Chapter 7
Groaning, I flopped over onto my side. Hard, unforgiving ground grazed over my skin.
Everything hurt.
Everything burned.
Hendrik! I shouted in my mind.
No answer.
My wings twisted at painful angles, the momentum of our fall having broken a few of the more delicate bones. Pain subsided as I slowly healed. I sucked in gulps of air, trying to remember how to breathe.
Two brilliant lights blinded me and I lifted my lips in a snarl at them, ready to fight.
But my body refused to move and I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. Except I hadn’t seen a truck in forever. After leaving Earth for Fortune Academy, fate had sent me to various realms.
Lucifer was on Earth growing more powerful by the day. It was almost as if I could feel him here, wherever here was.
Those two lights disappeared and white spots flickered over my vision as my eyes struggled to adjust to the stark darkness.
Were we in a different realm? One where sunlight didn’t exist?
Except, it felt warm here. Hell was rarely dark since it was covered in molten heat. Unless it had frozen over already.
I recovered before the males around me and I struggled to my feet.
Hendrik was just a few feet away and the rise and fall of his chest assured me he was still breathing.
For now.
Going to him, I blinked a few times, placing my fingers on his wound as I pushed what magic I could into him. It was hard not to miss the bubbling lava just a few feet away. Well, that explained why it was so hot.
It seemed that since I couldn’t go to Hell, I’d brought Hell with us.
There wasn’t time to think about what that might do to the realms, so I focused on my Dark Mage who was bleeding out onto the asphalt.
“Don’t die on me, asshole,” I ground out.
Because even if this was some fucked up mistake, even if he had only taken such a risk because he was infected by Calamity, he was still a Dark Mage.
He didn’t have a soul.
Which meant if he died… that was it.
Forever.
My breath caught in my chest when his heartbeat slowed. All of my supernatural powers pushed into my senses, listening for the proof that he was still alive.
Unfortunately, the only thing my senses were telling me was that I was losing my mate.
Growling, I pushed more magic into him, restarting his heart.
It was enough to keep him going and he drew in a long breath. His vital organ stitched up because I commanded it to, but I couldn’t keep up this level of healing for long. It was an angelic power, one I didn’t have very strong control over, and the source of that power came from my own reserves.
I wasn’t even sure if I’d done it correctly. The delicate internal flesh could split open again, and I had to stay close to his side to make sure I could fix it.
Dizziness washed over me as I wavered, nausea rolling through me a moment later.
I wasn’t a healer. This wasn’t something I was used to doing, but I wasn’t going to lose any of my mates because Lucifer thought he could win.
He wasn’t going to win shit.
And I was going to make sure of it.
A door slam caught my attention, making me jerk my head toward the sound.
Apparently, I’d been spot on about being hit by a truck.
Because those two lights had been the headlights of a massive vehicle. The very human contraption was parked at an angle with a heavy dent in it, reflecting broken silver moonlight as buildings came into view all around it.
A single tower in the distance with a rounded disc on top suggested we’d wound up in Seattle, if memory served.
What the fuck?
Hendrik had been creating a portal to return me to Lucifer, which meant that we were on Earth.
I relaxed when I recognized one of the males walking toward us.
Nate, my half-brother, and my mother’s mate. Those two were an odd pairing, but I wasn’t one to judge.
Nate was gorgeous, his black hair sweeping into his bright blue gaze, but the male next to him took the prize.
Although, they were strikingly similar.
And then I realized who he was. The same midnight hair and eyes of blue gemstones were indeed similar, and there was a reason for that.
Because they were family.
We were family.
This is my father.
The Incubus King.
“Hello, Lilith,” he said, giving me a charming smile. He took in the groaning males next to me and the swirling molten lava just a few feet away.
Cole and another form emerged from the portal as it took shape. A massive, fire-lit cave yawned open, looking like a maw with jagged teeth that would swallow anyone who ventured inside of it whole.
“Sonya’s down there,” Nate announced.
“Then go after her,” my father said, his gaze swiveling back to me. “I found what I came for.”
A chill ran up my spine.
I couldn’t remember my father very well, but instinct told me that he wasn’t the trustworthy type.
Nate started toward the cave, then cursed.
He was family, after all. Leaving me like this wasn’t very brotherly.
Reaching me, he dropped to one knee and held out a hand. “Are you all right?”
He didn’t seem perturbed by the blood coating my fingers when I showed him my hands.
Right, he was mated to the vampiric Queen of Hell. He wouldn’t be very squeamish when it came to blood.
Taking his assistance, I struggled to my feet and glanced at my mates starting to stir. I’d patched up Hendrik enough that he was going to survive, but it had cost me. My stomach clenched with hunger and my throat felt raw.
Not to mention my mates were going to wake up any second now from being tossed by Hendrik’s unstable portal.
I couldn’t leave them. Lucifer would be taking them into his clutches if I didn’t stop them.
And I wasn’t even sure if I had healed Hendrik correctly.
Logan groaned, flopping onto his side as he squeezed his eyes. The moment he opened them, he’d use his Alpha’s voice on me and I’d be totally screwed.
“I won’t be for long,” I said, not sure how I was going to handle them in their corrupted state.
Glancing at the dark streets, I saw that we were still somehow alone. I suspected that was due to a spell, but it wasn’t mine.
When Lucifer found out we were here, he’d be coming for me.
Something my mates were likely counting on.
They clearly couldn’t be convinced that Lucifer wasn’t the end all-be all of life. Calamity had a firm hold on them and that made me angry.
Furious.
Fanning my wings, I ignored the pain that zapped up and down my spine as the bones settled into their correct places.
“Nice wings,” Nate said approvingly, and I realized he hadn’t seen Cole’s wing on me before.
“Yeah, let’s hope I get to keep them,” I ground out.
He gave me a raised brown when I let go of his hand. I kept my gaze on Logan just as he snapped open his eyes.
“Lilith?” he asked, reaching out for me.
I took his hand to help him up because we weren’t enemies. I refused to entertain the idea that they couldn’t be saved.
Orion sat up, then rubbed his face as he watched us.
Logan wrapped his arm around my middle and held me close, nuzzling his nose into my hair.
“I’m glad you’re all right,” he whispered before nipping my ear. The subtle reminder that I belonged to him sent a jolt of excitement up my spine.
“Get your hands off of her, mutt,” a booming voice demanded, sending Orion jolting to his feet.
Relief swept through me when I spotted my demon mate.
Cole stepped out from the cavernous pit, leaving footprints of lava in his wake.
He seemed to have grown in size since the last time I’d been with him, which was a feat. Cole was massive.
The largest of my mates, even bigger than Orion.
Seeing them side-by-side made me work my throat on a swallow.
Because, damn.
Right now all I wanted was to wiggle myself between those two beasts.
My demon towered over us all, sending his shadow looming down the street as his tail flicked around his feet, scraping the ground with warning.
His horns gleamed in the moonlight and I knew his wings would have been a glorious completion of his presence, but he’d given them up.
For me.
Logan’s nostrils flared as he took in the sight of the rage demon, then he locked his blue eyes on me. “Did you do this?”
I stiffened under his scrutiny. “Did you expect me to abandon Hell and let it freeze over with Cole and my other mates still inside?” Even if my mates hadn’t been at risk, Hell was one of the three major realms and, if lost, the scales would be tipped in the wrong direction.
If anyone understood the importance of balance, it was me.
Not that I’d ever really succeeded in achieving it. But I was supposed to be the Champion of Calamity. Some Champion I’d be if I allowed an entire realm to be destroyed and my Virtues along with it.
“I expect you to obey,” he said, snarling.
When Cole advanced, the murder in his red eyes a clear indicator that my wolf had about zero-point-five seconds before he removed his hands from me, Logan’s chest rumbled with an Alpha’s growl.
“Kill him,” he ordered me, making my entire body seize with the impossible command.
“Cole,” I bit out, my body violently shaking as I fought the order. “Run!”