Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

I step inside a place that can only be from my dreams.

Or, perhaps, from my nightmares.

A dark night sky stretches high above me for as far as I can see. A round moon rests within it, casting soft enough moonlight over the scene below so that it doesn't hurt my eyes.

On my right is an orchard of trees, all fruit-bearing. I recognize the shapes of apples hanging from the branches, their bright-red skins easily visible.

Directly in front of me is a sculpted garden filled with rose bushes. They're black roses. Their branches are so heavy with flowers that they droop to the ground. In the center of them is a bubbling fountain.

Behind the sculpted garden is a dark forest that extends far into the distance. The trees within the forest are set close enough together that cold shadows rest beneath them, but far enough apart that the thought of running through that forest is tantalizing.

What's more, if I listen carefully, I can make out the soft scuffling of what could be creatures of prey.

I sense the reactions of the elves as they step inside the room, the buzz in the air and their increased heart rates telling me they're already picturing themselves hunting in that forest.

On our left is a cottage with a thatched roof, two stories, and small windows. Gauzy, black curtains waft at the open windows on both levels, the soft material lifting in a gentle breeze that brushes my skin.

At first glance, this place has everything I could need for a safe stay: space to run, a water source, food to be hunted, and a place to sleep.

But there are too many aspects of it that are far too personal.

Nearly every night since my mother died, I've dreamed of her.

In my dreams, I can't reach her. Her silhouette always passes across the edge of my vision and her form disappears before I can get to her.

Always, within my dreams, she moves through a room with inky-blue walls into a garden with black roses. A dark forest looms in the background.

Now, as I inhale the scent of the roses, I can nearly hear her humming.

I can imagine her bending to one of the rosebushes, snipping at the stem of her chosen flower while deftly avoiding its thorns.

I close my eyes, shivering.

Without stepping inside the cottage that sits to my left, I'm certain that the walls will be the same inky blue as the walls of the home in my dreams, right down to the swirling, silver filigree that decorates them.

Emil's voice sounds softly at my shoulder. "I warned you to guard your dreams, my Veda."

I startle at his sudden nearness. Ever since he started wearing this face, his presence has become harder to detect, his movements almost impossible to follow. And that's saying something, given how finely tuned my senses are.

I had no warning of his proximity now, although I'm aware of the way my pack members are all edging toward me, as if they'll leap to my defense if needed.

I raise my hand to tell them to stay put.

I can manage this.

As for what Emil said, he did warn me.

The first night I spent outside my cage after I fell asleep on a warm beach under a beautiful night sky, I woke to find him guarding me. His hand was pressed to his chest, as if it hurt.

He told me he couldn't sleep that night because my dreams had kept him awake.

They've kept him awake many times since.

Now, somehow, the magic in the Underworld has recreated the home I dreamed about.

Whereas sweet scents and soft lighting had no effect on me, the environment in front of me is truly cruel.

Because my mother is not in it.

She remains out of my reach.

And it's because of Emil.

"And I warned you that I would have my revenge," I snarl softly.

He responds with a dark smile that belies his silvery-bright hair. "As you like."

Halle has ventured farther inside the space than I have, her hounds staying close to her heels now.

"Well, this is certainly interesting," the goddess announces.

She stops right beside a rosebush, where her stiletto heels sink into the grass, one of them impaling a rose that has dropped to the ground.

For some reason, she fixates on the keeper as she breaks into a broad smile. "Would you look at those apple trees? So delightful!"

As she speaks, the last of the sunlight fades, and the trunks of the trees within the orchard light up from their bases to the tips of their branches, glittering, sparkling light gleaming from within them. The brightness mutes the color of their fruit, leaving it looking as black as the roses instead of red like it appeared only moments before.

It's a sharp contrast with the cold shadows beneath the trees that form the forest up ahead.

Beside me, Emil is as silent as stone, his expression hardening in the face of Halle's exuberance.

"That orchard is very intriguing," she persists, and, even though I'm not sure why she's so focused on the apple trees, it's clear to me that she's poking hard at the keeper. "Wouldn't you agree, keeper?"

" Emil ," he snaps back. "Remember what I am: your enemy."

She doesn't appear at all perturbed, her bright smile remaining plastered on her face. "Such a clever evasion of my point. Please do continue to hide your true feelings, Emil ."

Without missing a beat, she turns to me. "As you've probably guessed, this part of the Underworld adjusts itself to the needs of the person whose blood was taken at the door."

I rub my left palm, remembering the sharp prick even if I can't see a wound.

"I'm pleased to see, Veda, that you've given your pack and yourself everything you could possibly need," Halle continues as she gestures to our surroundings. "A forest in which you can hunt. A cottage to accommodate various sleeping arrangements. Black roses to remember your mother by." Her eyes glitter at me as she continues. "And an apple orchard to torment the keeper."

I return her gaze without flinching, as if the apple orchard had been a deliberate choice on my part, but for the life of me, it's the only thing that isn't the same as my dreams.

"Well," she continues, her bright smile never wavering. "I'll leave you to rest for tonight. But I'll be back in the morning. And then, if you're ready, Veda, we can take a journey to the truth." She glides toward the door but pauses beside Jonah. "I don't suppose you've decided to tell me where my brother is?"

The fire jotunn scowls back at her.

"Very well." She shrugs. "Maybe Veda will wrangle it out of you."

James Vanguard's whereabouts are the least of my concerns right now, although I haven't forgotten my vow to bring him to account for his part in my father's crimes.

Halle pauses when she reaches the outer door. "Oh. I should have said: to exit this place, all you have to do is walk through this main door and you'll find yourself in the external tunnel once more. From there, you're free to leave."

She holds up a finger. "But please be aware: transportation magic does not work within this space. You must step outside into the tunnel and, better yet, proceed to the mouth of the Underworld again." She gestures to our surroundings with a firm nod. "I mention it just in case you were to try to translocate yourselves from here and you find it doesn't work. I don't want to be accused of trapping or tricking you."

I acknowledge her with a nod. "Understood."

"Good." With that, she opens the door and sails on through it.

The hounds silently follow her out, but as they pass me by, one of them shifts into full humanoid form. He's the one who was eyeing Strife.

The hellhound loses some of his height but is still a solid six feet tall. His skin becomes a reddish-brown color while his eyes are now brown with darker rings around his irises. Dark-brown hair sits in waves around his face and his jaw is shadowed with growth.

He casts a silent glance back at Strife, who has paused near one of the rosebushes and appears suddenly transfixed.

As the door closes behind Halle and all of the hounds, Strife gives himself a shake.

"Damn," he whispers, but his face has fallen with not even a hint of his mischievous smile remaining, and I'm not sure why he's suddenly so subdued.

Riot is immediately at his side, a hand gripping Strife's shoulder, to which Strife returns his brother's solemn gaze.

"Yeah, I know," Strife says. "Fun is easy. Getting attached is not. That hound has my heartbreak written all over him."

"I'm sorry, brother," Riot says. "Save yourself the pain."

Heartbreak is a pain that Riot knows only too well.

Back on the island off the coast of Japan, Riot had bonded with one of the female dragon shifters, Miku. She's the sister of the dragon master who controls the island. All dragon shifters are creatures of light magic.

For the duration of our stay, Riot was still cursed to exist in his shadow panther form, but on the last day, the keeper broke the curse. In his dark elf form, Riot was finally able to speak with Miku.

When she came to say goodbye, he asked her to come with us.

She refused.

As much as I hated what she said to him, I couldn't deny the truth of it. She said that they were creatures of opposite magics. They would never be safe to be with each other. They would be hunted by both sides because of their bond. She told him she wouldn't risk his life like that.

I'll never forget what Anarchy said to Riot as he watched Miku fly away.

She told him to accept the pain because we are dark creatures and we will never be anything but broken.

My shoulders slump.

As much as I'm seeking the truth, right now, I hate it.

I turn to find Anarchy and Rumble studying the cottage, which sits right at the edge of the rose garden on my left.

Anarchy's head is tilted and her right hand is outstretched toward the cottage's open door. "There's an aura around this structure. Do you sense it, Rumble?"

"I've felt this magic before," he says, his forehead puckered. "But where do I know it from?"

Anarchy's expression suddenly clears. "Our former queen had a room that felt like this."

Rumble's eyebrows rise. "Do you think it's a soul catcher?"

"What's a soul catcher?" I ask, interrupting them.

"Dark magic, naturally," Anarchy replies. "Our queen used to entrap bright creatures this way, but it works on anyone with a soul."

I try to detect what the elves are sensing, but even standing this close to the cottage, I come up empty. The breeze is gentle, the black curtains swaying harmlessly, and the fountain bubbles quietly behind me.

I guess I'm tired. It's been a long night.

"So much for no tricks," I mutter. "Halle said this place is a product of my needs, but I guess she must have interfered somehow."

Emil's voice sounds at my shoulder. "She didn't."

Once again, he has crept up on me.

"This place is your creation, Veda," he says. "Even an old goddess could not interfere with what you want."

I turn on him. "Why would I want to trap my friends?"

"Not your friends," he says. "Your enemy."

His eyes glitter at me as he steps toward the cottage's open door. "Your heart yearns for a cage to place me in. A cage as dark as the one you survived. The trouble is, my Veda, I don't have a soul."

With that, he steps inside the cottage, his imposing figure filling the opening for a moment before the shadows within the cottage's lower level engulf him.

He disappears so completely that I'm suddenly alarmed.

I tell myself he must have simply stepped to the left or the right and out of view, but even Anarchy is craning her neck, looking as intently for him as I am.

Before I know it, I've taken a step closer to the cottage.

Anarchy's hand wraps around my arm before I can get too close to the building. "Even if what Emil says is true—that the soul catcher is of your own making—you can't risk going inside."

I understand her warning, but I can't fight my sudden panic.

For the first time since I gave the keeper my heart's power… I can't feel it. Even when we were separated after my first fight with Halle, I didn't have such an empty feeling within my chest.

"Emil!" I shout, unable to keep the panic from my voice.

My only answer is silence, and my blood rushes loudly in my ears.

I latch on to the only challenge I can think of that might compel him to obey me. "If you don't have a soul, come out and prove it!"

Emil appears in the doorway again, but this time, his footsteps are slower.

"As you like," he says, and I'm confused to hear a sigh in his voice. It doesn't sound like an exasperated sigh, more of a tired one, his voice low and surprisingly bleak.

He steps right up to the outer edge of the doorway, his front foot meeting it, and then?—

He stops.

A furrow appears in his brow as he raises his hand toward the space within the doorway. His palm appears to hit an invisible barrier right at the outer edge of the doorway.

"What?" His soft exclamation sounds bewildered. "This can't be."

He presses both of his palms flat against the air in front of him, the tension in his muscles telling me how hard he's pushing against it.

My eyes are wide. He said he doesn't have a soul, and I absolutely believe him and yet…

With a roar, he turns his shoulder and rams himself against the invisible barrier.

The thud his body makes as he hits the barrier is so loud that I instinctively take a step back.

" I don't have a soul! " he roars, his shout directed at me.

The corners of his mouth turn down and his chest heaves as his green-eyed gaze burns me more deeply than his fiery dragon eyes ever could.

Then I'm struck by the dark rings beneath his eyes and the flash of pain across his face before he backs away into the shadows.

His voice fades as his form disappears into the dark. "I don't have a soul."