Chapter Six
RATHIEL
The others ate the evening’s delicacy—charred hellcat courtesy of Gorr, who’d dragged the still-twitching beast through camp with the proud swagger of a soldier returning from war.
Lily had lit the fire with a flick of her fingers.
Eliza had skewered the kill. Levi had managed the rotation.
Vol had performed a “hunger dance” around the roasting corpse—whatever that was.
An hour later, they had dinner: hellcat, with a side of boiled and filtered liquid no one dared to question.
I was just grateful I didn’t eat food. Blood was all I needed.
Everyone sat clustered around the low-burning fire, trading idle chatter and half-hearted barbs. I, however, kept my distance, and was leaning against a massive outcrop next to the bedroll Lily and I shared.
Arms crossed, I watched Lily. She sat with the others, one leg tucked under the other, a grin playing at her lips as she listened to something Eliza said. And when she laughed, it sounded soft, easy, and real. It loosened the knot in my chest. A little.
She looked perfectly fine. Better than fine, even.
A little tired, perhaps. But then, weren’t we all?
She passed around whatever rations remained, teased Eliza, rolled her eyes at whatever Calyx said, stroked Purrgy’s back, even flicked an ember at Levi when he cracked a joke.
Just Lily being Lily. There was no strain in her posture.
No crack in her voice. No hesitation in her magic.
And yet, only a few hours ago, she’d dropped to the ground screaming. The sound lingered in my head, even now. It was almost like someone had put it on repeat. And every few minutes, it fired off between my ears again and again.
I’d tried changing my position, shaking out my body, taking deep breaths, but nothing helped.
She’d collapsed so hard, without any warning.
One moment, she’d been standing tall, magic arcing across her skin like lightning, and the next, she’d dropped.
Sweat had beaded her brow, her breath had turned ragged, her skin had darkened, and she’d begun convulsing.
Worse had been the sight of Eliza standing next to her, dagger drawn.
I’d seen the determination in the siren’s eyes.
Knew that if Lily showed even a hint of darkness, Eliza would try to run her through.
I’d wanted to rip the damn dagger from her hand and hurl it across the realm into the deepest lava pit I could find.
But my arms had been full of Lily, holding her down while her body seized.
The very idea of Eliza even considering driving that blade into Lily’s chest had lit something violent in me.
It was why I stood all the way over here. A part of me still wanted to rip the siren’s throat out. The monster inside me hungered—I hadn’t fed in a few days now. But the rational side of me knew Lily would never forgive me if I killed her friend.
I still needed to talk to Lily about all this.
About what happened. About whatever agreement she and Eliza had made.
But not tonight. Not when she sat by the fire looking so relaxed, so unburdened.
The grin, the laughter, the teasing—it was the first time in a long time I’d seen her looking so much like herself.
I couldn’t steal that from her. At least, not right now.
She glanced up then, as though she’d felt my gaze. Her eyes met mine across the firelight. For a moment, everything around us dimmed. Then she smiled, and my world felt complete.
I smiled back, all too aware that my damn heart was shining in my eyes. It always did with her.
She turned back to the conversation at hand, but after a few minutes, the circle around the fire began to thin.
Vol and Purrgy wandered off together, the imp muttering something about needing his beauty sleep.
Gorr curled up next to the fire and promptly began snoring.
Eliza and Calyx launched into an argument about who was on cleanup duty, while Levi leaned back, watching them with keen, quiet interest.
As for Lily—she rose to her feet, stretched, then walked toward me.
I pushed off the rock and let my arms fall to my sides.
“Staring at me all night isn’t as romantic as you think,” she said, halting a few feet away. “It gives off serial killer vibes.”
I arched a brow. “Noted. I’ll try blinking next time.”
She smirked, stepping closer. “You could just admit you’re obsessed with me.”
“Would that get me out of trouble?”
“Depends on how you say it.”
I let out a breath that wasn’t quite a laugh. “I was just making sure you’re fine.”
She tilted her chin up. “And?”
“And what?”
“Am I?” She stepped closer until there was hardly any space left between us, her voice dropping to a husky murmur. “Am I fine?”
I didn’t answer. Mostly because suddenly I couldn’t think.
She stood so close, and those damn eyes of hers were staring up at me. And despite everything—despite that scream still echoing in my skull—all I could think about was how good she looked when she was like this. Confident. Smirking. Trying to get a rise out of me.
“Fine might be an understatement,” I said finally.
She grinned. “Oh?”
“You look a little…warm,” I continued. “Flushed in the cheeks. Your pupils are a bit large. Hmm… could be a sign of a concussion.”
“Ah,” she murmured. “We wouldn’t want that.”
“Yeah,” I said. “That would be really bad.”
She reached up and traced one finger along the edge of my jaw, right over my scar. My pulse stuttered, and I caught her wrist before she pushed my self-control to the brink.
“So, what would the official treatment be for that?”
“I’d say continued observation.” My voice came out rougher than intended. “Possibly in private. For thoroughness. They also say you shouldn’t sleep if you have a concussion.”
“And how do you propose to keep me awake?”
I snaked my other arm around her waist and pulled her flush against me. I lowered my head and whispered against her lips. “I have a few ideas.”
“Oh, absolutely not!” Eliza’s voice rang out like a war horn.
“No, no, no. Just no. Not here. Not in the camp. Not within five feet of where the rest of us sleep. Go somewhere else. Somewhere away if you’re gonna start trading spit and sinful moans like you’re starring in a bad demon romance novel. ”
Lily didn’t move. “We could trade something other than spit if you prefer.”
“STOP,” Eliza shouted.
Lily rose on her tiptoes and said in my ear, “And I don’t moan. I whisper sweet profanities. Like, fuck yes. And deeper, Rath. Harder.”
A shudder wracked my body. And the soldier south of the border snapped to attention.
Eliza made a sound—half-gag, half-cry—then stomped off, all the while muttering about how she now needed something called Brain Bleach.
Lily grinned up at me, her eyes sparkling. “Well. That was fun.”
I didn’t say anything. Just took her hand in mine and pulled her away from camp.
She chuckled and followed, her hand squeezing mine.
We practically sprinted in silence, weaving through the familiar, scorched terrain.
The camp noises faded until all that remained were the sounds of geysers spitting fire in the distance, gases hissing free of the cracked ground, the low growl of something massive and unseen moving over the nearest rise. Just normal Hell stuff.
The tower—our tower—rose ahead in the crimson gloom. We reached the base, but I didn’t slow. Just snapped out my wings, wrapped my arms around Lily’s waist, and launched us into the air.
Seconds later, we landed on the creaky platform, and I tucked away my wings. But just as I was about to let Lily go, her mouth found mine.
It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t slow. She kissed me like she’d been waiting for this moment forever.
I kissed her back, hands still gripping her waist, holding her steady as she pressed her body flush against mine. Her fingers threaded through my hair, pulling hard enough to spark something primal within me. She bit my lip before pulling away, breath quick and eyes bright.
“I swear, if Eliza or anyone else interrupts us, I’m setting the entire camp on fire,” she muttered.
“Deal,” I rumbled.
She dragged me back into the kiss before I could utter another word. God, I loved it when she was like this. Hungry and desperate for me. I loved it because I felt the same way about her. Like I could never get enough.
I spun her, pressing her back to the warm stone wall of the tower, caging her in with my hands braced on either side of her head.
She arched into me, gasping when my lips found her neck, her collarbone, the hollow between.
Without hesitation, she tilted her head back to give me better access—ever generous, my girl.
I ran my nose along her jaw, my voice low and rough. “You’re playing with fire.”
“Good thing I’m fireproof then,” she quipped.
She grabbed my tunic and yanked me back to her mouth, kissing me hard.
It was fierce and biting and full of a hunger that had nothing to do with survival.
This was pure and simple need. The kind that came from knowing you might not get another tomorrow.
It was a truth we all lived in this place.
There were no guarantees in Hell, and Lily and I knew that better than most.
I pulled her flush against me, let one hand slip beneath the hem of her shirt to trace up her spine. She shuddered, a soft sound escaping her lips—nearly a moan, but not quite.
She pulled back just far enough to meet my eyes. Her breathing was ragged, and her pupils blown wide.
Then, slowly, deliberately, she turned her head and exposed her throat to me.
“You didn’t eat tonight,” she said. “So I’ll make you a deal.”
A deal? I leaned back just enough to meet her gaze. “I’m listening.”
“You get your fill of blood…” Her mouth curved in a wicked smile. “And then I want you to feast properly.”