Page 19 of To Dwell in Shadows (Shadows of Aurelia #2)

A t dawn, Selene was woken by an imp at their door, summoning Sam for some urgent royal business. He’d barely had time to dress before being whisked away, leaving Selene to her own devices for her second full day in the Underworld.

She lingered in bed long after he left, reflecting on how quiet the space was.

It wasn’t a peaceful quiet, but hollow. There was a weight to the stillness here—something that made everything feel off-balance.

She took her time getting dressed into a fresh wicked sorceress gown and weighed her options for how to spend the day.

Wandering the palace alone wasn’t exactly appealing, but spending the day confined to their rooms felt worse.

Desperate for a friendly face, Selene knocked on the door of Queen Thema’s bedroom across the hall. It opened to reveal a scowling imp who told her that Queen Lamia had taken Thema horseback riding for the day. Feeling a bit stung that she wasn’t invited, she thanked the imp and turned away.

Standing alone in the hallway, Selene realized that, so far, Zetta was the only creature from the Underworld who actually liked her. The thought made her smile wistfully.

I guess the kennels are as good a place to go as any.

With that, she set off, her footsteps echoing through the halls.

When she entered the kennel structure, she was greeted by chaos. The air was thick with the stench of raw meat, and Ogrin was in the middle of flinging bloody chunks into cages while screeching at the hellhounds to shut up.

Upon spotting Selene, the demoness narrowed her eyes. “Are you the one riling them up so?”

“They must have picked up on my scent,” Selene replied. “Sorry about that.”

“What do you want?”

“I came to see if I could help out,” Selene said, glancing around at the pens. Zetta stood upright on her hind legs, her massive head thrown back in a howl.

“Help?” Ogrin repeated, as though the word offended her.

“Yes. I could take Zetta out for a walk or play with her. I know she has a lot of energy.”

Ogrin snorted. “You think you can handle her? Be my guest, Princess.”

Selene wasn’t sure if she was being addressed by her royal title or receiving an insult, but she didn’t comment on it. “Do you use leashes here?”

“Only if you’d like your mortal arm ripped off,” Ogrin replied, then laughed in a way that made Selene think of a Halloween witch.

“Okay, got it,” Selene said, choosing to be amused by Ogrin’s rough manner rather than offended. She reached over the half-door of Zetta’s pen to rub her forehead. “Is there anywhere we shouldn’t go?”

When the demoness looked at her, Selene noticed the whites of Ogrin’s eyes were shot through with black veins. “Just don’t leave the palace grounds. Bring her back here before Eventide.”

Selene opened the pen door, and Zetta burst out with an excited yip. She sprinted out of the kennels, which made the demoness cackle. “Better hurry! She’ll be halfway to Spirit Veil Valley!”

Selene took off after Zetta, fearing she was about to spend the day running in a gown, but the hellhound was only a few yards away, nibbling at a boulder.

Selene put her hands on her hips and said, “All that fresh meat and you’re trying to eat a rock?” Zetta looked at her with a big goofy dog grin, then pressed herself to Selene’s hip, earning a scratch under the chin. “Aw, you’re a good girl. Shall we go explore? Can you stay close to me?”

Since Zetta was more familiar with the Underworld than Selene, she let her take the lead.

First, Zetta zoomed around the courtyard, sniffing everything in sight while Selene trailed behind.

Her tail wagged furiously when they came upon a trail of roaches, and a rotten apple on the ground provided several minutes of entertainment.

Most demons ignored them, aside from a pair who slowed their pace to stare at Selene, and another who shrieked when Zetta’s sneeze shot blue sparks from her mouth.

When Zetta spied a rat heading down a set of rickety stairs, she loped after it.

Selene followed. The stairs led them into a crumbling tunnel littered with broken stone.

Gingerly, Selene stepped over a pile of rusty nails and tried to remember what Vanthee had called this part of the castle—something like the Catacombs of Doom, no doubt.

It looked like no one had come through in hundreds of years, which made Selene wonder if they were someplace they shouldn’t be. But Zetta was happily trotting along, even after losing sight of the rat, so she didn’t protest. At least not until the floor felt shaky.

When the wall sconces illuminated how patches of decay had eaten through the floor below, Selene stopped walking. Patting her legs, she called, “Zetta, come here, girl. Let’s go back.”

The sound of Selene’s voice made Zetta do a little spin but didn’t stop her. Selene called a few more times, but Zetta ignored her .

“Okay, I’m going up without you!” she called, turning back toward the tunnel entrance to fake her out.

That worked.

Zetta let out a high-pitched whine and came bounding toward her at full speed. Selene tried to sidestep, but the hellhound barreled into her, knocking her clean off her feet.

Then came a crack .

The floor gave way beneath her.

Selene plummeted as gravity yanked her downward. A rush of cold air whipped past her ears until she collided with something soft but unstable. It was a mound of loose dirt. Gasping, she pushed her hair from her face and sat up.

Blinking rapidly, she strained her eyes against the sudden darkness. She rubbed the elbow she had landed on, which was already becoming stiff. Above, the jagged hole she had crashed through indicated that she had fallen about ten feet.

She was in a place that looked like the crawl space under her parents’ house, but much deeper. There was nothing around her but empty space and stale air. It was a relief to find no immediate threats, but concerning that there was nothing to help her climb back out.

Great.

Selene sat and considered what to do. She called for Zetta a few times but got no response. Not even the faintest scratch of claws. The hellhound was probably long gone by now, off to find her next adventure.

Selene’s fingers curled around the traveler’s stone hanging from her neck. It pulsed faintly beneath her touch, seeming to recognize her. With a single thought, she could be back in her rooms, curled up under a blanket and away from the musty gloom of this half-buried ruin.

But then what? Zetta would be running wild, terrorizing everyone, and it would be her fault. Definitely not the way to make a good impression on her in-laws. Just as she started rising to her feet, she heard a faint scuffling above—footsteps, cautious and uneven.

Her heart gave a hopeful lurch.

“Hello?” she shouted. “I’m down here! Be careful, the floor is rotted!”

The footsteps paused. For a moment, there was nothing but the creaking of old wood and the groan of shifting beams. Seconds passed, and the footsteps got closer. Then a woman’s face appeared over the edge of the drop.

Selene gasped with relief. “Hi, can you give me a hand to get out? The floor collapsed under me and… ”

Selene trailed off as she got a better look at the figure peering down at her. It was a woman, but she didn’t look like a demon. At least not one she had seen so far. Her features were soft. Pretty.

Familiar.

Golden-blonde hair cut into a messy bob, large eyes, and a sloping nose.

Selene’s breath caught in her throat, and her heartbeat became a drum in her ears.

She was staring up at her sister, Cass.