More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” —Shakespeare, The Tempest
Silhouetted in the dark was a massive figure. Taller than the door with layers of muscles that could only be used for one thing: war. Sucking in smoke, I pushed the door shut in its face.
If death was the absence of life, then a person was not truly dead if they haunted your every waking moment.
“First, we break you. “Second, we break you. “Third, we break you.”
Lothaire rolled his eyes with a sass that reminded me of Jinx, the twelve-year-old who lived to torment my best friend, Sadie. My gut told me she would get along with Lothaire. They had the same energy: death, doom, and gloom. I could practically hear them gossiping over how inept people were.
Corvus swore, “—disgustingly fucking pretty, it’s embarrassing.” Why are they so obsessed with me?
then dragged him forward and kissed his lips. “Aran already knows he’s going to die.” Wow, power couple alert. Black veins expanded on Zenith’s face until his skin looked like a patchwork of black ink as they made out vigorously. A lot of tongue was involved. Did the veins expand because he was horny or because he was angry? Zenith pulled away from eating Vegar’s face to yell at him, “You already know his name? Did you give him yours, you motherfucking idiot? We’ve talked about this.”
I couldn’t explain to John that technically I was the High Queen of the Fae Realm, so they couldn’t be kings, so I swallowed my thoughts and watched them.
They were the worst type of people in all the realms—men who knew they were hot.
It was a fact of life that some people were blessed and not stressed. I hoped all those people got gonorrhea.
As I studied him, I realized something horrible—there were no gods. Because Scorpius’s short black hair had survived seventeen hours in the violent ocean and was still slicked back, looking perfect.
I flinched as I said it. I was starting to channel toxic masculinity a little too accurately. Oh my sun god? A horrible thought struck me. Was I becoming part of the patriarchy? Was I the problem?
Back in the beast realm, Jinx had told me I was “the first cannibal vegetarian and an embarrassment to the family.” I missed her.
“It’s not personal.” John chuckled beside me, but his eyes were tight like he was faking it. “When I woke our Aran up from the two-hour nap, he tried to wrestle me into a choke hold and promised to ‘skin me alive.’” “Sorry about that,” I mumbled. I’d woken up from our two-hour sleep with my fingers around John’s throat. At least he’d been warm. Unlike Sadie, who liked to grapple for dominance (she always lost; let’s be real),
Was I spoiled? My childhood flashed before me: flames, torture, isolation, cruel taunts, beatings, crying, running away, and terror. Nah. Jinx’s voice sneered in my mind, “Wow, letting your dead mother gaslight you, Aran. That’s even more pathetic than usual.”
Her lips parted. “Severe hypothermia. Arm broken in four places. Cracked femur. Internal organ damage, and…” I held my breath, certain she was about to say, “He’s a she.” “Severe psychological trauma.”
“Shit. I didn’t realize you were built like that,” John said as he sized me up with awe. “You know, for a weirdly pretty man, I get the vibe you’re a scary motherfucker.”
John grabbed my arm. “Listen. I’m trying to tell you something important. Orion has a feminine beauty about him, right? Who else do we know that’s like that?” “I don’t know?” I squeezed my eyes shut and thought about it. “A good-looking horse? The rumored god of sex? I don’t know what you want me to say. Yeah, I like chocolate. It’s fucking tasty.”
Yes—at the ripe age of twenty-four—I engaged in a slap fight with a grown man. Not my proudest moment.
John buried his face in his hands. “Why did I befriend you? Keeping you alive is going to be impossible.”
Instead of launching myself at him, I gave him the Sadie special and flipped him off with both my hands. “Suck my dick.” The class oohed, and Horace broke out into aggressive, breathy laughter. Even Zenith and Vegar cracked smiles. John muttered something about the underworld and regrets.
I tensed my muscles, prepared to throw John at him as a sacrifice so he wouldn’t hurt me. John noticed me trying to hide behind him. “Really, Aran? People have no loyalty these days.”
Lothaire’s eye snapped downward. “Do you want to die, Aran?” Yes. Malum and Scorpius whipped around in front of me, and Orion shifted like he was uncomfortable. John swore under his breath. Behind Lothaire’s back, Horace gave me a thumbs-up. I grimaced. “Did I say that aloud?”
“What’s going on?” John must have fallen asleep, because he sat up and asked tiredly, “Who do I need to kill? I’m ready.” “No one needs to kill anyone!” Malum barked. “I was just making sure Aran was okay.” I pointed at him accusingly. “He told me not to hurt myself. An ungodly has taken over his body.” John’s panicked eyes met mine. “For fuck’s sake! I was just being nice,” Malum growled.
If someone brought up the ungodly, they were bullied mercilessly until they shut the fuck up. Zenith was the biggest perpetrator. The demon kept trying to bring up the battle at meals, which sent half of us into panic attacks and made the other half angry. Malum had dealt with him by gently waterboarding him for six hours in the shower until he agreed to stop talking.
His hand lit on fire and scorched the shoulder of my shirt. “Oops,” Malum said like a mean girl before he released me. “Great.” I mimed gagging. “Now I have chlamydia.” “That’s not how that works.” “Sounds like something someone with chlamydia would say.”
Malum interrupted their dispute, “Egan, control your girlfriend and your child.” Three mouths dropped. Jinx pointed at us aggressively, like us being her parents was the worst fate in all the realms. “You think they sired me. Them? Those idiots? Right there? The ignorant ones that are still hugging?” Sadie sighed and said sarcastically, “Darling, it’s almost your bedtime. Don’t be difficult for Mommy.” I hid my laughter with a cough. “I’m going to stab you both in your sleep.” I made a mental note to stay awake the entire weekend. Because Jinx kept her promises.
“Imagine the most heinous crime ever committed.” Sadie finished for me, “Then imagine someone breaking from psychological torture.” I mimed an explosion with my hands. “Then combine the two. That’s Jinx.”
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you laughed and enjoyed Aran’s unwellness :)
