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“I’m sorry I disobeyed you, my queen, but I couldn’t let you go and live with myself if you died. I am a dragon, and battle is what we thrive on.”

Valeen sighed and shook her head. As upset as she was that he did not listen, a small part of her was glad to have him. This place was unsettling, and he made it less so. “You should not be here… Come on. Let’s find them.” The warm spark of the line she had to Hel buzzed to life once again.

I guess the note I left wasn’t clear enough,Hel’s voice came to her mind, and she smiled.Get that pretty ass back out that door.

I am the goddess of night, one of the most powerful beings in all the realms. I fear no one and I am never commanded by anyone.

Using my own words against me, I see. The laughter in his voice made her heart flutter. He’d told her that exact thing during their training to get her to remember who she was. “What is Presco doing here?” he said, very much aloud.

Valeen turned and there he stood, with a grip on Varlett’s arm. His face had smears of black and green across it, as did Varlett’s hair. “You didn’t get very far,” Valeen teased.

“Yeah, well, we were attacked almost as soon as we stepped through the door. How did you know I was gone so fast?”

She swallowed hard, giving another look to the dead demon hounds scattered around. There were at least five of them, and they were only the first of the types of beasts they’d encounter down here. “I couldn’t feel you anymore. I thought—for a moment I thought you died. But no, you’re just infuriating and didn’t bother to tell me you’d be coming to this shithole.”

He let go of Varlett and held his arms open, “I’m still alive, love.” She ran and jumped into his arms and wrapped herself around his body, hooking her legs around his hips.

“Ugh,” Varlett groaned, rolling her eyes.

Hel pulled her in by the back of her head and kissed her hard, sliding his tongue against hers. If one thing was true it was thathe knew how to kiss.

As much as I wish you had listened, I’m glad you’re here,he said into her mind. He set her down and pulled out a shiny, black-bladed sword. It was made of obsidian, a demon’s weakness.

“Can we hurry up so we can return this damn thing and get out of this place?” Varlett held up her hand with the big silver ring. “And I’d like to get my beauty back. I look like shit.”

“Yeah, you do,” Valeen said.

Varlett scowled at her. “You look a little run down yourself. I think that white in your hair is spreading, goddess.”

Hel ran his fingers through the hair around her face. “We need to hurry.”

Chapter 35

HEL

Hel tapped the tip of his blade against the toe of his boot. “Presco, you need to go back while you still can.”

“You want to make sure she’s safe, don’t you? Then accept that I will stay and see this through with my queen.”

“It wasn’t a request. I don’t need to accept anything.”

Valeen flinched but didn’t intervene. Hel flicked his wrist and Presco was shoved to the door by an invisible force. “Presco, just go please. I want you to be safe, and Palenor needs you.”

“My queen needs me.”

“You’ve gotten into a bad habit of not listening to yourqueen,”Hel snapped. He gripped the flat gold door handle and said low, “I won’t see her break because you die down here, and you would die like a sacrificial lamb, make no mistake. Besides, I need someone to be there to tell Thane where we are in case we can’t get back.” He opened the door to the unnamed forest on the other side. “Goodbye, Presco.”

“Hel, don’t do this!” He roared right before he was forced through.

Even if his methods were brutal, they were effective and necessary. Presco had grown too comfortable not following orders lately. He’d directly disobeyed him when he told him not to interfere at the Drakonan’s treasury back on Ryvengaard and almost got himself killed then. This was as much for his own safety as it was to show Presco Hel was still in charge. And he saw the relief in Valeen’s face as much as he knew she’d feel guilt for allowing him to throw Presco out.

Hel brushed some muck from the demon hounds off his shoulder. “Now, there are three levels, and were on the top, one for each of the princes and their own personal domains. This level was Morv’s and well, he’s gone. The next is Lavix. His land could be a frozen wasteland or a scorching desert depending on mood. And Servante is the bottom level, which is where we need to go. Unless they figure out we’re here and make their way up, which is likely.”

“What is Servante’s domain like?” Valeen asked. She hadn’t been to the lower levels. The one time Valeen had been here, they never left Morv’s domain.

Servante’s domain was utterly wretched, smelled like death and decay, and was hot and humid. The hideous architecture with twisted faces of pain etched into gray stone sometimes still haunted his dreams. It was devoid of color. Everything from the structures to the caverns and jagged mountains were a flat gray. There were no trees or plant life to speak of. Nothing that could potentially bring joy. The endless screaming and the dim half-light made even his skin crawl. “The souls there fight each other for his entertainment. If wrath was a place, his domain would be it.”

“Did you have to fight?”