I grabbed hold of the corridor wall for balance as I was hit by a wave of nausea—a sensation that had become much more frequent ever since I had descended into the Underworld with my mate.
Minutes passed before I felt like myself again.
The dual parasites growing in my womb were becoming more restless with each passing day—if you could measure a day down here.
Until recently, I had kept the thought of the twins growing inside of me as some memory from a distant life—a fragment from a bad dream.
While I knew I wasn't at fault for my current situation, it still felt as if I’d committed some act of betrayal.
I had yet to tell my mate about the lives I was carrying. How could I?
I could only imagine the pain and devastation he’d feel upon hearing such news... carrying a child that wasn’t his...
But I wasn’t deterred. I had a lust for life I had never had before.
There was so much that I wanted to do—to experience! I refused to let Juniper’s two little “miracles” get in the way of my happiness.
My mind was full of plans for my future with Roman.
And I wanted to do it with my mate at my side, though lately he’d seemed distant.
Something was on his mind, but he wouldn’t tell me what.
Did he know the secret I was hiding?
I craved his touch, but we had yet to share our bodies with one another. I worried there was something about me with which he took fault.
But soon I put those negative thoughts to rest.
Once I was fully recovered, I traipsed down the double grand staircase of the Palace Faustian, past the black marble balustrades on each side.
A massive black crystal chandelier cast dark sparkles throughout the room.
I caught a glimpse of myself as I walked through our hall of mirrors dressed in my new royal garments. I had never looked better.
Getting acquainted with my new role as Demon Queen of the Underworld had been a delight. My new home was unlike anything I'd ever seen before.
Its once imposing corridors had become familiar to me, and the various macabre and ghoulish decorations were now charming.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think this could be possible.
At times though, my mind would wander to June, and I would have to fight a twinge of guilt.
Mateo had disappeared from the Underworld after that fateful day.
The first few weeks after I had repelled her lover, she’d afflicted me incessantly.
Screaming at me internally.
Crippling me with the most excruciating headaches.
June used any chance she could to take back the reins of our body, most often while I slept.
Star was in a permanent state of mourning—howling, crying, yelping—anything to get my attention.
She was inconsolable. Walking around with these two other unhappy entities inside drained me.
But I had complete control over June’s vessel.
And until she pried it away, I would remain here with Roman.
After all, was I to sacrifice a lifetime of happiness with my true mate on her account?
Now it was time for me to have my turn.
From the recesses of my mind, I called out to Marissa.
Though I couldn’t see her face, I could feel the entitlement it wore.
As though she had earned the right to take my body.
To imprison Star and I within it.
And to destroy my life’s greatest love.
I had surpassed anger.
That didn’t get anywhere at this point.
It only brought more pain.
I couldn’t take it much longer—being trapped inside this body.
I felt like a genie stuck inside a bottle with no way to communicate with the outside world.
Marissa was becoming more and more comfortable with her new life in the Underworld.
I could sense her attachment to Roman growing—a rising heat even I could feel.
She had helped us beat Odessa, but at what price?
Starlet had all but disappeared. Silenced by her broken heart from the loss of Zeus. Since then, I’d only felt the faintest hint of Starlet’s presence.
I missed her.
I needed her here with me.
But I was alone.
Without a friend or an ally.
Except one.
My only confidant down here.
Max.
The Palace Faustian’s prison was by far the most gruesome I had ever known.
It reeked of a millennium’s worth of decay.
My nose curled at the malodorous rankness of rotting flesh, stale blood, and moldy bones.
As I leaned on the large pike, I wondered what sort of atrocities could be committed to warrant incarceration here.
Roman had decided my best use would be as a prison guard.
I didn’t truly understand why. Neither my manner nor my physique was as imposing as the other sentries.
While this hellish dungeon contained only a few prisoners, their impression on me was indelible.
They were sorry sacks of bones.
Gaunt-faced and sad-eyed.
Hopelessness embodied.
Their origins were indistinguishable, as were their species.
I tried to avoid their glassy stares as I made my rounds.
But I couldn’t turn back.
I had made this decision to remain here and support Juniper and I was going to stick with it.
Now that Mateo had disappeared, I was Juniper’s only protector. Whether Marissa was in control or not was irrelevant.
I didn’t know if I could fully trust Roman just yet, but he had made a special exception to long-standing rules by allowing me to remain with my friend.
I was still getting used to dealing with the witch who controlled my friend’s body—learning how to communicate with her, trying to build some sort of trust between us.
Marissa only had eyes for Roman, and everything she did focused on getting his attention or being a better partner to him.
After my prison watch was done, I spent my hours as her unofficial personal assistant.
The most stressful part for me was how Marissa insisted on keeping her growing belly a secret from Roman.
She was constantly asking me to help cover up the bump or if I could tell that she was showing.
All of Marissa's efforts in trying to conceal the truth from Roman were making me nervous.
I wished that Merlin and Gail were here to give me some advice.
But I was on my own for this one.
I was often plagued with the question of whether helping Marissa was the right thing to do. After all, she was responsible for June’s imprisonment.
The thought of my best friend’s predicament weighed heavily on my heart.
But I figured appealing to Marissa’s better nature might best be suited to opening her mind to compromise.
To find a way that she and June might live harmoniously.
But until then, I was subordinate to the will of the witch and her Demon King.
“Oi! Shortie!” a deep, gruff voice boomed.
I turned to see a towering figure, seemingly chiseled from rock, standing before me.
“You’re relieved of duty for the night!”
I stared up at the strange creature’s craggy face.
His stony jaw cracked and crumbled as he spoke.
Two small, red eyes gleamed beneath a rocky brow, like brimstone staring into my soul.
“Did you hear me, whelp? You’re relieved! Savvy?”
I nodded fearfully and handed him my pike.
I remembered when Roman had first brought me back to his palace; I had been understandably awed by my surroundings.
The massive phallic columns.
The pillars of molten flames.
His kingdom was awe-inspiring, and I couldn’t believe that we were going to rule it together. It was almost too good to be true.
We would spend the day walking through his kingdom together. He was content in showing me all the odd flora and fauna of the Underworld.
I held on tight to his strong hand as he took me to his favorite spots.
I often reminisced about those halcyon early weeks.
They were the happiest of my life.
We had shared such instant intimacy.
A closeness I had never known.
But as I had settled more into my role, strangely, Roman had begun distancing himself.
Every time I tried to get him alone, he seemed to find a reason to slip away.
I couldn’t even remember the last time we were alone.
If I were a lesser, insecure woman, I would think he was avoiding me.
As I made my way through the corridor, a dark figure approached.
He appeared from the shadows, looking every inch a king. He was adorned in a long, deep-red leather cloak and a cast iron crown that accentuated his strong brow.
I leapt from my bed and rushed over to him.
“Marissa!” he said with a smile.
“My love.”
His hands were strong and powerful. He exuded strength from behind that dark skin and those rippling muscles.
I inhaled his scent: all musk and fiery brimstone.
He made me feel safe.
“I’ve been looking all around the castle for you,” Roman said.
I giggled. “I was looking for you as well.” I drew myself closer to him, grabbing him by both arms.
“Well, now that you found me, what are you going to do?” I said in nervous anticipation.
I pushed my chest up against him. He smiled.
I loved the feeling of his firm chest pushing back against mine.
I moved in close to him and put my lips to his neck. I could feel his arousal from below his waist growing. But then he backed away.
“What is it? Is something wrong?” I asked, worried.
“No. Of course not,” he said, taking my hand.
I didn’t believe him. “Roman, I can tell when you are lying.”
He sighed. “Nothing, it’s just…”
But then, suddenly, I felt a pain in my stomach.
A jab so sharp that I bent over and yelled out in pain.
Roman leaned down and placed his hands on my back.
“What’s wrong, my love?”
Oh God, something was wrong.
I fell to the floor, screaming; my stomach felt like it was churning—on fire.
Through the pain, I felt Roman pick me up in his big strong arms.
“Hold on, Marissa.”
I fell right into his arms as he whisked me through the castle, through the long hallways, up the tower staircase, and into his private bedroom.
He threw me onto his oversized, plush bed and removed my clothes.
This was exactly what I wanted, except for the part where I was sweaty, panting, and screaming from excruciating pain.
The burning inside my stomach was growing, and as I put my hands over my belly, I could feel it expanding.
I quickly grabbed a sheet to hide my expanding belly from him.
I screamed.
I had felt something off a few days after Roman had brought me down here as his new queen. I thought it might be my body acclimating to its new environment.
Now I knew that the environment, the Underworld, was having its way with me.
And it was dragging me by the scalp.
I could no longer keep that hidden.
I looked down at my stomach and was horrified to see it churning like an underwater volcano in a hurricane.
I tried everything—concentrating, using my magic—but nothing was stopping these twins from stretching my belly.
It was unbelievable to behold.
And unbearable to feel.
Never had I felt such pain.
My stomach began to bulge unnaturally as if something inside was trying to escape.
It seemed to be growing larger and rounder by the second.
I screamed in pain and shock as it ballooned past my waistline, hiding my feet behind a bulge.
I knew what it was.
It was June’s twins.
But how could they be growing this fast?
I couldn’t have been here for more than three months!
This wasn’t possible!
“What the hell?!” Roman exclaimed, horrified at the sight.
“Roman! Get out! I just need…rest.”
It was too late, though.
I watched Roman’s horrified face as it dawned on him…
The woman he loved.
His mate.
Was pregnant.
With another’s child.
“Please, Roman, it’s not so simple.”
Roman was gone, and before I could call to him, I screamed out in pain.
