She woke to chaos.
The door slammed open before she could move. Torchlight flooded the chamber, and with it came voices sharp, angry, unfamiliar. Jasmine curled into herself, pulling the furs up to her chin, her body trembling. Her wrists were raw. Her thighs ached. She could still feel his hands on her throat.
Dain stood in the doorway. He was dressed already in black, his hair wild, his red eyes blazing. Behind him, she saw figures in the corridor ,men in armor, they had bloodshot red eyes, their faces were hard, they didn't look human.
Get up, he said.
She pressed herself deeper into the bed. She could not move. Her legs would not hold her.
He crossed the room in three strides. His hand closed around her arm, yanking her upright. She cried out a small, frightened sound and her legs buckled. He caught her before she fell, his grip bruising.
"You will get dressed", he said. "You will come with me. You will not speak."
He threw a gown at her, blue silk, thin and turned his back. She stood there, naked and shaking, her hands clumsy as she pulled the fabric over her head. She could not make her fingers work. The gown tangled in her hair. She bit her lip to keep from crying.
He turned back before she was ready. His eyes moved over her, the bruises on her throat, the marks on her wrists and something flickered in his expression. He did not soften. He took her arm and pulled her through the door.
The corridor was crowded. Men in armor, men in silks, men with eyes that glowed red and gold and white. They parted as Dain passed, but their eyes followed Jasmine. She heard their whispers.
The mortal…
The heir's…
He has never…
She kept her eyes on the floor. Her bare feet were silent on the cold floor. She did not want to see their faces. She did not want them to see hers.
They walked through halls she did not recognize. The fortress was alive with movement , servants running, voices shouting, doors slamming. Something was wrong. Something had happened.
She did not ask. She did not speak.
They entered a hall so vast it swallowed the light. Pillars of black stone rose into darkness. Torches burned with violet flame. And at the far end, on a throne, sat a man .
Jasmine's steps faltered. Dain's hand tightened on her arm, forcing her forward.
This man was beautiful. She had expected horror, but he was beautiful in the way a storm is beautiful , terrible, overwhelming, impossible to look away from. His face was sharp, his eyes burning red, his hair black as that of the man who kidnapped me. He wore no crown, but he needed none. Power radiated from him like heat from a forge.
He was not smiling.
His eyes found Jasmine, and she felt something cold slither down her spine. She dropped her gaze to the floor. Her hands were shaking.
Explain, the Devil said. His voice was low, but it filled the hall, pressed against her chest like a weight.
A demon knelt in the center of the floor. His armor was torn, his face bloodied. The southern border, my lord. The lesser houses have risen. They are attacking the outposts. We have lost three already.
Three. The Devil's voice was soft. Deadly. "Three outposts, and I am hearing of this now"? "Where was my son"? " Where was Dain?"
Silence. Jasmine felt Dain's hand tighten on her arm.
The Devil rose from his throne. He descended slowly, his robes trailing behind him, and stopped before Dain. His eyes moved to Jasmine. She felt his gaze like a brand on her skin. She looked at the floor.
"Seems you were occupied Dain"? , the Devil said. It was not a question.
Dain did not answer.
The hall erupted. Voices rose, accusations, fury, words Jasmine could not understand. She pressed closer to Dain without meaning to. His arm was the only solid thing in a world that had become nothing but noise.
The Devil raised his hand. Silence fell.
"You are heir to the throne of Asphodel", he said. "You have duties. Responsibilities". A kingdom that depends on you. And you abandoned them for a mortal being"?
Jasmine felt Dain's body tense beside her. "The border was secure when I left it".
"The border is burning". The Devil's voice was ice. "Three outposts, Dain. Three. While you were here, playing with your pet".
"She is not a pet".
The words were sharp. The hall held its breath.
The Devil's eyes narrowed. "No? Then what is she?"
Dain stepped forward, putting himself between Jasmine and his father. She could not see his face, but she heard his voice ,low, absolute, terrifying in its certainty.
"She is mine. And I will keep her. No matter what it costs. No matter who objects".
A murmur rippled through the hall. Jasmine kept her eyes on the floor. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it would break through her ribs.
The Devil laughed. It was a cold, terrible sound. "You will keep her? While your kingdom falls? While your enemies gather at our borders? While your people die because their prince was too busy with a mortal to do his duty"?
A woman stepped forward, dark-haired, honey-eyed, her face pale with fear. "Father, please …"
Silence. The Devil did not look at her. His eyes were fixed on Dain. "You will go to the border. You will crush the rebellion. And when you return, we will discuss what is to be done with your… distraction".
"I will go, Dain said. But she stays in my chambers. Under my protection. If anyone touches her…"
"If anyone touches her, they answer to you". The Devil's voice was edged with contempt. "I have no interest in your mortal. She is beneath my notice. But if she distracts you again, if one more outpost falls because you were tending to her, I will have her killed myself".
Jasmine's blood turned to ice. She looked up without meaning to, and found the Devil's eyes on her. Cold, Absolute, Promising death.
She looked away. Her hands were shaking so badly she could not make them stop.
Go, the Devil said. Both of you.
Dain took her arm and pulled her from the hall.
They walked in silence. Jasmine's legs were weak. She stumbled twice, and Dain caught her both times, his grip never loosening. She did not speak. She could not. The Devil's words echoed in her head: I will have her killed myself.
She was going to die here. She was going to die in this place, in this world, far from her grandmother's garden, far from everything she had ever known.
She was so focused on not falling that she did not see the woman until they were almost upon her.
She was beautiful, silver hair falling past her shoulders, golden eyes that gleamed like a cat's, lips the color of blood. She leaned against the wall with an ease that did not match the tension in her face. When she saw Dain, her expression flickered. When she saw Jasmine, it hardened.
"Sephira," Dain said. "Not now".
Sephira pushed off the wall. Her eyes did not leave Jasmine's face. "So. This is her."
She walked toward them, and Jasmine felt her body go rigid. There was something in Sephira's gaze that made her want to shrink, to disappear, to be anywhere but here.
Sephira stopped in front of her. Close. Too close. Jasmine could smell her night flowers, something underneath that was not human. She kept her eyes on the floor.
"Look at me," Sephira said.
Jasmine did not move. Her hands were clenched at her sides, her nails digging into her palms.
Sephira's hand shot out. Her fingers caught Jasmine's chin, forcing her face up. Jasmine gasped, her eyes meeting Sephira's for a brief, terrible moment before she looked away again. But that moment was enough. She saw the hatred in those golden eyes. The hunger. The promise of pain.
"Pretty", Sephira murmured. Her thumb traced the bruise on Jasmine's cheek, and Jasmine flinched. Pretty and frightened. " I can see why he likes you".
She released Jasmine's chin and stepped back. Jasmine swayed, catching herself on the wall. Her heart was hammering. Her skin felt cold where Sephira had touched her.
"You are nothing", Sephira said. Her voice was soft, almost kind, which made it worse. You are a mortal. A speck. A thing he picked up because he was bored. He will tire of you. They always tire.
She leaned in, her lips close to Jasmine's ear. Jasmine closed her eyes. She could not move. She could not breathe.
And when he does, Sephira whispered, I will be here. I have waited three hundred years for him. I will wait three hundred more. But you, you will be ash. You will be nothing. You will wish you had never been born.
She pulled back. Jasmine opened her eyes. Sephira was smiling, her lips curved, her golden eyes bright with cruelty.
Enjoy your stay, mortal, she said. It will be short.
She turned and walked away, her silver hair swinging behind her. Jasmine stood frozen against the wall, her body trembling, her eyes burning with tears she refused to shed.
Dain's hand closed around her arm. She flinched.
He noticed. His grip loosened, but he did not let go. She will not touch you.
Jasmine could not speak. She kept her eyes on the floor and let him lead her away.
They climbed stairs. Walked across bridges that spanned chasms of violet light. Passed through doors that opened at his approach and sealed behind them. Jasmine did not look up. She did not ask where they were going. She followed, because she had nowhere else to go.
He brought her to another room. The room at the top was small, smaller than his chambers but it had a door that locked, windows shuttered with iron. A bed, A table, A basin of water. Nothing else.
"You will stay here until I return", he said.
She stood in the center of the room, her arms wrapped around herself, and nodded. She did not look at him.
He crossed to her. She felt his presence behind her, felt his hand on her shoulder, and she flinched again. She could not help it.
He was silent for a moment. Then he turned her to face him.
She kept her eyes on his chest. She could not look at his face. She could not look at those burning red eyes.
His fingers touched her chin, tilting her face up. She squeezed her eyes shut.
Look at me, he said.
She opened her eyes. His face was close , too close , beautiful and terrible, the scar on his brow pale against his skin. His eyes searched hers, and she did not know what he was looking for. She only knew that she was afraid.
"No one will hurt you, he said. Not Sephira. Not my father. Not anyone. I will make sure of it".
She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe that she was safe, that someone in this nightmare could protect her. But she had learned, in the past days, that wanting and believing were very different things.
She nodded anyway. She did not know what else to do.
His thumb traced her cheekbone, gentle now, and she forced herself not to pull away.
" I will return in three days, he said. The door will be locked. The servants will bring you food. Do not try to escape".
She nodded again.
He studied her for a long moment. Then he leaned in, his lips brushing her forehead. The touch was soft, almost tender, and it terrified her more than his cruelty had.
He turned and walked to the door. She watched him go, her arms still wrapped around herself, her body still shaking.
He paused at the threshold. He did not turn around.
"If anyone tries to hurt you, he said, scream. I will hear you. No matter where I am".
He left. The door closed. The bolts slid home.
Jasmine stood in the center of the room, alone, and listened to his footsteps fade down the corridor.
She waited until she could hear nothing. Then she walked to the bed, pulled the thin blanket around her shoulders, and sat on the floor with her back against the wall. She drew her knees to her chest and pressed her face into them.
She cried. Not for long, she did not have the strength for long , but she cried until her eyes burned and her throat ached. She cried for her grandmother, for her garden, for the girl she had been three days ago. She cried because she was afraid, because she was alone, because she did not know how to survive in a world that wanted her dead.
When the tears stopped, she sat in the silence and let the fear settle in her chest. It was heavy, cold, but it was hers. She would carry it. She had no choice.
She looked at the door, Iron, Bolted.
She looked at the window. Iron shutters, sealed.
She looked at her hands. They were still shaking.
She did not try to escape. She was too afraid, too tired. She sat against the wall with the blanket around her shoulders and waited for the darkness to take her.
She closed her eyes and dreamed of lavender. Of sunlight. Of a garden where no one could find her.