Chapter Twenty
RATHIEL
I caught up with Lily outside the ruined outpost wall.
I’d left our room just in time to catch the end of the show.
Even now, as I reached her, I could see how much that display of power had cost her.
The darkness she’d described to me last night had all but clawed its way free again, and she’d fought tooth and nail to regain control.
“You alright?” I quietly asked.
She threw me a small, tired smile. “Fine.”
I didn’t remotely believe her, but I also knew better than to press. Especially when we were surrounded by more than a thousand ears. We’d agreed to keep Lily’s condition on the down-low. Me broadcasting it to her entire army hardly qualified.
“I forgot some gear back in our room,” I told her. “Walk with me?” Code for: Do you need a break? Or a moment’s rest?
Before Lily could reply, footsteps rushed toward us. Lily and I turned as one only to find a wiry venerath hurrying toward us.
“Princess,” he called out before skidding to a dusty stop right in front of her. “My scouting party spotted the second dragon.”
Lily tensed. “Where?”
“Sulphur’s Grasp,” he said, leaning over to rest his hands on his knees while he collected his breath. I made a mental note to add stamina training for the army, then refocused my attention on the scout.
“Sulphur’s Grasp,” Lily repeated, sighing.
“Not ideal,” I agreed. Not ideal in the least. There were some places even the strongest, toughest hellspawn didn’t venture.
And Sulphur’s Grasp was one of them. Toxic fumes polluted the air, while acidic lakes freckled the terrain.
Not to mention, it was the home of some truly monstrous hellbeasts.
“That’s a day’s march east,” she said, her gaze now locked on the horizon. She ran a hand over her jaw, silently contemplating our choices.
“Lucifer’s palace is a two-day march west,” I said, even though she already knew that.
She nodded. After a moment, she sighed, her exhaustion evident. “Our goal is my father. The dragon is irrelevant.”
“Unless Lucifer summons it to the battle,” I said. “He’ll learn the moment we start marching. He knows everything that happens in this realm. The way I see it, we have two choices. Fight the dragon now or fight it when we face Lucifer. One is far less risky.”
“I know, but is it worth it?” She turned and faced me. “The dragon hasn’t attacked us. Or maybe, the dragon broke free of Lucifer’s will and is simply living its best life—in a toxic basin full of acidic lakes. Maybe that’s its version of a vacation.”
Her attempted humour brought a half-smile to my lips. “We have no way of knowing.”
She groaned and dragged a hand down her face. “We could simply ignore it and hope it doesn’t join the fight.”
“We could,” I agreed. “The call is yours.”
“It’s in the opposite direction of where we need to go,” she continued.
“We’d lose two days—one to get there, one to get back—if I marched the entire army in search of it.
Not to mention, who knows the numbers we’d lose.
” She combed her fingers through her hair.
“But going after the dragon ensures no surprise attacks during the final battle. And seeing as how the first dragon ripped Sable to shreds, we know it can cause a lot of damage.”
I nodded, knowing she was talking more to herself than me.
“Unless we don’t use the army,” she said. She turned and stared at her soldiers, once again training. “We could cut that day’s march in half if we keep the party small and limit it only to those who can fly. Sulphur’s Grasp is, what, a few hours away as the crow flies?”
A speculative light twinkled in her eyes. She didn’t say another word before pivoting on her heel and marching back to her army. “Calyx, Levi, Eliza.”
The three peeled away from their respective spots and jogged over.
Lily lifted her hand to her mouth, placed two fingers inside, then released a piercing whistle, one that echoed through the outpost. Barely a minute passed before the sound of thick, heavy wings rose to our ears.
Mephisar’s massive body briefly blocked the hellish light before he swooped down and landed in front of us, his tail snaking around me and Lily.
She quickly brought our small group up to speed and announced that we would be going after the dragon. Now. Before the army began marching. Because she didn’t want any surprises along the way.
“Eliza, are you okay riding Mephisar, or—”
“She can fly with me,” Levi announced.
No one questioned the choice.
Lily nodded. “Very well.”
“I’m staying here,” Calyx said, his tone a bit petulant. “I’m more useful here, supervising and training. The army needs someone to stay behind. And if you’re playing dragon-hunter, then I assume Rath—”
“I’m going with,” I bit out. No question.
Calyx tipped his head toward Rathiel. “See? And if you’re also dragging along Wonder-Boy—”
Levi barked a laugh at his new nickname.
“—then I’m staying,” Calyx finished.
Lily considered his request for a moment. But after her gaze strayed to Levi and Eliza, she nodded. “So be it. Alright, everyone gear up. I’m going to speak to Korrak and issue my orders, then I’ll do the same.”
The others broke off from our small pack and headed toward their rooms. I remained behind, waiting for Lily.
It didn’t take long for her to inform Korrak that Calyx was in charge—with a couple caveats.
She gave explicit instructions for the army to rip the fallen limb from limb if he so much as breathed a traitorous word.
Calyx’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue.
Poor guy was having a rough couple of days.
Once she was done, she and I returned to our barracks, where we both armed ourselves to the teeth. The day would come when this was no longer our life, but in the meantime, we had to make the best of what we had.
After I finished arming myself, I took Lily’s hand and drew her close, wrapping my arms around her. There was nothing I loved more than the feel of her body pressed against mine.
“You ready for this?”
She blew out a heavy breath. “When I raised the hellspawn, I nearly lost control. And I can still feel my power churning inside. It isn’t weakening, it’s growing stronger.”
Oh, I didn’t love the sound of that.
“We take out the dragon, and we come back,” she said. “It’s as simple as that.”
I kissed the top of her head and closed my eyes. “I will do whatever it takes to protect you, you know that. Even if that means protecting you from yourself. This darkness will not win.”
Lily’s arms loosened as she tipped her head back.
I didn’t need any further encouragement to kiss her.
It wasn’t a quick kiss, but it wasn’t heated or hungry either.
It was slow and passionate. I took the time to show her what she meant to me and how much I loved her before finally pulling away and reaching for the door.
“You’ve got this,” I assured her.
She nodded, but I had to admit, she didn’t look overly optimistic.
I shoved open the door to find the others waiting for us in the middle of the courtyard, each turning to watch our approach.
Eliza glanced at Levi. Her face looked almost…hopeful. “You ready?”
Levi smiled and immediately pulled Eliza into his arms. “Of course.”
Interesting. There was no hesitation there. No discomfort when he placed his hands on her body. Good for them. The angel deserved a little fun. I just wasn’t sure how his brethren would respond to that when he returned home to Heaven. We fallen didn’t care about sex. But celestials sure did.
“If you think you’re leaving without us, Princess, you’ve lost your damn mind,” came a voice.
I glanced over to find Calder, Varz, and Gorr stalking toward us. The vampire and netheron wore eager grins, while Gorr’s tail swished happily.
“We can ride on Mephisar,” Varz announced.
Lily considered them, then nodded. In the past, she’d farmed the three of them out between the two hellwyrms, but Sable was gone now. So we had to make do with what we had. Mephisar could handle it, but we would need to watch for signs of fatigue.
“What about you—?” Varz began to ask, then immediately fell silent when Lily snapped out her shadow wings.
“Well now, those are new,” Calder commented. He circled Lily like she was a prized creature and whistled.
I shoved his shoulder and gave him a nonthreatening glare, but one he took seriously, nonetheless.
“Wicked upgrade,” was all he said before climbing onto Mephisar’s back.
Varz and Gorr piled on behind Calder, with Gorr seated in the middle for stability. It certainly looked awkward, but what other choice did we have beyond leaving them behind? That was an option, but right now, I preferred the numbers, if only to ensure our victory.
“Let’s go,” Lily said an instant before launching herself into the air and leading the way to Sulphur’s Grasp.
As luck would have it, we spotted the dragon first. It lay sprawled across the basin ledge, its tail draped over the edge, swinging lazily. Its head rested on a rock pike, and smoke unspooled from its nostrils with each slow breath.
It almost looked harmless like that—eyes closed, limbs slack.
Almost.
Thankfully, appearances didn’t mean much to me, considering the other dragon had killed Sable. Hellwyrms were bred for war. That the dragon had taken one out said a lot about this breed’s strength and skills. It wasn’t something any of us would forget anytime soon.
Lily didn’t waste any time. She gestured at Levi and Eliza, then pointed them toward the tail.
A swift glance at Mephisar and a sharp gesture of her hand had the wyrm banking to the right to circle to the beast’s back.
The stomach wasn’t accessible, yet. But I had a feeling it wouldn’t take long for Mephisar to reach the soft underside.
As for me, Lily brushed her hand against mine and pointed toward the beast’s head. Closest proximity to all those lovely teeth and its fiery breath.