Page 13 of To Dwell in Shadows (Shadows of Aurelia #2)

A fter eating the selection of dark breads and sour-flavored fruits Prickles had brought for breakfast, Selene got dressed and hesitantly stepped out of their chambers to explore.

The hallway was silent and chilled, the air heavy with the scent of old stone.

She had no idea where she was in relation to the dining room, but it was obvious their suite was part of the royal wing.

Everything around her screamed Underworld opulence—from the thick black carpet underfoot, to the elaborate carvings of skulls lining the walls grinning with gilded teeth.

She followed the trail of skulls, hoping they would lead somewhere interesting.

The hem of her dress was slightly too long, so she had to be careful where she placed her feet.

She wandered past a few empty rooms, occasionally pausing to peer through tall, arched windows.

She stopped to run her fingers over the velvety texture of some flocked wallpaper, then paused to admire a painting of a demon perched on a sleeping woman.

No one crossed her path, though the soft murmur of voices filtered from behind a few closed doors, reminding her she wasn’t entirely alone .

Then she turned a corner and saw Vanthee. She was arguing with another demon nearly twice her size who had goat-like legs.

“You mustn’t spurn this opportunity,” the demon hissed.

“I’m doing all that I can, Father!”

The demon loomed over Vanthee menacingly, jabbing his finger in her face until her wings wilted. “It’s not enough. You’re the only hope this family has to—” He paused, sniffed the air, then whipped his head around to look down the hall.

“Oh! Why, it’s Lady Selene herself,” the demon said in a falsely cheerful voice.

Everything in Selene’s body went cold when his eyes met hers. The demon looked like he’d stepped straight out of a horror movie—or worse, a nightmare.

He had horns as large as a water buffalo’s set into a triangle-shaped head.

His smile was a jagged mess of pointed teeth, and his eyes seemed to twinkle with cruelty.

He clicked his long fingernails over his bare, rounded belly, the sound like bones tapping together.

On his back, he wore a fur coat made from a creature that must have died from a skin infection.

“Hello,” Selene said cautiously.

“Hello. I am Mammon.” The demon bowed dramatically, touching his horns to the ground. His cologne—a stomach-curdling mix of rotten fruit and asphalt—wafted toward her. “We’re honored to have such an esteemed guest walk among us. You’ve already met my daughter, Vanthee. We are your humble servants.”

“Nice to meet you,” Selene replied. Something primal stirred within her, making her feel like a mouse caught between two hungry cats.

Instinctively, her eyes darted around for an exit, but she was trapped in the hallway.

The multiple gold necklaces Mammon wore jangled as he rose from his bow. “And where are you off to on this fine day, Lady Selene? All alone, no less,” he crooned.

“I-I’m not really sure. I just thought I’d explore. ”

Mammon shot a look at Vanthee. “You haven’t offered to give our good lady a tour?”

Vanthee went pale. “No, I?—”

The sound of a great crack filled the hall as Mammon violently slapped Vanthee across the face. Selene gasped.

“You fall short of your duties as Guide,” Mammon said. “Our prince will never favor one so callous to his human.”

“No, no, it’s fine! I never asked for a tour,” Selene said urgently. She was no fan of Vanthee, but she certainly didn’t deserve that.

Vanthee stared at the floor, holding her palm against her cheek. “I’m sorry, Father.”

Mammon sighed. “I’m disappointed in you, but fortunately, we can fix this slight right now. Vanthee, you will give Lady Selene a full tour of the grounds and take her anywhere she wishes to go. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Vanthee said, still looking at the floor.

“Excellent. I have much to do today so please excuse me,” Mammon said. He fluttered two fingers away from his forehead in a salute. “Dark blessings, Lady Selene.”

“Uh… same to you,” Selene said, watching Mammon clip-clop away.

When he disappeared around a corner, Selene approached Vanthee cautiously. “Are you all right?”

An angry red handprint was visible on Vanthee’s cheek. She gave Selene a defiant look. “I’m fine.”

“That was not okay,” Selene said. “At least not where I’m from.”

Vanthee rolled her eyes. “Oh, shut up.”

Selene bit her lip, feeling completely out of her element. “You don’t have to take me on a tour. I can just look around on my own.”

“Apparently, I do.” Vanthee sniffed. “But it’s going to have to just be around the grounds. I don’t have time to go outside the gates. Is there anywhere in particular you want to see?”

“I don’t know enough to say. How about just a general look at the top spots? ”

“Fine. Follow me.”

Vanthee was a terrible tour guide. When she wasn’t striding down the hall so fast Selene could barely keep up, she’d simply wave her arm in the direction of places that seemed important.

“Turret of Whispers,” she said, gesturing for Selene to peek out a window. Before Selene could even get a good look, Vanthee was already rushing down a set of stairs that led outside to the main courtyard.

“Crypts of the Forsaken,” Vanthee said, pointing at a structure that looked like a decaying mausoleum.

“Chapel of Mourning,” she added, breezing past a small building with a hole in the roof. A trio of demons wearing bloodstained robes ignored them as they passed.

“Sanctum of Agonizing Rectitude,” Vanthee said, gesturing at an arched doorway that appeared to have survived a fire.

“Wait, wait. Vanthee, slow down!” Selene said when she finally caught up. “What are all these places?”

“The top spots of the Underworld, like you wanted.”

“Yes, but what are they for?”

“Lots of different things.”

I’m going to strangle her. “I know, but can you tell me a few things about each one? What happens in the Sanctum of Agonizing Rectitude?”

Vanthee smirked. “You don’t know? That’s where all the Vengeance demons spend their time.”

“It is?”

“It’s where they go to feel the impact of every wrongdoing a soul has committed in life. Then they take all that suffering and turn it back on them. If they repent, they’re allowed to transition to the Afterworld. If not, they go to the Vaults of Eternal Torment.”

“Oh. ”

“It’s very telling that Prince Samael hasn’t told his so-called fated mate about this.”

“We have talked about it. Some.”

Selene started to ruminate on how disconcerting it was that Vanthee knew more about something related to Sam than she did, but then a broken cobblestone nearly made her face-plant into a puddle of mud.

She caught herself, but not before completely soaking the hem of her dress.

The contrast between the well-kept palace and the grounds was odd.

Everything beyond the palace walls seemed neglected and run-down.

She followed Vanthee past a cluster of male demons loitering outside what looked like a decaying Southern mansion. As they walked by, the demons began to whistle and hoot. Vanthee made a disgusted noise. “Lust demons.”

Selene shot them a nervous glance, which, unfortunately, only encouraged them.

One demon, wearing nothing but a leather jock strap, swaggered over and tried to sling an arm around Vanthee’s shoulders.

Without a word, she raised her arm and delivered a swift backfist to his face. He fell to the ground.

A second Lust demon approached, trying to sniff Selene’s hair but found himself with a broken nose after Vanthee slammed his head into a nearby wall. A spray of blood painted the brick red, and the demon dropped with a grunt.

The third came toward them with a sleazy grin, reaching to lift the hem of Vanthee’s skirt with the riding crop he carried. She snatched the crop from his hand, snapped it in two, and rammed a jagged piece into each of his thighs. He howled, collapsing in a shrieking heap.

Vanthee turned to the rest of the Lust demons, eyes blazing. “Who’s next?”

Silence. Then, as if on cue, the remaining demons backed away, disappearing into the shadows of the mansion and slamming the door behind them.

Vanthee dusted off her skirt with a huff. “That’s what I thought. ”

Selene’s jaw was halfway to the ground. “Okay… that was badass.”

Vanthee, already a few steps ahead, glanced over her shoulder. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s a human term,” Selene said, still a little breathless. “It means impressive. Powerful.”

Vanthee shrugged. “To your kind, perhaps.”

Selene quickened her steps to catch up. “How did you learn all that?”

“What? Defend myself? Everyone should know how to do that,” Vanthee snapped. “What else do you want to see?”

Selene scanned the dilapidated buildings around them, looking for something halfway welcoming or appealing.

As she did, she kept seeing wispy, human-like figures drifting through the grounds.

They seemed agitated and confused, but none of the demons paid them any mind.

Were they ghosts? The thought sent a chill down her spine.

While she watched one of the figures vanish into thin air, a demon on all fours suddenly scrambled up a brick wall, startling Selene so much that she yelped.

The demon paused to hiss at them through spider-like mandibles, its milky white eye sockets staring with such an eerie, otherworldly presence that Selene couldn’t help but shudder.

Vanthee noticed Selene’s reaction and laughed. “What’s the matter? Are your human sensibilities too delicate for our kind?”

“I’m fine,” Selene said, forcing a tight smile. “It’s just very different here.”

“This isn’t a realm meant for living humans.”

Selene hugged her arms to herself. “Is there anywhere that’s quiet or more pleasant? Like a gallery, museum, or a library?”

“You want to see the library? Fine. But I wouldn’t call it pleasant.”