Page 4 of Queen of the Wicked (Afterlife #1)

“Give me the girl,” a deep voice that belonged to the new stranger said. Alessia had no idea who had joined them in the forest, but he must have been trying to save her.

Right?

“According to the rules of the realm, she is mine to deal with, Godric. If you want to delve into the rulebook, you should be punished for even stepping foot on Earth. Why would you be coming here for a mere mortal with no power? If she killed your precious fellow seraph, I will handle it. It’s my job. ”

There was a crunching of leaves in front of them, and the Lord of Hell stiffened as the feathers of his wings, she assumed, flared outward to hide her further. Not that he was doing it for her protection , but likely to ensure that he was the one who got to kill her.

“The girl has been requested by the king. Whatever he wants, he gets. Now hand her over.”

“To do what, exactly? If she killed a seraph, she’s a tainted soul who must be handled accordingly, or is he planning to indict her into Heaven like he has all my other malevolent souls who have somehow vanished from the soul yard?

Fifth day in a row that there hasn’t been a single one. Want to explain why that is?”

A snarl escaped from the one named Godric. “Keep your mouth shut, Erebos. We all know what you’re truly up to in Hell. It’s only a matter of time before we gain proof. Now move over and give me the girl.”

Alessia breathed deeply, her hair standing on end.

She had no clue who to trust. Neither of these beings seemed safe to go with, but if she had to choose, she’d pick the realm from which her family derived.

They would never make her run towards evil, but even if she wanted to speak to this person named Godric, she couldn't. The being she now knew as Erebos still controlled her with his power.

Only when Godric lunged for him was his power released from her. She dropped to the ground on her knees before she scrambled up and took off in the other direction toward the house. Her parents might still be there. It was her only option at this point.

It wasn’t until the town clock struck midnight in the distance that she let out a shredding, agonizing scream, dropping to her knees all over again.

The pain was instant, burning her from the inside out.

A foreign sensation crept into her veins, lighting up every single nerve ending like a switchboard incapable of shutting down.

Her fingertips tingled just before a golden lightning strike flashed in the meadow beyond, followed by a crack of thunder. Rain descended soon after, chilling her to the bone and giving her a much-needed wake-up call.

That was power thrumming through her veins as a pit the size of a boulder began to open like a budding flower in her stomach. Power that sizzled beneath her skin, itching to be unleashed.

This feeling was intoxicating. It felt like taking that first breath of air after being underwater for too long—like she’d been suppressed her entire life, and the world was suddenly hers for the taking.

Alessia blinked away the rain, seeing everything around her clear as day.

She wondered if her eyes were glowing, too, as Godric raced out of the woods and ran towards her.

The man with blond hair falling to his shoulders wore a carnal expression as he closed the distance between them, his thighs on full display in a toga.

Gold decorating his exposed skin glinted between each lightning strike, and as he drew closer, only then did she become terrified for the first time of the night.

She couldn’t shake the growing feeling of uneasiness. Like a second sense, her mind beckoned her to run away. To escape him at whatever cost necessary.

“Bastian’s going to love me for this,” he gloated, but two things happened simultaneously as he reached out to grab her.

Alessia’s palm shot out to hit him in the balls, and at the same time, a dark smoke enveloped his body.

Her mother had trained her well, and long hours had been spent in the yard teaching her how to defend herself if needed.

In that second, she was grateful for all the sweat she exuded during those sessions when he dropped to the ground beside her.

Until she saw his vacant gaze.

Blood spilled from his eyes, the black smoke swarming around him as if eating away at his flesh piece by piece until he no longer existed. Godric was on his back, white wings sprawled out across the dirt as he slowly began to disintegrate into nothing.

The clearing of a throat momentarily distracted her from the horror she was witnessing. When her frantic stare met Erebos, she finally got a decent look at him, and her throat suddenly dried out.

He didn’t look like an evil being at all.

He appeared as a normal human, only larger.

He had to be well over six foot, and his body was muscular, freaking jacked in every possible way.

His curly black hair swooped at the nape of his neck, with tattoos covering every inch of his skin.

She didn’t have the time to analyze them further as he took two significant steps to close the distance between them, gaping at the seraph at his feet as she shakily rose back onto her own .

“Who are you?” he asked. “What dark magic do you possess?”

Alessia was still trying to wrap her head around the dead body between them.

More importantly, she wasn’t sure why she hadn’t started crying.

She should be terrified that she just murdered someone, but deep in her soul, she somehow knew that killing Godric was the right thing to do. She didn’t feel guilty about it.

He was going to hurt her.

“Dark magic?” she asked. “Is that what my powers are? Did I… Am I the one who just did that to him?”

“You mean to tell me you’ve never used your powers before and just killed a seraph? What I hate more than anything is a liar , Little Mortal. Are you a witch?”

“No, I’m not a witch . At least, I don’t think so, and…I don’t owe you anything.”

Her eyes skimmed across his neck to the skeletal hands tattooed on either side, seeming drawn to the way they wrapped around his throat.

If only she knew how to access her powers, she’d cut off the air supply for the inked symbolism, but she was helpless.

She didn’t know how to control it, let alone target someone.

He held his palm in front of her face, and she flinched, but nothing happened. He huffed and tried again, his eyebrows furrowing together as if trying to focus this time. Still, she remained unharmed.

“What the hell?” He took a step back and glanced behind him. It wasn’t until then that they both realized the wings she felt earlier had vanished. “What did you do? Who are you?”

Oh, he was angry.

Very angry.

If she had to guess, he was powerless now, and she was taking the fucking chance while she had it to bolt.

It was a shot in the dark, but she lurched away from him to sprint towards the house.

She was faster than she’d ever been, practically gliding on the grass.

Erebos was taller, though, so he was quick on her heels, cursing himself every step of the way.

Alessia made it back to the familiar porch in record time, but when she threw open the front door to find her parents and scream for help, a sickness washed over her as soon as she saw what lay before her.

Her mom, Haleth, was on the ground, with blood-stained angel wings sprawled behind her and a lifeless gaze that had Alessia’s world falling apart at the seams.

Haleth was a seraph.

And she was dead.