Chapter Twenty-Two
LILY
The outpost buzzed with life, which was ironic, considering where we were.
Fires crackled in shallow, hand-dug pits, while soldiers passed around what little brew they’d found inside the outpost and traded war stories like tonight was their last chance to celebrate.
With a little luck, it hopefully would be.
If we succeeded—if I succeeded—Hell would reset.
The realm would purge itself of my father’s sickness, and theoretically, the hellspawn would fade back into their soul-forms and begin preparing for their next phase in the afterlife.
My focus strayed to the ruined south wall, where Mephisar lay like a cat draped over the stone edge.
The dragon lay stretched out beside him, his black plates catching and reflecting the flickering fires.
I wasn’t sure what would happen to all the hellbeasts once I won the war.
Some, like Mephisar and the hellcats, were native.
But then there was the dragon. Lucifer had purposely bred him.
With my father gone, would the dragon cease to exist?
He didn’t deserve obliteration, but what else awaited him if Hell reset?
I pulled my attention away from them and slowly trekked through the courtyard. I didn’t stop along the way, but I did lay a hand on a shoulder or two as I passed and gave others a nod here and there.
Korrak’s scarred face cracked into something that resembled a grin when I told him not to drink so much that he forgot which end of the spear was the pointy bit.
Rathgor offered me a strip of something charred that might’ve once been food. I took it but didn’t ask too many questions.
Drek’thar saluted me with a sloshing tankard, then turned back to whatever conversation he and his soldiers were having.
I passed Calder and Sareth, stunned to find them locked in a heated embrace, no care in the world as everyone else looked on and jeered.
Varz stood off in the distance, shaking his head at his companions.
I chuckled, then moved on, ignoring the many tankards handed my way. I wanted my head clear tonight.
After a few minutes, the weight of a stare dragged my gaze upward. Rathiel stood across the courtyard in the shadow of a ruined arch, leathers dark against darker stone, wings folded tight. When he caught my eye, he beckoned me toward him with a crooked finger.
Well, this girl didn’t need to be asked twice.
I wove through the maze of hellspawn until I reached him.
Without a word, he hooked an arm around my waist, hauled me flush against him, then swept my legs out from under me.
Before I could even screech my surprise, he shot us up into the sky.
The ground vanished, the camp shrinking fast as he carried us toward the ridge—the same one Calyx and I had used to scout this place.
He put me down the instant we landed, and the scorching wind whipped through my hair as I gazed down over the outpost. Up here, we were alone and out of sight, and I didn’t realize until now how badly I’d needed that.
“You know, I could have flown myself up here,” I told him with a sly grin.
“I’m well aware,” he said. “But this way gave me a reason to hold you.”
I rolled my eyes, though the grin stuck. “Like you need an excuse to hold me.”
His arms came around me again, and he yanked me against his chest, then nudged my chin up so our gazes met. “No, I don’t.”
I kissed him before I could think better of it, savoring the taste of him like it might be my last. Because truthfully, it might be.
The hellspawn weren’t the only ones whose future was a little murky.
Mine and Rathiel’s were too. If I succeeded in killing my father, great—fantastic even.
But if I failed? Not only would the hellspawn remain cursed to this miserable existence, but that would be the end of me.
Lucifer was many things, cruel and tyrannical to name a few, but he wasn’t stupid.
He would have learned from our last battle, and this time, there’d be no escaping him.
This time, one of us would die. I just prayed it wasn’t me.
Once we parted, I brushed my lips against Rathiel’s once more, then leaned against his chest. His chin came down on top of my head, and he just held me.
I absolutely cherished moments like these.
They didn’t come often. When I thought back through Rathiel’s and my relationship, we’d spent more time hating each other or apart than we had together.
I wanted to change that. It was another reason I had to win this fight with my father—like I needed another reason.
I had to do this, and I had to succeed, for me, for Rathiel, for everyone.
“Rath…” I murmured. I pulled back and stared up at him. “If I don’t make it through this—”
His expression hardened. “Don’t.”
I sighed. “Please, just listen.”
His jaw flexed, a muscle twitching near his temple, but after a long beat, he reluctantly nodded.
“If I don’t make it, I need you to promise me you’ll get everyone out.
I won’t be there to open any gates, but you’ve done it before.
I trust you to do it again. Take Eliza, Levi, Vol, Purrgy…
all of them, and get them out of here. And you”—my voice and heart broke just thinking about this—“have to go with them. Keep them safe for as long as you can.”
Because we both knew if my father won, if he killed me, he would invade Earth next. He knew how, it just required more power than he was willing to sacrifice. But that wouldn’t hold him back forever. His aspirations were far too grand for him to remain in Hell.
“Lily—”
“Please, Rath,” I pressed. “Don’t tell me I’ll survive.
We both know that may not happen. If we lose, Lucifer won’t spare me.
And I don’t want to hear that you’ll die fighting with me.
That’s not what I want. If I fall, then we’ve lost the war.
You dying serves no purpose. But you can protect them. ”
I saw the refusal and denial in his eyes. I knew Rathiel better than anyone in the universe. I knew he would die fighting for me. Securing this promise was my way of protecting him. Of giving my best soldier one last mission after I was dead.
“Promise me,” I begged.
Finally, he nodded. “Fine. I promise. If the worst happens, I’ll get them out. I’ll protect them. You have my word.”
Relief washed through me. If I died, Rathiel would break. I knew that. But I also knew he would do this for me. Because he loved me. He’d get them out—and in return, Eliza would put his broken pieces back together.
I sank into his embrace again and wrapped my arms around him. “Thank you.”
His arms tightened. “I want you to promise me something in return.”
I lifted my head.
“Don’t let him take you from me,” he said, his words so quiet I almost didn’t hear them.
“Don’t give him the chance. I don’t care what you have to do—burn him, break him, call every shadow in this damned realm to your side.
I don’t care if it means succumbing entirely to the darkness.
If that’s what you have to do, do it. Don’t hold back. And don’t die.”
My throat tightened. “Rathiel—”
“I watched him rip you apart once before. I can’t do that again, Lily.
I made you a promise. Now, you promise me that you’ll do whatever it takes to survive.
Even if it terrifies you. Even if it breaks you.
” His eyes practically burned with conviction.
“You are stronger than him, Lily. Stronger even than you were ten years ago. And you don’t give yourself enough credit.
That damned prophecy isn’t wrong—you will end this.
But I need you standing here afterward. Understand? ”
I forced myself to swallow. I couldn’t make that promise in good conscience, because I couldn’t guarantee I wouldn’t lose this fight or die trying.
But I could modify it slightly. “I promise you I will fight with every ounce of my being. That I won’t give up or surrender.
But I can’t promise I’ll survive the battle. You know I can’t guarantee that.”
He clenched his jaw again, a storm flickering in his eyes, but eventually, he nodded. “Then fight like survival is your only option. Because it is.”
Before I could respond, his mouth found mine again.
The kiss started tender, as though he intended to worship me, but the moment I responded, something changed.
He became fierce, almost frantic, as his arms tightened around me, as his fingers plunged into my hair.
I clutched him just as tightly, my arms winding around his neck as I plastered myself against him.
Without a word, his fingers found the fastenings to my leathers, tugging them loose one by one, and I didn’t stop him.
There was no universe where I would ever stop him.
I fumbled with his ties, growling against his mouth when one of his buckles caught.
He chuckled against my lips, then reached down to help me.
Finally, the leather gave way, and I pressed my palms to his heated skin. The tremor that ran through him wasn’t from fear, but from want. My body shook with its own need.
“Lily,” he rasped, breaking the kiss only long enough to breathe my name.
I silenced him with another kiss, pouring everything I couldn’t put into words into that single moment—my fear, my longing, my love. The darkness inside me stirred, but I shoved it down. Not now. Not here. Tonight, I was only his.
We sank down onto the ridge, the stone cool beneath us, the night sky bleeding red above. His hands slid over me, mapping familiar ground like he was memorizing me all over again, as though he knew—like I knew—that this could be our last time.
I wanted to remember everything. The scrape of his stubble against my cheek. The taste of him on my tongue. The way his breath hitched when I touched him just right. Every detail branded itself into me, a litany I’d carry even into death.