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Chapter Eight
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FOR THE PAST THOUSAND-plus days, Alexandru Gheorgiu had been imprisoned in a place where the skies weren't blue, and the air that stung his skin made the rays of the sun seem like beams of ice.
Having lived for centuries before his captivity, Alexandru had thought he knew everything there was about pain. A hunter of rogue vampires and demons, he was used to risking his life with every mission he took, and he had never been the type to shy away from death.
But just a day in Hell...
And it was enough to change everything.
Hell was the mother of pain, and only when you were living in its womb did one truly taste pain and understand its essence.
One day in Hell would teach you a lot, and Alexandru had been there for four long fucking years.
****
SNEAKING INTO HELL was one thing. Escaping it was another. But harder than both was choosing to stay, and as fate would have it, that had been Alexandru's curse.
He had to stay in Hell even when the sound of his pet's tears lashed at him night after night.
Fate had damned him, and he still had to stay in Hell even when a window of opportunity showed itself to him, and all he could do was throw a Hail Mary into it in the shape of a demon corpse.
Just his fucking fate, to never leave Hell until he no longer recognized himself.
****
IT WAS A LONG CLIMB back to the mortal world. No human would've survived such an ordeal, and by the time Alexandru had clawed his way out of the earth, he had been so fucking starving that he had latched on to the first living thing. A black bear tackled to the ground, his fangs piercing its neck, and the creature was drained of its blood in moments.
Only after that did he have the energy to push himself up, and as he followed the sound of rushing water, Alexandru reached out tiredly through the blood bond he shared with the ruler of the vampire race.
Brother. I'm back.
Alexandru. Mihail's voice was gruff with emotion, and the swiftness with which the Marquis of Sangre responded was a balm to Alexandru's weary soul.
You are safe?
Yes. Alexandru finally made it to the creek, and he sank down on his knees, scooping water with his hands to finally assuage the parched state of his throat.
For how long?
All immediate threats have been dealt with. Alexandru undressed himself before washing the dirt off his body.
Thank fuck.
Alexandru inhaled deeply.
My pet...
The blood bond he shared with his pet told him she was safe, but that wasn't enough.
Where is she?
Because it had been the same for him.
Because like her, it had hurt him to be apart.
He could live without the sun, live without the whole world, but his Zari he could never do without.
Just his pet, and nothing else.
Her, he missed.
Every. Goddamn. Moment.