Chapter Twenty-One
LILY
The outpost spread wide beneath us, all rubble and blood-soaked rock.
I leaned forward to steer the dragon down, but he moved without any instruction from me, now aimed toward a massive patch of empty ground just outside the outpost walls.
Unease whispered through me, one I was sure belonged to the dragon and not me.
I couldn’t hear his thoughts or see through his eyes, yet I knew his focus was on the cage near the southern wall—the same cage I’d spotted him in when Calyx and I first scouted the area.
I patted the dragon’s neck, though I doubt he could feel it through his thick scales. “Don’t worry, I won’t lock you up.”
A flicker of relief.
Alright. Good to know the dragon understood me. Of course, that led to about half a dozen more questions, such as how? But I would focus on that later. Right now, I had far more important issues to focus on. Like Eliza.
I was no genius, but I’d read her expression back in Sulphur’s Grasp.
She’d finally realized what Rathiel and I had been trying to keep secret—that the darkness was gaining control of me.
I’d managed to keep that hidden this morning when raising the hellspawn but hadn’t been so lucky this time.
I’d asked her to kill me if this ever happened.
And the heartbroken expression on Rathiel’s face told me that moment had come.
The dragon’s rough landing shook me out of my thoughts.
I barely had time to collect myself before hellspawn flooded from every side, closing around us like sharks scenting blood.
Their smiles were too hungry, too wide, too eager.
They weren’t awestruck by my new mount, they were calculating how fun it would be to rip the beast apart.
Sighing, I slid off the dragon’s back, my boots crunching on the ash-packed ground. The second the first hellspawn inched closer, the dragon snapped his teeth next to the spawn’s face.
“Back. Off,” I said, voice flat but full of authority. “Touch my dragon and I’ll feed you to it, understand?”
The front ranks hesitated, hunger still gleaming in their eyes.
Days—moments—like this made me want to kill my father all the more.
He had created the hellspawn like this. Turned them into hellish beasts bred to fight and kill.
They saw a dragon and simply saw a target.
Something new for them to sink their fangs and claws into.
They didn’t appreciate its beauty, power, or strength.
I shoved the closest hellspawn back, pulled Inferno’s Kiss, ignited my hellfire along the edge, and pointed the tip at the netheron’s throat. His eyes flicked to me before understanding finally dawned. One by one, the hellspawn stepped back, giving us some space.
Slowly, the crowd dispersed as they returned to their training.
Only Calyx remained close, but he wasn’t staring at the dragon.
He was looking skyward. I followed his gaze and watched as the others landed—Mephisar, Levi, Rathiel.
Levi set Eliza down, and Varz, Calder, and Gorr dismounted from Mephisar.
Only when Eliza stepped out of Levi’s arms did Calyx finally turn to me.
“I see I missed some fun.”
“Your choice,” I reminded him.
His lips flattened into a grimace, but he nodded. “Yet another pet to add to your collection?”
The dragon lifted his head and snorted, smoke pluming from his nostrils.
“He’s not a pet,” I said, though I did reach up and pat his side.
“Lucifer won’t agree with that,” Levi chimed in. “And he’s going to be livid when he learns you stole yet another of his toys.”
“Yes, well, that’s my father’s weakness, isn’t it?” I rebutted. “To him, everything is a toy or a tool. I don’t see things that way.”
“No, you never have,” Rath agreed.
After a moment’s hesitation, I finally met Eliza’s gaze. She stared straight at me, and I read the silent communication in her eyes. There was no avoiding the conversation she apparently wanted to have right now, if her tapping foot was any indication.
I nodded once. But the second I moved toward her, Rathiel cut between us, his sword drawn but angled low, and his whole body coiled tight.
Eliza simply sighed. “Calm down, fang-boy. I have no plans to kill Lily. Well, not right now.” She added a conspiratorial wink at the end, just to piss Rathiel off, I suspected.
My lips curved, a shadow of humour slipping through. I rested my hand on Rathiel’s forearm and squeezed. “It’s fine.”
“Don’t you think you should have this conversation in front of all of us?” Rathiel asked.
“Nope,” Eliza said. “This is a best-friends-only chat. No boys allowed.”
Rathiel glared, but when I didn’t intervene on his behalf, he eventually lowered his sword arm.
“Come on, big guy,” Calder said. “You can come train with us. You clearly need to let off some steam.”
“Or maybe go find some hellcat to snack on,” Eliza suggested. “You’re getting a little hangry.”
His glower deepened.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’ll be fine. And maybe you should feed. We need you at your strongest.” Especially considering our next step was literally to kill my father.
Rathiel didn’t back down easily, and his jaw was tight enough to crack, but he finally nodded, then turned and stalked off—hopefully in search of a yummy, if feisty, kitty.
Levi lingered a moment longer, then touched Eliza’s hand before wandering off with Calder, Varz, and Gorr at his side.
Calyx just rolled his eyes and stormed off, likely to pout.
I almost felt bad for the guy. Sort of. In my eyes, Levi was a far better fit for Eliza. A good, decent…well, angel.
Once it was only the two of us left, Eliza turned on her heel and led me toward the barracks. Along the way, Vol and Purrgy joined us. My imp climbed up her side, then settled on her shoulder while Purrgy wound between my legs as we headed toward Eliza’s room.
She shoved open the door, and we stepped inside.
I took a moment to look around, noting her room’s interior matched mine exactly.
Stone, stone, and more stone. But there was another similarity.
One I truly hadn’t expected to find. Her and Levi’s gear mingled together in the corner of the room, just like mine and Rathiel’s. And only one bed.
Were they bunking together? I suppose it made sense if they were. Not only had Eliza already confirmed they were sleeping together, but by bunking together, it freed up a room for another hellspawn.
But wow. Things really were progressing.
“Behold,” Eliza said. “My boudoir.”
I chuckled, then turned to face her, only to find her leaning against the farthest wall, her arms crossed and eyes locked on me.
Vol still sat on her shoulder, and he eyed the two of us with keen interest, as though sensing the upcoming showdown.
Purrgy, however, didn’t seem to care. He simply sniffed Eliza’s pack, then decided to stretch out on her stone bed, his tail casually flicking against it.
“Alright, Miss Princess of Hell,” Eliza said, drawing my attention back to her. “Start talking.”
I gave a rough laugh, rougher than intended. “About what? The weather? Because Hell’s forecast doesn’t change much. It’s all—”
“Don’t,” she bit out, her eyes narrowing.
Vol shot her a shocked glance, then turned back to face me, his wee imp brows arched.
My smile faded, and I just…deflated. My shoulders slumped, and I sat on the bed next to Purrgy, mindlessly carding my fingers through his fur.
“That bad, huh?” Eliza quietly asked. She sat on the other side of Purrgy but didn’t pet him.
Instead, she lifted Vol off her shoulder and placed him next to the cat.
Vol simply shrugged and tucked himself between Purrgy’s front paws, then leaned back, hands clasped behind his head, but his eyes never left mine.
He always was one to make himself comfortable.
“Talk to me, Lily,” Eliza said when I didn’t immediately speak up. “You went full Exorcist back there. I’ve seen you control shadows, but I’ve never seen your eyes turn pitch black before. And what was with those weird black veins moving under your skin? You looked demonic.”
I flinched. Had I really looked like that?
I’d seen that happen many times to my father, but only when he lost control of his rage.
Then again, I’d lost control of the darkness.
Was it really so different? The idea that I’d looked anything like Lucifer didn’t sit well with me.
I’d borne witness to his vileness more times than I could count.
I didn’t want my friends to see me that way.
“Come on. How bad is it?”
“Bad,” I finally admitted, still stroking Purrgy. “But manageable.”
“Those two things don’t tend to go hand in hand.”
I ran my free hand through my hair.
When I didn’t answer, she pushed a little harder. “Is this the first time you’ve lost full control?”
For some reason, my gaze flicked to Vol. His eyes narrowed on me, apparently curious about this answer too. He had enough common sense to remain quiet, though.
I sighed. I really didn’t want to go through all the details again. I’d just gone through it all with Rathiel last night. But I also knew Eliza wouldn’t stop pushing until I answered all her questions.
“It’s been slowly happening since I first built my army,” I told her. “I…woke something within me. But I promise I’m handling it.”
“That didn’t look like you were handling it, Lil,” Eliza said. “It looked like the power was handling you.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” I asked. “I’m not off terrorizing the realm or massacring people. I saved the dragon, didn’t I? He’s alive. He’s happy.”
“Happy?” She sat straighter. “How could you possibly know that? And he?”
I shrugged. “I just do. And yes, he’s male. The other was a female. I suspect Lucifer created them expecting them to breed. A new creature for him to exploit.”