like slink through it, but yes,” Darius replied. “You will need all your wits. This will be unlike anything you have ever experienced, and if we lose, we lose everything.”
No pressure.
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