Destined to the Hellhound: BEAST

Chapter 36

"She was at the gate," he rolls his neck. "I should have known when there was a fairy-eating monster at the gates. I knew it was a trap, but I did not suspect her."

"Lilinaya attacked me on my way to Hades' house. She was in on it too."

He doesn't speak, but the way he suddenly shifts, the Hellhound now towering over me, lets me know that he heard me.

"I threw her in the River Styx." I fly up, sitting on his back. "Let's go get Orenlea and end this."

He bounds through the desert. I don't know where he's going, but he apparently knows exactly where to look.

Rage courses through my veins as I cling to him. She was right there. She saw him when I brought him back, lifeless and wounded. Then, like a coward, she ran. Kayasera, Lilinaya, and now Orenlea—there is no honor among succubi.

A blinding light shoots up into the sky, the hot sun reflecting off of something shiny in the distance. He stops running and sits, waiting for me to climb down.

"She'll be in there." A puff of smoke, the only evidence of the beast now turned to man.

"What is it?"

"The Place of Mirrors."

"How do you know she's there?"

"It is impossible to get through, the succubi have learned it, mapped its secrets for centuries. She thinks she will be safe hiding here." He laughs, low and menacing. "I know it too. Every turn and dead-end are etched into my memory. She can't hide from me."

"Why did she think she could?"

"Remember what I told you about having a succubus as an ally?"

"They could be a terrible enemy or a wonderful ally," I repeat. So far, that seems like an untrue statement. All of these bitches are traitors. Kayasera helped me, but only after she had already betrayed Cerberus.

"They are an alley when the situation suits them. You can never trust a succubus. They will help you if they profit from it. I've known Orenlea for centuries, but I never gave away all of my secrets. I know everything that goes on down here; I don't always learn of it on time, as we both know, but I always learn of it eventually. When I found out that they were spending time here, learning the tricks, I came and learned them too, only better."

We approach the glimmering mirrors, and I can't help but feel nervous. His hand slips into mine, squeezing gently. "Stay with me, you'll be fine."

"Why does everything have to be so difficult? Why does this place have to reflect? If it didn't, we could just fly over it." I'm pouting like a child. I'm sick of this shit. Days in the Moving Forest have made me long for a few quiet days in our broken house.

"You've had a rough few days, haven't you?" He rubs my hand with his thumb.

"You got stabbed in the chest, I think you win. But it has been hard. I want to go home and not leave our room for a week."

"As soon as this is over, we'll stay in bed for a month."

We walk through the maze without a single misstep. When he said he knew it, he wasn't kidding. At every turn, I expect the worst. This little journey has proven that I can't trust anything, not even my own eyes. But he proves me wrong every time. We never hit a dead end or run into a mirror.

"You're so calm," I look up at him. It's like we're out for a leisurely stroll, hand in hand, just walking. He's relaxed, enjoying himself.

He shrugs. "She's trapped here. The fate that is waiting for her makes me feel calm. She cannot escape it."