Chapter Sixteen
LILY
I stepped over countless bodies—some mine, some theirs—as I made my way back into the outpost. Most lay in broken heaps, while others were curled around the weapons that’d killed them.
The outpost soldiers hadn’t stood a chance against my army.
We’d outnumbered them three to one, but they’d still fought until their dying breaths.
Bravery, loyalty, obedience. None of it had saved them—it never did. But those were characteristics I admired. They’d known they would die in this battle, and they’d charged forward anyway.
And now they were dead.
But they didn’t need to stay dead.
I’d raised a thousand-strong army. I’d given them back their souls without help from anyone. What was to stop me from doing it again? From resurrecting every corpse in this courtyard and adding their numbers to mine? From swelling my ranks into something utterly undefeatable?
If I raised these hellspawn, could I sway them to our side? Make them fight for me instead of my father? We’d bested them in combat—hellspawn respected that. But if they didn’t…well, I could just kill them again.
The idea didn’t repulse me like it should have.
Power thudded in my veins, hungry and eager.
It moved under my skin as though it approved of my thoughts.
All I had to do was close my eyes and let go.
Imagine the army I could build. The sheer numbers.
My father wouldn’t stand a chance. And without his fallen, he couldn’t make more.
Turn every last hellspawn against him, and I’d tear that damn crown right off his head.
My boots thumped against the outpost’s stone floor as I circled the corpses. I didn’t necessarily need their loyalty. I just needed their obedience.
I crouched next to the nearest body—a broad-shouldered brute of a brimlord with a dented gorget and a sword jammed under his ribs. I placed my hand on his breastplate and sent my magic out. A filament of power slid beneath the metal and into his cold, rigid chest.
He spasmed and my lips curved.
I reached farther, feeling for the flutter until…there. A faint flicker hovered nearby. His soul, trapped in the in-between, unable to move on, because there was nowhere for a soul to go after death in Hell.
My grin stretched wider.
With his body intact, my job became a little easier. There was no need to shape bone and sinew from nothing, no need to slip into the forest and touch the black roots. All I had to do was stuff his soul back into his body and weld the two pieces together. Then, he would live again.
As easy as that.
It was strange how simple this had become. It was almost like I’d broken the barriers. And now, every time I touched this magic, it grew stronger, became easier to call. To use.
Even now, I knew I could call this brimlord back from the dead with little more than a flex of power. It would take more to raise them all. But one soldier was nothing. A drop in the bucket.
“…no survivors. Not that I expected any.”
I stiffened at the sound of approaching voices. The brimlord fell still at my feet, still dead.
Rathiel’s frame moved between two toppled barricades, his shoulders outlined by the lingering firelight within the outpost. Calyx trailed behind him, his boots scuffing against the uneven stone ground. Eliza and Levi trailed behind them, but neither Rathiel nor Calyx seemed aware of them.
I noted how close Eliza stood to Levi. Her head tilted toward him as she listened, her expression softening in a way I’d never seen before. His hand brushed hers—quick, but not quick enough. Her eyes dropped to where his fingers touched hers, and a blush scoured her cheeks.
My gaze lingered, taking in their connection.
Eliza’s eyes were full of longing, and Levi’s glimmered with interest. In all the time I’d known the siren, she’d always avoided attachment and romantic relationships because she could never guarantee the affection was genuine.
Seemed like that’d changed recently, thanks to Levi.
It was curious, though.
I’d known him my entire life. Granted, he’d spent most of those years hiding in snake form, playing the part of Deidre’s pet.
But even after revealing his true identity to me, I’d never once seen him look at anyone the way he looked at Eliza now.
I hadn’t given it much thought because he was an angel.
Rumor had it they weren’t allowed to experience the pleasures of the flesh.
Could his millennia trapped down here have changed him?
Stripped him of those restraints? If so, what did that mean for him?
Heck, what did it mean for me? Technically, I was an angel, and I’d experienced more than my fair share of pleasure.
I mentally shrugged that off. In the grand scheme of things, honestly, angelic rules barely ranked in my head.
“Watchtowers are obliterated,” Calyx continued, oblivious to Eliza and Levi behind him. I just hoped he didn’t turn and see them. I’d seen enough to know Calyx was interested in Eliza. I also knew she wasn’t interested in him. I didn’t exactly like Calyx, but I didn’t wish him pain either.
Rathiel flicked me a quick glance, his brow furrowing when he caught sight of my hand on the brimlord’s chest.
I pulled it back, then slowly pushed to my feet.
“The wyrm had a little too much fun, if you ask me,” Calyx continued. “But we could repair them.”
“We could,” Rathiel agreed, turning his attention back to Calyx. “What about the supplies?”
“There’s a good amount,” Calyx replied. “Food, bedrolls, basic provisions. If we’re careful, plan hunting parties to supplement the food stock here, and don’t delay this war too long, there’s enough to feed our people.”
They came to a stop in front of me, and Calyx frowned. “Playing with the dead, Princess?”
I ignored him. “Why are we repairing the watchtowers?”
At the sound of my voice, Levi broke contact with Eliza and strode forward, his long blond hair flowing in the hellish breeze.
“Because you need a proper base now, Lilith. The dragon destroyed ours, so why not use this one? It’s defensible.
Supply caches built in. Even comes with barracks.
You have an army now. We need to house them. ”
“What he said,” Calyx intoned.
“It won’t fit them all, but some are better than none,” Rathiel commented.
Until they started fighting each other for the right to one of the rooms.
“But thanks to our siege, the outpost now needs some work,” Rathiel continued.
“Walls need shoring. The watchtowers need rebuilding. Essentially, we need to fix everything we broke. And we still haven’t inspected the western half.
” He pointed toward the empty cage. “But Levi’s right. This is as good as any other place.”
Their logic made sense. My army waited beyond the stone walls, restless and loud. Sleeping out in the open wasn’t defensible. Here, we had gates, towers, walls—things that would help keep us alive. Things that gave me more control.
“Alright,” I agreed. “Then we make this our new home.” I faced Levi and Eliza. “You two—take Calyx and head back to camp. Collect everything you can, including Purrgy and Vol.”
Eliza’s eyes went wide, and she stared at me like I’d just sentenced her to death. My lips twitched.
“Me?” she squeaked. “With…them?”
I arched a brow. “Yes. You. With them.” I couldn’t send just Calyx and Levi.
They’d likely kill each other along the way.
Sending Eliza would force them to play nicely—well, nicer.
I could have sent Rathiel in place of one of them, but I wanted him here, where we could discuss the possibility of me raising all the dead soldiers.
And right now, that was a conversation for his ears only.
Levi smirked. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.”
Calyx scoffed—loudly—and rolled his eyes. “Didn’t realize she needed a bodyguard.”
A low laugh slipped from Levi’s lips, one that sounded almost cruel. “Jealous, Calyx?”
“Hardly. We both know I’ll be the one saving her ass if shit goes sideways.”
I blinked—was this actually happening right now?
“Ooh,” came a smoother voice. “An angel fight? Over a girl? This I gotta see.”
I glanced over to find Calder approaching, with Varz and Gorr at his side.
Sighing, I planted my hands on my hips. “Are you two done comparing your dicks? Or do you want me to give you a few more minutes?”
Eliza made a sound halfway between a groan and a laugh. Levi shot me an annoyed glance, but Calyx just laughed.
“Go,” I told them. “The sooner you leave, the sooner you’re back. And the sooner I don’t have to listen to whatever this is.”
They’d taken a few steps when I called Eliza’s name.
She stopped dead, then turned back with a glare black enough to peel skin. It took every bit of my willpower to keep from laughing.
“If you have to choose between Vol and Purrgy—”
“I know, choose Purrgy,” she said, rolling her eyes.
I winked at her, knowing she would bring them both back.
“And Levi?”
He half-turned, his grin almost sadistic. Clearly, he was enjoying ruffling Calyx’s feathers.
“Try not to kill each other along the way.”
That grin sharpened. “No promises.”
Calyx just sighed, then swooped an arm around Eliza’s waist.
She slid out of reach with a sharp laugh. “Oh, hell no.”
The look on his face told me he hadn’t expected that reaction from her. “What’s wrong? You flew with me before?”
“And I hated every second of it,” she shot back. “You purposely banked like a drunk bat and almost dropped me twice—because you thought it was funny.”
“But I didn’t drop you,” he said, bristling. “I wouldn’t do that.”
“You absolutely would,” she grumbled. “I’ll take my chances with an actual angel, thanks. Not a devil in disguise.”
Levi’s smile deepened, and I caught a flash of teeth.
“Ha!” Calder shouted behind me. “That had to burn.”