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A guttural growling caught my attention.

I crouched low and plastered myself against the wall made of hot rock. I didn’t know where I was. It was a cavern, similar to the one I’d been hiding in. And yet this was different. A dark pall hung over the area and the stink of sulfer burned my nose. I choked down on a cry.

It growled again, and this time the noise came from three different directions.

Or was that just my terror causing me to hallucinate?

“Hello? Destiny?” I swallowed, trying to hold down the panic rushing from my chest. “It’s Cassia.”

My friend wouldn’t be growling. She’d be cursing her great grandmother.

I tried to stay calm. After escaping from my parents’ house, I’d snuck to Destiny’s room in the academy to find myself with Stone. Except it wasn’t me. My sister Jinx had used a spell to pretend to be me. Secretly, I followed Jinx and Stone to a passage near the Dark Angel’s Veil waterfall where they’d met Mistress Lita. I’d hidden, unsure how to help my friends. Mistress Lita sent the sacrificial spell at Destiny and I’d been about to jump to her defense when she’d turned the spell around on Mistress Lita and my sister.

Mistress Lita had deserved to Descend. But my sister, even though she’d been bad, didn’t deserve to die.

Without thought, I’d apparated by Jinx and pushed her out of the way. There’d been a flash of light and then darkness. I’d been caught in the blast. My heart cracked knowing she wouldn’t have done the same for me.

“Jinx? Are you here?” My voice trembled. Had I pushed her far enough away so she hadn’t been affected? If so, she’d better try to find me here.

Where exactly was here?

It was hot. Steaming hot. And dark. Too dark to see very far. The hard stone beneath me was jagged and warm. A river roared nearby. The upper Helvete River or the River Styx?

All the air evacuated my lungs, whooshing out of my mouth and becoming a surprised and fearful squeak. My pulse spiked. It couldn’t be. But where else was possible? “I’m trapped on the banks of the River Styx.”

With my gaze darting around, I searched for an escape. All I saw were rocks above and rocks below. The only exit was down the River Styx and I wasn’t ready to die.

What would Destiny do? She’d rescued Lavender and gotten out. How?

“Destiny.” My tone weakened. She’d talked to the Dark Angel and if she wasn’t here, it meant Mistress Lita Descended. If I pretended to be her favorite sister, she’d help me. “Mistress Lita!”

I snapped my fingers to do the twinning spell to make me resemble Jinx.

Nothing happened.

Of course. Witch magic doesn’t work on the banks of the River Styx. Only magic from the Dark Angel, dark magic. Magic I didn’t possess.

The growling grew louder, closer, and came from three different directions.

I curled my legs up and pressed myself against the wall. How many terrifying animals were down here? Only an animal or a monster could make that noise. My brain jolted. My near-perfect memory came up with the answer.

A Cerberus.

According to history books, the three-headed dog helped guard the Gates to the Underworld.

The animal plodded into the open. Three heads. One body. I was more terrified of the heads. Three fang filled mouths with slobber dripping. When the slobber hit the ground it steamed. Three noses with wide, flaring nostrils. Surely, it could smell me. Six glowing eyes.

Horror shrieked through me and my muscles tensed. I’d be eaten alive before Destiny or Mistress Lita saved me. If Mistress Lita would save me. I wasn’t sure considering she and Jinx had cooked up the scheme to kidnap and replace me.

Tension wired through my nerves. I picked up a thick stick, needing to defend myself.

The white stick felt light and hollow. A bone.

“Ick!” I dropped the stick.

The monster dog huffed and pounced closer.

I grabbed the bone again. “Ew.” I needed something to defend myself. Had it belonged to one of the kidnapped witches? One who was now dead. My mind filled in the scenario and I shuddered.

The dog stretched his head and sniffed. He bent low, flexing his big, black paws with sharp nails. His rotund muscular body went into a crouched position. He was about to spring an attack.

I scrambled back against the wall. “Stay away.” I held out the bone like a sword.

The dog angled his head, or should I say heads, watching me and the bone. More slobber came out of his mouths and he huffed. He’d tear me apart with his three mouths and feast on my body.

“Mistress Lita!” Hopelessness invaded and swirled around my soul. I’d heard tales of the Dark Angel kidnapping young witches. Lavender had been taken right in front of Destiny. But she’d come down to save the witch. “Destiny!”

I knew she couldn’t hear me either. Surely, she’d realize I was missing. Jinx would explain how I’d saved her from the spell and Destiny and Stone would rescue me.

My chest contracted. Where was Lukas? He hadn’t been in the cavern. Jinx better not have harmed him.

The dog must’ve gotten tired of watching. He leapt toward me.

I pushed myself against the wall and ripped my sister’s jeans. The dog growled and slobber dripped from his mouths onto my cheek. I clutched the bone, my singular defense.

Suddenly, a teenage guy loomed above me, flying. His dark, wavy hair flopped in front of his face. Thick, dark eyebrows emphasized his bronzed skin and black eyes that stared above a straight-edged nose. His sculpted cheekbones and square jaw gave him an angular, yet manly appearance.

Before dying I thought you were supposed to see your past, not a handsome hallucination.

His mouth descended and touched my lips. He kissed me.

An electric zing went through my body and zapped my nerve endings. Shocked, my gaze went wider. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Saving you.” His thick lips twitched.

Wooziness filled my head. Not from his kiss. “You don’t save someone from a Cerberus with a kiss.”

“Cerb just wants to play.” He took the bone from my limp fingers and threw it.

The dog ran after the bone.

My shoulders relaxed. The Cerberus behaved like a regular dog. I should’ve thought to throw it instead of hanging on to the bone. One threat was gone.

The guy held out his hand to help me. Or hurt me.

I skirted backwards, my pulse continued pounding remembering his lips on mine. My first kiss and from a perfect stranger. I only wanted a kiss from a certain werewolf. “Don’t kiss me again.”

“My mom was able to stay on the banks of the River Styx with the Dark Angel because of the kiss.”

My brow furrowed. “Your mom was the Dark Angel’s Death Mate?”

“No.” Sourness filled the single word. The guy slapped his hand on black leather pants and I jerked back. “The Dark Angel, my father, had already committed to someone. My mom was a witch he’d kidnapped. She died when I was seven.”

“You kissed your mom?” I twisted my lips in a gross expression.

“The Dark Angel gave her the Kiss of Afterlife. Unlike Mistress Lita, my mom wanted to stay with me and him.”

“I’m not staying.” Determination straightened my spine. “My sister will tell everyone what happened and my friends, Destiny and Stone, will rescue me.”

And Lukas. Where was Lukas?

“There’s no way out.” The guy smiled again displaying devastating dimples. “Mistress Lita and the Dark Angel have traveled through the Gates to the Underworld. I’m the new Dark Angel. The barrier between worlds has closed. You’re stuck here forever, Cassia.”

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