Chapter 52

Simone's POV

I am right back where I started. Locked in a room all by myself. I stare out at the dying city below, my heart heavy and soul screaming out to be with Aldric. Every part of me, every cell of my being, misses him.

Asmodeus took up residence in a hotel that belonged to a human. He killed the owner and enslaved the staff. The human guests fled in horror only to be met by hundreds of neophytes Asmodeus rallied to his side.

It was a bloodbath.

Darrick and I landed among the stinking corpses, which no one bothered to incinerate - they just left them there to rot, and for the life of me I couldn't understand why the vampires would choose to do that. “Deep breaths, Daughter,” Darrick said when he saw the expression on my face. “Remember what I told you on the way here. Don’t let Aldric feel your sorrow.”

Darrick called a group of neophytes over. To my surprise, they obeyed his order when he commanded them to start a pyre and burn to corpses. “Why do they listen to you?” I ask