Page 3 of Queen of the Wicked (Afterlife #1)

Alessia

R ough, aggressive shaking brought Alessia out of her sleep, her heart thundering as her mom, Haleth, gripped her shoulders. “Alessia, wake up. You must go. Now.”

She blinked her eyes open in the dark as she hurriedly sat up, but knowing her parents had warned her about this day her entire life, she wasn’t afraid.

Alessia knew precisely what she had to do.

But still, even with their plan unfolding in her mind, she was reluctant to leave them, especially since she didn’t see her mother, Elyana, anywhere to be found.

“Where is Mother?” Alessia choked out. “I can’t have anything happen to you both.”

“She is creating a distraction for us. You are the one we must protect at all costs.” Haleth held her hand to her forehead, shuddering as she attempted to call on her power.

Alessia had been told her mom could see into the future and had listened to her tales of how she used her magic, but experiencing it was another thing entirely.

Both of her parents had powers, that much she knew, but anything beyond that was hidden from her.

Where they were born, their past, and why she had been secluded in the country since birth remained a mystery she had yet to solve.

Haleth shuddered, inhaling a sharp gust of air when she pulled away. “He’s coming. Remember where we told you to run, Alessia, and when the clock strikes midnight, do not be afraid. Your mother and I have spent most of our lives preparing you for this moment. You are ready.”

Alessia’s lip trembled as she slid out of bed, taking in what could be the last moments in the home she was raised in—the home she’d been sheltered in, hidden away from a danger she hadn’t had the privilege of understanding yet.

Residing in a farmhouse smack dab in the middle of nowhere, her early years were spent caring for farm animals and racing through meadows with the wind running through her hair and dirt crammed between her toes. Miles away from civilization, the country was her comfort. It was all she knew.

And now it was time to leave it all behind.

From the moonlight flooding through the window, she caught a faint glimpse of her mom’s shimmering white hair, which reached the middle of her spine. She used to braid it as a child, until she perfected the technique, and now she may never get the chance to see it again after tonight.

A thud sounded on the ground outside, her mom’s head whipping frantically toward the window.

Alessia wasn’t sure what she saw; she couldn’t bear to look, but her mom’s ashen face was horrified.

“ Go.” She pushed her toward the door, and Alessia grabbed the emergency backpack from her closet.

“I love you, Alessia, and I will find you again.”

Alessia’s eyes brimmed with tears when she catapulted herself into her mom’s arms to give her one last hug, but then the door slammed open downstairs, forcing her to sprint into action.

She didn’t have time to find her mother or consider the possibility of never seeing her again. She pushed open the window in the hallway and crawled onto the roof, letting her mom shut it behind her to deal with whatever had broken into the house.

Alessia’s heart hammered as she crawled towards the vine, carefully avoiding loose shingles to be as soundless as possible. She was dressed only in a silk nightgown, nothing else, but she didn’t have time to change. She would have to wait until she reached her destination.

A blood-curdling scream echoed from the house, followed by the sound of breaking glass. It caused Alessia to flinch, scraping her knee open on the edge of the roof. Frozen in place, she hesitated and considered forgetting this plan entirely and helping her mom.

Keep moving forward, no matter the sacrifice.

Don’t look back.

Her parents' mantra filtered through her mind as her muscles trembled on the roof, begging for reprieve from the crouch she’d been holding. It was eerily silent—t oo silent— a vacancy of sound that could only mean one thing.

Evil had arrived.

She scrambled down the vine, her hands shaking while thorns split open her flesh. As soon as her feet hit the grass, she took off sprinting in the direction they practiced—toward the edge of the woods.

Everything happened earlier than expected. She was supposed to wait until midnight to learn who she was being protected from and who she was born to be. While her parents taught her about magic and its history, she wasn’t allowed to learn about herself or the powers she carried until tonight.

Now she’d never get the opportunity.

Blood trailed down her leg from the scrape on her knee, staining the purple silk of her nightgown, and crimson leaked from her fingertips where the thorns destroyed her palms. She pushed her legs to carry her faster toward the trees until her feet finally hit the lush dirt.

With no shoes on, she stumbled over vines and split the skin of her heel on sticks and rocks, but she wouldn’t let herself think of the pain right now. She couldn’t.

Alessia didn’t even know who she was searching for.

Every secret kept from her was meant to come to light when the clock struck twelve, including the mysterious person she was meant to run to.

Still, she had always been warned that there would be a chance this could happen, that the people searching for her would arrive earlier than anticipated.

She was close to the clearing, so close, but just as she leaped over a thick tree stump, a tall, brooding figure landed in front of her.

Alessia rammed into a chest as hard as steel before hitting the dirt with a loud oomph. Stars clouded her vision, seeming to collide with the constellations in the sky above until she wasn’t sure which were real.

Head pounding, she squinted into the darkness, but the sliver of moonlight only provided an outline of black boots and, from the sound of it, chains dangling against the sides.

The figure sniffed once, a growl escaping his throat that chilled her to the very core.

The sound was otherworldly, like a creature determining whether or not to sink its teeth into its prospective meal.

“A mortal? Important soul my ass,” he grumbled.

His voice sent shivers down her spine, leaving a flurry of goosebumps in its wake.

“Tell me, Little Mortal, how did you manage to kill a seraph?”

She blinked at him in confusion, unable to make out his features in the darkness. She was taught about seraphims, the highest-ranking angels in Heaven, but why would one be here on Earth? They weren’t allowed in this realm without permission.

“Are you unintelligible?” he asked.

His question provoked fury to rush to the surface, and, in typical Alessia fashion, she was seconds away from telling this prick off—evil being or not—until she remembered that it wasn’t midnight yet.

She wouldn’t be able to defend herself against an evil being.

And who knew if her powers would even protect her against him?

She had no choice but to answer. She was at his mercy.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied, though annoyance still bled into her tone.

He stepped closer, and when she finally brought her gaze to his, she shrank back into herself.

Any ounce of confidence vanished as his onyx eyes glowed brightly in the dark, like endless portals leading to the underworld.

Still, she couldn’t bring herself to look away from them.

They held her captive, and for a moment, she wondered if hypnotizing people was one of his powers.

They glowed for another few seconds until he eventually ripped his gaze from hers. “The blood on your clothing speaks otherwise. Now stop avoiding the question. Did you kill the seraph or not?”

She glanced down at her nightgown, mortified that the thin material was all that covered her. Blood stains ruined the lower half of the fabric, but they were from the scrape of her knee, not from a seraph.

Demon or not, she didn’t owe him anything, and for whatever reason, she wasn’t scared of him anymore, or…

it. She may have been shocked that an evil being was in her presence, judging by the goosebumps that peppered her skin, but her heart rate was calming, and her fear was slowly dissipating.

Likely because she knew she’d be coming into her powers soon.

They’d have to help her out somewhat , right?

“When I was told to collect a soul, I didn’t expect it to be a living mortal.

” His eyes glowed brightly again for a split second, like he couldn’t believe what he saw and needed a second look.

“Killing a seraph is punishable by death. Did you know that?” He sniffed again and sneered, “You should be terrified right now. I am the Lord of Hell. Taker and punisher of evil souls. Yours included.”

Oh, fuck.

He was what she was taught to run away from.

Her parents did everything they could to prevent her from being found. They’d dedicated their entire lives to ensuring she was prepared for this moment, and yet…she still wasn’t scared. Was she in shock? In denial that this was reality?

Her feet remained frozen to the ground, unable to run even if she wanted to. Then again, when the being’s eyes began to glow again, she started to think that her inability to move had more to do with his power than her state of horror.

That is, until another thud echoed behind him.

The being bristled and whipped around, and her cheek was hit with what seemed like…feathers? It was too dark to tell. Was he a seraph too? She was never taught anything about Hell, but that didn’t surprise her. Alessia’s parents both derived from Heaven. She wasn’t required to learn about Hell.

It was too dark for her to see anything, but the snarl that escaped the man with the boots was terrifying. Because he was so large, she couldn’t see around him. His body hid her entirely.