Page 18 of Queen of the Wicked (Afterlife #1)

Alessia

I zara forcefully gripped Alessia’s arm as she dragged her through the castle, and although she wanted to protest, she knew whoever Bastian was, he wasn’t someone good .

Evil encircled them, and the air around them grew thicker and hotter with every step they took.

She allowed Izara to rush her to her room without question.

Isla was ready and waiting with a hairbrush in hand. The shy, tentative handmaid was nowhere to be found, so Alessia didn’t fight her when she pointed to the floral stool before the vanity. “Can I ask what’s going on?” Alessia asked her.

“Were you instructed how to present her?” Izara lingered in the doorway, hands clasped in front of her.

“Yes, Miss Izara. His Majesty had a word with me this morning.”

She nodded promptly and disappeared in haste, leaving Isla and Alessia alone. “What is going on?” Alessia repeated.

“We do not have much time, so I need you to listen and not interrupt me. Do you understand, Miss Alessia?”

Alessia nodded.

Isla grabbed an elastic band from one of the vanity drawers and began to pull her hair up into a high, high ponytail—a style she hadn’t done on her before.

“King Bastian is a danger to this realm,” she began.

“Ultimately, he should be the overseer of Heaven, Hell, and Earth, but King Amos made a decree that His Majesty would have control over Hell and Earth on the night he was murdered.

In this realm, broken decrees are punishable by death, so King Bastian is forced to abide by it until it ends.

It is the only thing keeping His Majesty safe.

But in return, His Majesty is expected to abide by Hell’s rules, and the way King Bastian wishes this realm to function…

” She shuddered. “Today will have you questioning certain things, but you must not let it deter you from the truth.” She grabbed a tin filled with what seemed to be black tar.

After dipping the brush to wet it, she instructed Alessia to close her eyes.

“You mentioned King Amos…” The power stirring inside Alessia took extra interest in the name. “Who is he?”

“King Bastian’s brother,” Isla replied.

“And what is Erebos being protected from?”

“That story is best saved for another day, when His Majesty might be ready to speak on it. Today, you will be introduced as His Majesty’s harlot, and you?—”

“Who? Erebos?” she hissed. “He is out of his ever-loving mind if he thinks?—”

“No. Questions.” Isla dragged her head back to steady it, causing her to wince.

“Erebos is doing this for your best interest . Being his mistress may draw attention to you, but only as his harlot . Nothing more. Harlots in this realm are known for pleasuring without shame. They enjoy it, especially if they provide His Majesty with the pleasure.”

How degrading. Alessia’s fists clenched at her sides, but she had too many unanswered questions to fight Isla on this. She was the one Alessia trusted the most out of anyone in this castle. A red aura had never appeared around her. Not even now.

The woman staring back at her in the mirror wasn’t one she recognized.

Isla had applied heavy black liner. Her lips were stained a deep red, and a blush crept along her cheeks, outlining her structured cheekbones.

The dress Isla retrieved from the closet and held before her was absurd. It wouldn’t even cover her ass.

“Do not fight me on this, Miss Alessia. I am sworn to His Majesty to protect you, and if you refuse to get in this dress and defend yourself , His Majesty will blame me, not you. And I have fought too hard for my freedom to let you destroy it because of a simple fabric. A body is a body, no matter how much of it is on display.”

Dammit. Isla was attempting to guilt trip her.

Had she heard or, worse, seen what went on in the courtyard?

Had she seen the power Alessia had displayed?

Izara had said it was black magic , which was clearly different from dark magic.

Perhaps the library here carried books with knowledge on the subject.

Alessia stepped into the red dress, sucking in a breath as Isla secured it in the back.

As suspected, the cheeks of her ass were hanging out of the bottom, and the front of the dress had a cut out in the center, showcasing part of her toned stomach and the underside of her breasts.

At least her nipples were covered. Barely.

A bead of sweat traveled down Alessia’s back, causing her to groan. “Why is it so hot ?”

Isla wiped her sweat off her brow, giving her a sympathetic frown. “As I said, there will be many things you experience today that I am not authorized to tell you about. Please do not forget the truth.”

“What does that even mean ?” Why was everyone so evasive? Why did those who resided here dance around a subject that seemed so clearly in her face, but she could not see?

“You must go. Now. His Majesty is waiting.” Pushing her towards the door, Alessia stumbled in her gold sandals. Isla caught her by the shoulders and ushered them into the hallway, her dress bustling at her sides. “Remember that you are his harlot and nothing more.”

“Why am I not staying in my room? Why do I have to meet him in person at all? Nothing is making sense.”

“Because you have His Majesty’s powers running through your veins.

The king will expect to see him use them.

You must help the lord today, despite your reluctance.

If you care about your mother and wish to one day find her, you will put your pride aside and do this.

” Almost as if she realized how abrupt she was, she cleared her throat and winced.

“Sorry, Miss Alessia. I did not mean to?—”

“You have been nothing but honest with me,” she replied.

“If this is what you think I have to do, I’ll listen.

” Alessia didn’t have the heart to tell her that she still didn’t know how to use it.

Yes, she controlled her power today, and she could talk it down from destroying everything in its path, but to summon it?

To wield it? She had never done that before.

With a swift nod, Isla led her to the main foyer, wiping sweat away from her face with the apron tied around her waist. Erebos was waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase, but he looked different.

His black overcoat was buttoned up to his neck, ruby embroidery embellished on the lapels with shiny buttons down the center.

His curls were tamed and slicked back at the nape of his neck, and his wings.

His wings! They had returned. Sprawled four feet on either side of his body, those black feathers sparkled with silver specs just as the flowers on the entry table did when she first arrived. Before she broke them, that was.

He cleared his throat when he saw her, his eyes diverting to the floor. Alessia couldn’t tell if that was a sign of respect or embarrassment for her, but thankfully, he didn’t say a single word.

That bridge remained swinging and broken between the middle of two mountains in her mind, and the loss of mental contact with him… The realization that he was not with her was disheartening. She had asked for it, though, and she was grateful he had respected her wishes.

Izara and Eryx rounded the corner, followed by four guards who trailed behind Eryx.

Alessia couldn’t see any weapons on Izara, but she wasn’t naive enough to consider the possibility that she did have them, likely in hidden places.

Eryx dressed in his full general uniform, a sword sheathed at his side with his hand lingering on the black hilt in the shape of a snake.

“Five minutes out,” Izara said.

Erebos straightened. “Then we leave now. We shall meet them at the gates.” He glanced at Isla lingering on the stairs. “Thank you, Isla. You are dismissed.”

Relief washed over her, but her eyes met with Alessia’s in silent warning before she returned to the hallway from which they had been summoned.

Standing here in a room full of mighty beings, Alessia felt intimidated.

She had no idea what to expect, but she could tell from the energy in the room that this was more serious than anything she had ever encountered.

She would do this for her mother. She would be on her best behavior and do whatever she could to protect Erebos if it meant getting the chance to be reunited with her again.

For her, she could do this.

As soon as she followed the three confidants outside, the humidity smacked Alessia in the face.

Gone was the soft, soothing breeze, and in its place was a heat so unbearable that Alessia could barely breathe.

And the landscape… What had happened to the lush green grass?

Sand and rocks crunched beneath her sandals as she followed behind the group, a deathly silence surrounding them in the now-barren wasteland.

The chatter from the town was nowhere to be heard, and the women with baskets were nowhere to be seen.

But then she saw someone—a farmer collecting vegetation from the faraway fields. He hobbled in pain, his hand on his lower back, a basket clutched in his free hand. The man was old. He had no business attempting to pick anything at all.

Then she heard the clattering of shackles in the distance, and she narrowed her eyes to see the old man’s hands in a pair of them, the chain dangling down in front of him to connect to the shackles at his feet.

He was moaning in pain , and yet Erebos did not seem affected at all. Neither did Eryx nor Izara.

Alessia swallowed her anger and continued to follow, her eyes blurry from tears as they drew closer to town, moans of agony and cries filling the path to the gates.

The streets were empty, but the sounds from those houses…

Whatever was going on in them… Alessia could hardly bear it.

She wanted to plug her ears from the screaming or race inside those houses and save whoever was being so brutally tortured, but she was instructed to behave, and doing something so risky was certainly something Isla had warned her not to do.

Her only job was to save Erebos, and although watching him walk ahead unaffected made her want to wrap her hands around his throat, she remained obedient.

The man standing behind the black iron gates was hardly older than Alessia.

He was muscular, with golden skin, and wore a white toga that stopped right above the middle of his thick thighs.

His hair was cropped just above his shoulders in a wavy, blond mess, an aura of arrogance surrounding him as he stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

Alessia already didn’t like him .

Erebos stepped ahead of the group and bowed. “I did not expect a visit today. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

He grinned wickedly. “His Majesty requested me to drop by to ensure things ran smoothly. Will that be a problem?”

Erebos seemed puzzled. “King Bastian is not with you?”

“No, not today. He had other matters to deal with. Are you going to let me in, or shall I continue to stand outside in this unbearable heat?”

The power inside Alessia rumbled, and she bit down on her lip to stop herself from letting out a snarky remark. How dare he speak to Erebos as if he were merely gum beneath his shoe?

As if sensing her thoughts, the young man’s eyes met hers, visibly darkening as he scanned her over. “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting.” He stuck his hand out to her, and although Alessia wanted to smack it away, she played nice and shook it meekly.

“Lillian,” Erebos replied for her.

Alessia smiled coyly. “It is a pleasure to meet you…”

“Kael,” he supplied. “I am King Bastian’s second in command. I don’t think I have ever seen one of Erebos’s whores so… curvy. It is a pleasant change.”

Erebos stiffened, and Kael noticed the difference, arching a brow. “Protective over this one, are we?”

Eryx stepped forward and motioned to the path leading back into town. “Kael, allow me to escort us to the castle. I am sure you are thirsty after Traveling such a long way. Especially in this heat.”

Kael dipped his head appreciatively. “Of course. Thank you, Eryx. Lead the way.”