I stood in the center of the deserted field, swallowed by a darkness so thick it felt tangible. It wasn't just the absence of light; it was a cold, predatory vacuum that seemed to seep into my very pores, filling the hollow spaces in my chest.
I'll just stay here a bit, I thought, my wings dragging in the red dust. At least the darkness doesn't ask anything of me.
But as I began to pace the perimeter of the old detention center, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. A prickling sensation crawled down my spine, the unmistakable feeling of being watched. I scanned the shadows, but saw nothing. No movement, no glint of eyes. Yet, the aura was there: a heavy, oily pressure that made the air feel too thick to breathe.
I hesitated. Why am I retreating? I snapped at myself, forcing my feet to stay planted. This is my ground. My father's kingdom. I am a General of Gaya.
I pushed deeper into the gloom, and suddenly, a telepathic tether snapped into place. I caught a jagged, lightning-fast connection to the thing in the dark. Its mind was a chaotic storm of pure, unadulterated rage. It didn't want power or keys; it just wanted to rend flesh from bone. Then, the smell hit me, the coppery, cloying scent of fresh blood.
My heart hammered. What if the demons who were "moved" from this sector hadn't been transferred at all? What if they had been slaughtered by a loose entity that the palace couldn't control? I was standing in the middle of a hunting ground, and the predator had found me.
I spun around to bolt back toward the castle, but I froze. A figure stood directly in my path, a silhouette carved out of a darkness even deeper than the night. The presence coming off this being was suffocating, an intensity I had only ever felt in front of my father.
"You shouldn't be here, demon," the stranger said.
His voice was a tectonic shift, dark, deep, and echoing with a power that made my very soul shiver.
"I think you are the one who should not be here," I countered, trying to wrap my royal status around me like a shield. I straightened my shoulders, forcing my voice to remain steady. "Identify yourself and your status. As your Princess, I demand you speak immediately."
A low, mocking hum vibrated from the stranger. "Feisty little one, aren't you? Enough chatter. It's time for you to go."
Through the static of his thoughts, I felt a sudden impulse, he was going to grab me. I darted to the side, my wings unfurling instinctively.
"Show yourself!" I commanded, my voice echoing off the ruins of the detention cells. "I demand it!"
"As you wish," he whispered.
In an instant, the world ended. A flash of light, purer and more brilliant than anything I had ever imagined, erupted from the stranger. In Hell, we have fire and embers, but we do not have light. This was holy, abrasive, and blinding. It felt like needles being driven into my retinas.
"AAHHH!" I screamed, shielding my eyes as the radiance scorched my skin. It was a physical weight, rendering me momentarily helpless.
"You wanted to see me," the voice boomed, now sounding like a choir of thunder. "Why don't you take a look at me NOW!"
The light intensified until the world turned white. Panic took over. I took to the air, flying blindly away from the source, crashing through invisible barriers until my strength gave out and I tumbled onto the hard ground.
My vision was gone. Total, terrifying whiteness transitioned into a hazy, blurred grey. I scrambled to my feet, stumbling through the dirt, my hands outstretched like a frightened child. I could hear footsteps approaching, steady, calm.
"Nagas?" I whispered, my voice trembling.
"It's okay," a familiar voice murmured, and I felt strong arms wrap around me. "You're safe now. Let me take you home."
I didn't have the energy to question him. I felt myself being hoisted onto his back, my face pressed against his shoulder. The scent of him, cool and earthy, usually calmed me, but as I drifted into a forced sleep, something felt... off.
"Rest, Ria," he whispered.
I woke to a world of shadows. My vision was still a blurry mess, but as I blinked, the room began to resolve into focus. It wasn't my room. The air was too cold, the walls too smooth. I stumbled toward what looked like a doorway, but it wasn't a door at all. It was a rectangular void, a black hole suspended in the wall. I'd seen one once in Hazel's quarters. A Void Gate.
Before I could turn back, the room began to groan. The black hole didn't just sit there; it began to pull.
The floorboards shivered and snapped, flying into the vacuum. I lunged for the bed, gripping the frame as the gravitational force tried to peel me away. One by one, the furniture was swallowed into the nothingness. I tried to unfurl my wings to fly against the current, but my limbs felt like lead. With a final, desperate cry, I was sucked into the void.
I was falling through a world of zero gravity, a silent, empty space where even my own breath sounded too loud.
"My daughter," a voice purred.
Lilith. I could feel her evil grin in the dark, even if I couldn't see her face. "Comfortable, darling? Welcome to your new home. I do hope you enjoy the solitude."
"Why am I here, Lilith?" I spat, swinging my arms through the emptiness. "Wait until my father hears of this. He'll have your head on a spike!"
"And who is going to tell him?" she laughed, the sound echoing from every direction at once.
"Nagas. Nagas will come for me. Did you trap him here, too?"
There was a long, cruel pause. "Who do you think brought you here, Ria? He was so very helpful. You have a lot to think about now... and plenty of time to figure out how to get out. Bye-bye, darling."
The silence that followed was deafening. The revelation hit me harder than the stranger's light ever could. Nagas. The man I had loved, the only one who seemed to see me as more than a half-breed toy, had handed me over to Lilith like a piece of livestock.
Was he working with her the whole time? Was our walk to Rue just a way to scout my weaknesses? And Hazel... did my own sister know? My mind spiraled, jumping through a thousand betrayals. I had broken the first rule of Hell: never trust a demon.
I curled into a ball in the center of the void, my maroon dress floating around me. My plan to reach the human world felt like a distant, childish dream now. But as the shock began to fade, it was replaced by a cold, sharp spark of iron.
Lilith thought she could bury me in a hole. Nagas thought he could discard me. They forgot one thing: I am the daughter of Asmodeus, and I am half-human. Humans are the most resilient creatures in existence, they survive things that would break a demon.
I wasn't just going to get out. I was going to end them all.