Luckily, my vampire half adjusted easily to the darkness. When we reached the bottom I felt like we’d journeyed to the centre of the earth, or whatever planet Oreylia could be found on.

  Was that where we were? Another planet? Or perhaps another universe? Were there endless universes out there, all with their own unique planets and lifeforms?

  Pondering these questions made my head hurt.

  As my eyes further adjusted to the darkness, I took in the large space. Hundreds of people of every kind of supernatural species were hard at work, while full-blooded demons in the employ of Red Armand watched on, weapons at the ready, making sure nobody stepped out of line.

  The din of hammers pounding into rock was deafening as my eyes desperately searched for Vas. I couldn’t see him anywhere but there were so many people and it was incredibly dark.

  “What circle of hell is this?” Ren muttered at my side.

  My attention went to poor Maya and her sister, Demi. Both girls looked positively terrified.

  “Maybe we should take them under our wing,” Ren suggested, seeing where my attention had gone. We weren’t there to protect people. We were there to murder the man who kept them captive and free Vas and Sven. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stand to leave Maya and Demi to the whims of the Blaze. I had to try to help them.

  “Hey, how about we stick together?” I suggested to Maya, whose eyes lit up at the offer. “We’ll be stronger in numbers.”

  She nodded gratefully and she and her sister sidled closer. “Yes, good idea.”

  The demons who’d brought us down the shaft began herding us through the mine. I shared a grimace with Ren when we went by the toilets, though calling them that was being generous. Let’s just say I didn’t look forward to needing to use the bathroom.

  Next we were hustled into a large sleeping area. There were narrow, hollowed out spaces in the walls where the workers slept. The hollows were stacked about ten high, with ladders attached to the walls for workers to climb to their sleeping pod. Each pod was about big enough to hold two people at a pinch.

  There appeared to be small chalkboards above each pod with names scrawled across them.

  “Okay, listen up,” the demon in charge announced. “Sleeping chambers are an every person for themselves situation.” I tried not to scoff at him calling them ‘chambers.’ A hole in a wall was not a chamber in my book. “The free chambers are the ones without names above them. If you fail to claim one you’ll have to sleep out here on the floor. Grab a blanket from the pile in the corner and please only take one per person. You have an hour to get settled and then your first shift will begin. Use this time wisely.”

  As he spoke, I very quietly translated for Ren. Then, as soon as the demon gave the signal for people to start claiming beds, those around us whipped into action. Maya looked a little lost, like she was too stressed to even listen to what the demon said.

  I turned to Ren. “You find a chamber for us. I’m going to help Maya and Demi.”

  He nodded and I took Maya’s hand before leading her forward, grabbing two blankets for the sisters before searching for a free sleeping pod. The two of them were tiny so I decided they could share the same pod. It would also be safer than leaving the younger girl to sleep on her own.

  In no time at all the empty pods were taken but then Ren called out, waving us over to two free ones he’d found at the very top level.

  “You and I can share this one and Maya and Demi can sleep in here,” he said, and I quickly scrawled our names on the boards. It seemed that along with gifting me the Oreylian tongue, Roman had also bestowed upon me the ability to write in their alphabet. I was sceptical about Ren and I both fitting into one pod, but there were already fights breaking out down below so we’d have to make do.

  “I’m going to start checking for Vasilios and Sven’s names. See if I can find where they sleep.”

  “But there are so many,” Ren said, eyes scanning the vast space. “And you heard that guy. We start working in less than an hour. I think we should take the time to rest up.”

  “You rest. I’ll be back shortly.”

  I left before he had the chance to argue, but just as I was climbing down Maya reached out and grabbed my arm.

  “Sorry to eavesdrop, but did I just hear you mention the names Vasilios and Sven?”

  My heart pounded. “Yes, do you know them?”

  “I know of them. Their names are notorious in this city. They’re the only two miners to ever escape from servitude. Their escape sullied Red Armand’s name so much that he travelled far and wide to locate and recapture them. Word is he succeeded. I can’t imagine how awful it must be to win your freedom and then have it snatched away from you all over again.”

  “Yes,” I replied, a pain starting in my chest at the memory of Vas’ face right before he’d been pulled back to his own personal version of hell. “Truly awful.”

  “Do you know them?” she asked, seeing something in my eyes.

  I didn’t bother to lie. “They’re my friends. I came here to find them.”

  She looked stunned. “You came here on purpose?”

  “Not exactly. Being captured wasn’t part of the plan.” Although, what other way would I have gotten down there? I could’ve masqueraded as a demon overseer but that would’ve been tricky. Too many chances of being caught. At least this way I could search for Vas and Sven freely.

  I continued my descent down the ladder. When I reached the ground floor I wandered about the sleeping quarters, noticing something unusual about the workers in their pods. Many of them weren’t asleep. Instead they stared at the ceiling or off into the distance. It was like they’d been sedated and it didn’t take long to figure out why.

  “Want to buy some lava dust, girl? It’ll make you forget you’re in hell,” a grey faced woman asked as I passed her. She had an emaciated look about her, and whatever ‘lava dust’ was I’d bet my last dolmen she was using it herself.

  Drugs were something people turned to in this dimension, just as they were in my own.

  “No, thank you,” I replied, giving her a polite nod.

  “You’ll change your mind and I’ll be here when you do,” she said and an eery shiver passed down my spine.

  My eyes wandered over the names on the chalkboards, section by section. Ren was right though, I’d never be able to check all the names before it was time for us to start working.

  Nevertheless, I continued checking before more workers came filing into the area. One of the shifts must’ve just ended.

  A strange sensation filled my chest. The mark began a low thrum that gradually increased and I knew Vas had to be near. There was no other explanation. Anxiety took hold as I frantically scanned the hundreds of new people who milled in, climbing the ladders to get into their pods to rest.

  The crowd parted, a small hush descending, and that was when I saw them.

  Vas and Sven.

  They were only about twenty feet away from me but I was far behind the crowd and they couldn’t see me. People were giving them a wide berth and it was clear to see why. They were pariahs now, having escaped and been recaptured. I studied their appearances, the soot and dirt that marred their hair and clothing. They were shirtless, only wearing dark trousers, their muscled torsos dirty from mining just like many of the others I’d encountered. I calculated that they’d been here a little over two weeks, but it felt like months since I’d laid eyes on them.

  I wanted to call out to them, but I decided that was a bad idea. It would garner unnecessary attention, and there were still demon overseers standing about. So, I kept my mouth shut and watched as they climbed the ladder to two pods, both on the tenth level not too far from the ones Ren had snagged for us. Without analysing my next move too closely, I waited until they were both inside their pods and then I ascended the ladder after them.

  Quietly, I neared Vas’ pod, my voice no more than a whisper when I called out, “Vas?”

  I waited a moment but received no response. Wondering if he was asleep already, I crooked my neck around the corner to peer inside right before a hand reached out and gripped the neck of my T-shirt. A second later we were face to face, his bright blue eyes somehow more vibrant than I remembered.

  Though perhaps that was down to the fury and disbelief that burned within them.

  “Darya,” he seethed then dragged me inside his pod. I was shocked by his anger, so intense it practically radiated from his pores. Not to mention the fact that he was shirtless, sweaty and dirty from his shift in the mine.

  Before I knew it I was lying flat inside the pod, Vasilios above me in the tiny space, his hand still fisting my shirt in a vicelike grip.

  “You’re crowding me,” I complained, my voice oddly breathless. His chest was pressed hard to mine, his expression etched in anger. His scent invaded me, overpowering my ability to think straight.

  “Me crowding you is the least of your worries. How the fuck did you get here, Darya?”

  He looked both furious and fascinated all at once. His accent curled around the English syllables that were foreign to him and it sent an unexpectedly pleasant shiver through my body. The mark was more alive than ever, humming away happily to be reunited with its maker.

  “I couldn’t just abandon you,” I responded, my words choked. The way he managed to surround me had nerves thrumming under the surface of my skin.

  His grip on my T-shirt loosened, only to be replaced with his hand on my neck. He gripped tight enough to be threatening but not tight enough to hurt.

  “You couldn’t abandon me? You betrayed me. Lied to me. I told you what would happen if you betrayed me twice.” His voice was more vibration than sound. I did remember what he said would happen. He said he’d kill me. Was that what he was doing now, preparing to choke me to death?

  I decided to call his bluff. My eyes intent on his. “Go ahead then. Do it.”

  His fingers dug in, hurting a little. I didn’t struggle because a part of me didn’t believe he would do it. No matter how much he might hate me right then, there was still a piece of him that didn’t. There was a thin, brittle thread that connected us, and with his mark inside me I knew that thread would hold firm.

  Or at least, I hoped.

  “Are you goading me?”

  “I’m trying to get you to see sense. I’m on your side, you idiot.”

  “Call me an idiot one more time, my sweet, and see what happens.” I sensed the threat wasn’t an empty one. Still, I couldn’t resist inching my head up a tiny bit, less than a centimetre between our faces as I held his gaze.

  “Idiot,” I whispered right before I pushed up with all my might. I didn’t manage to tear his hand from my throat, but I did manage to flip us so that I was straddling him. I couldn’t sit all the way up, otherwise my head would hit the ceiling, so I had to remain annoyingly close. I stiffened with awareness of everywhere our bodies met. My hand was wrapped around his fingers, trying and failing to claw them from my throat. My other hand pushed against his shoulder, a flimsy attempt at creating some distance between us.

  “How ironic that you came to bring me back to your realm and imprison me once more but found yourself captured in the process.”

  “I came to kill Red Armand and free you,” I argued, stifling the urge to tap on another idiot for good measure. I suspected that wouldn’t end in my favour. His eyes burned bright with mistrust.

  “More lies. How many more times will you betray me, Darya? How many more times do you think you’ll get away with it?”

  “I’m not betraying you. And as soon as I realised you weren’t behind Belinda’s death in the Prison of Thorns, I was no longer working against you. I escaped with you, Vas. I helped you win your freedom.”

  “Yes, right before it was snatched away again.”

  “That wasn’t my fault. Now will you please take your hand off my throat? It’s starting to hurt and we both know you’re not going to kill me so quit the pretence.”

  At this, he shot me a sharp, closed mouth smile, his grip tightening in a way that really did begin to hurt. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

  “That’s true, though whatever’s digging into my thigh right now says you want to do something to me and it isn’t strangle me to death.”

  The silence that followed was so stark you could hear a pin drop. I couldn’t believe I said that to him. Embarrassment flooded in, threatening to drown me.

  Vas brought his mouth to mine, his voice a seductive whisper, “Who’s to say I can’t do both?”

  A tendril of fear washed over me. “Vas, I promise I’m here to help you.” I couldn’t keep the wobble of emotion from my voice and his grip loosened the smallest bit.

  The wall behind his eyes didn’t come down though. He wasn’t going to trust again so easily.

  “How did you get here?”

  “Through a portal.”

  “Did you come alone?”

  I shook my head. “Ren came with me.”

  Vas frowned. “Ren from St. Bastian’s? Why?” He paused and cocked his head, a brief flash of jealousy. “Is he in love with you?”

  “Contrary to your experience,” I began, unable to hold back the comment. “Not everyone who sees me instantly falls in love with me.”

  The ghost of a smile tugged at his lips. “How you flatter yourself.”

  “Is it not true?” I goaded.

  “I wouldn’t exactly say love, but a more…base instinct.”

  “You’re a pig.”

  His eyebrow arched in challenge. “A pig you came all this way to rescue?”

  “Now that you mention it, perhaps that was a rash decision. I thought our time together in the prison meant something. I thought we were allies, friends even.”

  At this, he grew quiet. Vas stared at me for a long time, our breaths mingling in the narrow space. “So, you’re saying you really came all this way to save me?”

  “Is that so hard to believe?”

  “Of course it’s hard to believe. The dangers of this realm are vast, and there’s no guarantee you’ll ever get back home. No, my friend, if that’s what you really are, you have something up your sleeve. You wouldn’t leave behind your precious Peter and your beloved family for a low down criminal like me. There’s more to this, but I’ll play along. For now.”

  His mentioning Peter sent an arrow plunging right through my heart. All the danger and risk had taken my mind off how heartbroken I still was about our breakup. Vas watched me like there was something on my face that interested him. I cleared my throat.

  “I felt terrible when Red Armand took you and Sven. I also felt partly responsible. Carra and I made a pact to rescue you as soon as we realised you’d been taken. It might sound simple but I promise that’s why I’m here.”

  “Carra? Where is she? Why didn’t she come with you?”

  “Carra’s fine,” I said. “My mother is caring for her, but she was too injured to come.” I purposefully didn’t tell him about the coma. There was too much mistrust on his part to throw that spanner in the works. I didn’t want him blaming me for letting my mother and Rita cast the healing spell when there was a chance it could go awry like it had. To be perfectly honest I’d been so selfishly wrapped up in my own feelings over losing Peter that I hadn’t given a thought to poor Carra.

  Vas didn’t say anything for a long moment, his gaze fixed to mine like he was trying to decipher possible lies. My attention went to his hand on my throat. My hand was still on his and I loosened my grip, then ran my fingers down to the thorn tattoo that marked his wrist. A visible shudder went through him.

  “My mother showed me how to remove these,” I said quietly and he grew even more still at my touch. “I can remove yours. Your magic won’t be muted anymore. You’ll be so much stronger.”

  Before he could say anything a loud clang sounded before a demon announced, “Shift two begins in five minutes! All new recruits gather on the ground floor!”

  “I have to go,” I told him. “We’ll talk more later.”

  He finally let go of me and I scrambled out of his sleeping pod.

  “Darya,” Vas said as I made to leave. I paused, waiting for what he intended to say. He ran a hand through his hair, his stern expression wavering as he sighed. “Don’t let them hustle you to the front when you go out there. That’s the most dangerous part and the experienced miners know how to trick the newcomers into going ahead of them.”

  I absorbed what he said, nodding. “Okay, thanks for the tip.” Pausing, I pressed my lips together. “Vas, I—”

  “Just go,” he interrupted gruffly. “I’ll find you later.”

  I left, sensing his eyes on me as I went. One thing was for sure, it was going to take a lot more work to get him to trust me again. When I reached the ground level Ren appeared, grabbing me by the arm, “There you are. Did you find them?”

  “Yes, but Vas wasn’t pleased to see me.”

  Ren shot me a commiserating look. “I take it he’s still mad about the going undercover thing?”

  I sighed. “Something like that.”

  “So, you travelled all the way to an alternate dimension to save him and he has the cheek not to appreciate it. Typical.” Ren gave a tut and he almost managed to cheer my spirits.

  “How about we get through the next few hours and then I’ll figure out how to convince Vas my heart is in the right place.”

  “Good plan,” Ren replied as we joined Maya and Demi who had gathered with the rest of the new captives waiting to be herded into the working part of the mine. As we entered we were instructed to take a hammer from a large pile. Most of them were worn out, the handles smooth from endless use.

  “Hang back. Vas said the experienced miners funnel the newbies to the front where it’s most dangerous,” I told Ren.

  Right as I spoke I could see some of the people we’d come in with being hustled on ahead of everyone else. Ren, Maya, Demi and I managed to keep relatively back, but even so, it was a hellish and traumatising experience. I learned first-hand how the Blaze got its name when I stepped into the intensely humid belly of the beast.