Page 38 of Queen of the Wicked (Afterlife #1)

“I…” She shook her head, continuing to tremble.

“I was in the dark. I couldn’t see anything, and then I was hit in the ribs with something hard, and—” Her voice broke.

“Someone kept telling me to join them, but it wasn’t me, I…

” Meeting Erebos’s stare, his face had grown pale. “It was you, Erebos. I…I was you .”

Eryx still hadn’t left where he kept watch, but he seemed visibly relieved that Alessia was awake again. “When consumed on Earth, ergot can cause psychosis, but when taken in Hell, it evokes one’s deepest fears, or those they are….connected to. The poison is deathly, even to immortals.”

Her gaze shifted to Izara. “You saved me.”

The soul seeker arched a brow. “That’s a bold statement.”

“Not really when I saw you. I watched it unfold, almost like my soul was out of my body before I was snapped back into it.”

“Maybe you were hallucinating,” she countered.

“Or maybe you can stop dodging the red aura and answer me honestly.”

Izara sat by the fire, releasing a sigh before staring into the flames. “I am the soul seeker for a reason, Alessia, but I don’t just seek them. You were unable to tolerate the poison, so I held your soul until it left your system.”

“You…” Alessia’s mouth dried out. “You held it? What does that mean?”

“Izara can capture a human’s soul,” Erebos supplied. “ It’s an unheard of power, even in our realm. She can contain it, destroy it, or consume it. The choice is hers.”

Alessia couldn’t believe a word that left his mouth. “You mean to tell me you can eat souls?”

“I’ve never tried,” Izara muttered. It didn’t sound like she was thrilled about having the ability.

“My power is dangerous, and it’s a secret that only the ones in this cave are aware of.

I use it for good, like containing a redeemable human’s soul when they are sent to Hell rather than them losing it for eternity. ”

The pieces suddenly clicked together. “Is that why Erebos offers reincarnation? Because you’ve been able to contain their souls to regift to them?”

Izara nodded, flicking her wrist to make the flames burn brighter. “If the king found out, he’d send me to Earth to ensure I’d collect an army to add to the one he already has. I’d be forced to collect souls that belong in the Unknown, which would only further his decrepit agenda.”

“But I don’t understand.” Alessia frowned. “I’m not human.”

Eryx leaned against the wall, folding his arms over his chest. “We are all born with a human soul. A mortal’s lifespan is a hundred years, but when one possesses magic and is immortal, they exceed that.

Their soul starts to chip away until it no longer exists.

It is why the longer an immortal lives, the more they tend to forget their past.”

Alessia glanced at Erebos. “So, you no longer have a soul?”

He shrugged. “There’s no way to know for certain, but I’ve been alive for a long time. It would not surprise me if there is only a fraction of it left.”

“But what happens when it’s gone?” she pressed.

“Nothing happens per se, but earlier memories from our mortal lives vanish. The desires and needs we had when we were born are no longer recognizable; instead, we are just…here. Izara and I suspect that’s why we can’t remember our family or friends. We’ve likely been alive for too long.”

Alessia couldn’t fathom forgetting her childhood, erasing her parents and the memories they shared.

The animals she tended to when she was younger, forming friendships with them when she felt alone in a world she didn’t understand.

She’d never want to forget where she came from.

She wanted to keep the farmhouse in the country in her heart forever.

“It’s nothing you have to worry about,” Erebos reassured. “The soul chips away slowly. You have hundreds of years to live before your memories will be affected.”

“What about you?” She turned to face Eryx now. “You are not immortal, but I’m assuming your soul was returned to you when you decided to remain in Hell, right?”

“Correct. My mortal lifespan was returned to me. I am no longer a demon, but rather a human living out the rest of his lifespan.”

“So you will age naturally?” she asked.

He smiled, the general’s anger from earlier diminishing by the second. “Grey hair and all. It is the same for demons who wish to be reincarnated. Their mortal lifespan starts over. ”

This new information shouldn’t have come as a surprise to Alessia.

Eryx and Isla weren’t immortal, so, of course, they’d age like mortals once their soul was returned to them.

But what she hadn’t considered was her being immortal.

She’d only been alive for twenty-six years.

To even consider living hundreds, if not thousands, of years was terrifying.

“So, the demons who live in Hell aren’t immortal either?”

“They are alive until I tell them not to be,” Erebos replied, but Alessia could sense the bitterness laced behind it.

The regret of holding that weight. “Some are given an opportunity to be reincarnated and reunited with their souls, and others are sent to the Unknown. It depends on how they wish to spend their time serving me. Redemption or retribution. The choice is theirs.”

A chill skittered down her spine, and although she wasn’t nearly as cold as when the poison entered her bloodstream, she wasn’t fully warm yet.

“All that matters is that you’re safe now,” Erebos said. He seemed to sense her unease, gesturing for her to return to his lap. The tension loosened in her chest once she did so without hesitation, his arms coming to wrap around her protectively. “Thank you, Izara.”

“Yes, thank you,” Alessia added. Words seemed insufficient for saving her life, but Izara didn’t strike her as the type of person to want a hug, either.

The soul seeker dipped her chin before rising to her feet again. “I am going to see if I can find some weapons in the surrounding tunnels.”

“You think you’ll find weapons down here?” Alessia asked.

Izara huffed a laugh, but it lacked mirth.

“Plenty of travelers have died trying to venture through the pits. I am bound to stumble upon a pack eventually.” As the darkness of that statement settled in, Izara vanished behind the wall of the stone, leaving Alessia and Erebos to their private corner of the cave.

Eryx remained on guard, but he was far enough away for them to whisper and not be heard.

“You’re still shivering.” He held her closer to his chest, a buzzing, fluttering sensation hitting her like a freight train. It felt safe. It felt warm. It felt like home.

Alessia tipped her chin to look him in the eyes, unable to move on from what happened until she got answers. “Your biggest fear is the dark.” Not a question, a statement.

His throat worked on a swallow. “Yes. I was kept in a cell with no light as punishment by Bastian.”

“For how long?”

“Years. Months. I don’t remember. My earliest memory is waking up in that cell, and the torture never ended.

” He rolled his lips together, mulling it over.

“Forgetting the memories of my childhood seemed like the worst thing to ever happen to me, but now I don’t think it would be so bad to forget.

” His eyes scanned hers. “I wouldn’t mind starting over again. ”

Alessia placed a hand in the center of his chest, where she knew the cross with barbed wire lay beneath his t-shirt.

“You shouldn’t forget until he stops breathing, Erebos.

And if we can’t find a way to kill him before that happens, then I will remember for you.

I will send him to the Unknown.” Her body trembled, but now it wasn’t due to the cold.

It was anger that caused her limbs to shake.

“We will make him suffer for keeping you in the dark.”

He smiled softly, running his thumb across her cheekbone. “You’re turning into a vicious little thing, aren’t you?”

“I’m serious, Erebos.”

“I know.” His smile faded, but his hand still lingered on her cheek. “That is one of the reasons we’re here, to discover the king’s true intentions, but right now, I need you to focus on resting. We will have to move again in the morning.”

“Kind of hard to do that on a stone floor,” she grumbled.

He shifted her on his lap, cradling her while his back rested against the hard wall. It couldn’t be comfortable, but Erebos didn’t seem to mind. “Rest, Alessia.”

She couldn’t fathom that the Lord of Hell was purposely putting himself in an uncomfortable position simply so she would get a good night’s rest, but the more she got to know him, the easier it was to accept that Erebos wasn’t at all how she painted him.

And when Alessia curled into his chest, allowing the beating of his heart to lull her to sleep, she decided to throw all of her original assumptions away.

Erebos was a good man.

And she was done pretending like he wasn’t.