“Because of which hell it is, and because of what Lea told me about your life. She said you’re a professor from America.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Diana asked.
Concern shone in Esha’s amber eyes. “I’m sorry, Diana. I don’t know if you actually knew her or not, but your colleague Vivienne Lawrence was abducted to Erebus a few days ago.”
The air rushed out of the room in a great gust, leaving Diana to sway on her feet. Vi? Abducted to the Roman afterworld?
“What?” Diana pressed her hand to her chest, trying to calm the sense that she was drowning.
“You knew her? I’m so sorry. Her soul was taken to hell while her body stopped at the portal. Her body couldn’t cross over because she’s mortal. She’s in a coma.”
“No. A coma? She can’t be. She’s safe in America, teaching my classes.”
“Maybe that’s where they nabbed her. They thought she was you, perhaps.”
Oh, God. She was directly responsible for Vi’s abduction. And her coma.
“She won’t wake up?” Diana asked.
“Not unless her soul is returned. And even then, I don’t know if it’s possible to revive her. Most mortals wouldn’t have survived. They’d die immediately at the portal.”
Diana stumbled backward to the bed. Sat. The sword tumbled from her loose fingers.
“I can get her back. How do I get her back?” A panicked sob strangled in Diana’s throat at the idea of Vi’s soul trapped in hell.
“I don’t know if you can. I don’t know why they took her, but it’s a clear link to you and suggests that this is your task. If it is, maybe there is some way you can save her.”
Diana nodded blindly. She could do this. She had to do this.
“If you can figure out who you were,” Esha said, “and if it turns out that the portal is your task, I can help you with it. I would bet a million pounds that this is why you were brought back. I shouldn’t be helping you, but I’ve never liked following the rules.”
Diana drew in a shuddering breath and looked Esha in the eyes. She looked tough, and she looked serious. And she had some major connections in this crazy new world. She’d need her. Vi would need her.
Especially if Cadan and this Warren guy were going to go all alpha male on her and stand in her way. She was going to need an ally.
“All right.” Diana forced her voice to be level as she held out her hand. “Deal. And…thank you for telling me. For helping me. For trusting me.”
“It was shitty news. I’m sorry.” Esha looked down at the Chairman, who’d nudged her with his head. He was looking pointedly at the door. “Someone is coming up the stairs. I’ve got to go. But hurry. This is only getting worse. Do whatever you can to figure this out. Whatever you can.”
Esha pressed a card into Diana’s palm. Then they disappeared.
Diana was staring blindly at the floor when Cadan knocked on the door a minute later.
“Everything all right?” he said as he walked through the doorway. “I thought I heard something.”
Diana raised her head to meet his eyes, knowing that her face reflected the bleakness within her.
“Ah, Diana, what’s wrong?” There was something in his eyes, some pain or longing she couldn’t recognize, that made her breath catch in her lungs. Like he hurt for her or wanted to fix her. Maybe both. But the way he stared at her, as if she were someone, could steal the very heart from her. She’d never been the recipient of such a stare, or of such intensity.
Yet he hid things from her. Things that were so vital they’d killed her friend. Or as good as.
“Why did you hide the importance of Verulamium from me?” she asked.
“I dinna.”
She had no idea if she should believe him or not. “But you’re trying to keep me from discovering who I was. I’m certain of it. It’s because of my past, isn’t it? You’ve got a stake in this whole thing, but I’ve got no idea what it is.”
He dragged a hand across his face, then spun around and stalked toward the window. His big hand gripped the wooden sill so tightly that the tension radiated down his arm, making the muscles and veins stand out in harsh relief.