Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Roxy
War walked in, Lothar right behind him. The hellhound alpha’s gaze instantly sliced to me chained to the wall, and his lips peeled back.
His unhappiness could be one of two things.
Being a hound, he hated seeing females being mistreated, so it was either that or Lothar had told him what I’d done to him, and the sight of me induced rage.
My guess, a little of both. Seeing me chained would set off his protective instincts, whether he liked it or not.
I fought down the shame and guilt that had been steadily digging its thick roots inside me and watched as Sera preened and War shook hands with Beelzebub, like he wasn’t the biggest and most traitorous piece of shit on the planet, and pretend he was on board with betraying Lucifer.
Lothar’s plan was a good one—if it worked.
If it didn’t? I couldn’t bear to think about it.
The hounds and knights didn’t have enough firepower to take out Seraphina on their own, and I hated relying on fucking angels.
We all knew Lucifer getting anywhere near Sera was a bad idea, but he was the only one with enough power to take her on if everything went to shit.
“You will come to our meeting with the knights. Seeing that the alpha hound is joining this fight will help our cause,” Sera said.
War jerked up his chin. “We’ll be there.”
Lothar kept sliding glances my way, then back to Sera, a strange look on his face. What that twisted bitch had said to him before he left earlier, after she’d forced him to kiss her, had him searching his mind for answers. I could literally see it in his eyes.
“It’s time to leave,” Sera said. “Roxy will remain here with our new friends to keep her company,” she said and smiled like the evil cunt she was.
Lothar growled at me, then strode over. He looked down at me, baring his fangs. “Nothing you don’t deserve, isn’t that right, Rox?” he said to me, then crouched, crowding me. His hand shot out, grabbing me by the throat, just above the collar.
My hand flew up, gripping his wrist. “I’m sorry,” I choked out, tears filling my eyes, because this hurt so fucking much. He wasn’t on Sera’s side, but he wasn’t on mine either.
“Keep your worthless apologies,” he snarled.
That’s when I realized his hold on my throat wasn’t tight, and that there wasn’t rage in his eyes but determination.
His gaze dipped, and I followed it. His knife stuck out from the top of his boot.
He gave me a subtle nod. As soon as he released my throat, I fell forward, dramatically, clutching my throat, and grabbed his legs.
“Please, please forgive me,” I said as I slid the knife free and tucked it under my thigh.
He shook me off, gave me a hateful look, then strode back to Warrick. They’d planned for this, guessing that Sera might decide to leave me here. I was chained, my powers drained, but I was Roxana the Blade, and the fuckers she was leaving here with me didn’t stand a chance.
Still, as Lothar headed toward the door, he glanced my way again, and I could see the fear in his eyes, for me. “Maybe we should bring her with us,” he said. “For collateral.”
Sera grabbed his jaw, forcing him to look at her. “We don’t need her and neither do you. She is nothing. You are mine now, Lothar.”
Warrick’s gaze hardened, but he managed not to screw his face up in disgust and, somehow, I managed to stay completely still and not explode to my feet and tear my own hands off in my desperation to get free of my manacles and take a bite out of the carotid artery pulsing delicately at the side of her neck.
Lothar nodded, but his hands were curled in tight fists.
“Come now, lover,” Sera said to him, then strode ahead.
Lothar froze as soon as she said it, his head jerking up, his eyes clashing with mine.
Horror filled me.
He was remembering.
Oh gods, he knew.
Lothar took a step toward me again, and I shook my head.
Warrick planted a hand on his chest. “You need to keep walking,” he growled low.
Every vein and tendon visible strained as Lothar fought with himself.
“Go,” I mouthed.
“Fucking move, before Sera sees you,” War snarled.
Lothar let War shove him out the door, but the look on his face broke me in two.
Our love story was a tragedy, not some beautiful romance where we’d walk into the sunset hand in hand, and it was as impossible now as it was then.
We’d hurt each other too deeply, there had been too many lies, too much pain.
We’d incinerated any chance of a happy ending.
There was no time to think after that, because the demons outside the cottage had moved to the windows, realizing I was here alone.
I stood, gripping the knife that had once been mine, that had been covered in Lothar’s blood the last time I held it.
At least the chains were long enough for a little movement, not much, but enough.
The door burst open and the biggest demon walked in. “Daddy’s home,” he boomed and bared his pointed teeth.
Lothar
I had to fight not to throw up as memories flooded back.
They were still hazy, but I knew we’d been in love.
Roxy and me. We’d loved each other. Nights with her in my arms spilled into my mind, kissing, touching, whispered words in the darkness.
Planning a future together, being forced to resist the urge to mate in truth, because Lucifer insisted that we wait.
We’d obeyed, like the loyal soldiers we were.
Handmaids weren’t meant to have mates, but fate had overridden Lucifer and he’d been furious.
The memories around what happened right before it all went wrong were still jumbled, pieces missing.
Lucifer had asked me to “charm” Sera, that if I got her to tell me what she had on him, he’d finally let us mate in truth.
He’d convinced me that I wasn’t being unfaithful because we weren’t mated yet.
He’d said that Roxy would understand, that she had seduced many people for him over the years, that it was for the good of Hell and would ensure his throne, that it was for the good of my brothers, but more importantly, it would ensure that Roxy would remain safe.
I didn’t remember the details, but I did know that I did it. I did what Lucifer wanted.
I rubbed at my chest, phantom pain slicing through me as if it were happening now, not centuries ago.
Roxy hadn’t done anything to me.
I was the one.
I’d done this to us.
I’d been too weak to tell Lucifer to shove his assignment up his ass, to ignore his orders and make Roxy my mate. I was the one who’d ruined everything.
“Loth?” War said quietly. “What’s going on?”
The sun had gone down, and we were in a van. Relic was driving. Sera was beside him up front. Beelzebub took up the seat behind them, while War and I sat in the far back. I shoved my fingers through my hair. “Do you remember me and Rox together?”
War frowned. “No.” Then his brows shot up like a fucking light went on.
“You remember something?”
His gaze sliced to Sera and his brows shot up. “What the fuck?” He shook his head, confusion all over his face. “I do.” Hatred filled his eyes. “How? What the fuck is going on? How did I not remember until now?”
“I’m assuming whatever block Lucifer had in place has broken. He took my memories of me and Rox, but not just from me, from everyone who knew what we’d been to each other.” I swallowed, my throat dry as hell. “The specifics are blurry still, but I remember enough.”
He cursed. “Why did he do it? What happened?”
“I betrayed her, War, in the worst way.”
“Fuck,” War muttered.
“How am I ever gonna make this right?”
He curled his fingers into a tight fist and tapped my leg. “We need to get through tonight, brother, then you have an eternity to win her back. For now, you need to focus. You need to win this for her.”
I tried to take a steadying breath and failed. “She’s back there, all alone.”
“She’s a warrior. Even chained, those demons don’t stand a chance,” War said, then he opened his phone and turned the screen to me. “And she has backup coming.”
He’d texted Asher.
Thank fuck.
The van pulled into a large empty lot on the outskirts of the city. Seven huge males stood waiting. The knights had arrived. Zen and Chaos stood a couple feet in front, their brothers right behind them.
Sera almost vibrated with excitement. As soon as the van stopped, she shoved the door open. We quickly followed. There weren’t many streetlights out here and the edges of the lot were drenched in heavy shadow.
Seraphina strode up as if she already owned them. “Zenon, introduce me.”
Hatred burned in Zen’s yellow eyes, but I watched as he physically controlled himself. “Chaos,” he said, motioning to the big male with a shaved and tattooed head beside him. “He leads us. Lazarus, Gunner, Tobias, Rocco, and Kryos stand behind us,” he said, not looking back.
A huge smile curled her lips. “I am pleased to meet you all,” she said.
“I know of your origins, that your mothers were all fallen angels like me. Except, of course, for you, Zenon.” She held out her arms. “I want…hope that eventually you will think of me as a mother figure to you all. I promise your fealty, your devotion to me will be rewarded in ways you could only dream of,” she said, giving them the same kind of bullshit speech she’d given me.
Chaos’s gaze slid to Beelzebub, then back to Sera. “We can’t enter Hell. I’m not sure how much help we can be.”
Her shrewd gaze slid around the knights. “Two of your brothers can, I can feel it. They’ve been there already. I can see it on them like a stain.”
“That was a long time ago,” Chaos said. “We stick together.”
“I’m sure that’s what you’d prefer, but I will need them to follow me into Hell, Chaos.” Her eyes narrowed. “I need to draw Lucifer out, and I’ll need protection. The more of you that can follow me the better. There is no other way.”
Chaos was stalling, while my pack closed in, surrounding us.
We just had to hold her until the angels came, then this would be over.
As soon as they took Sera back to her prison in Heaven where she belonged, I could go to Roxy—and I would fucking beg her to forgive me.
Roxy
I slashed my knife and demon blood sprayed my face.
His hand flew to his throat and he snarled. “Bitch!” Then he charged at me again.
I ducked, hooked my chain around his neck, wrenched his head back and plunged my knife into his heart, his stomach, his genitals repeatedly, then spun back and let him drop to the floor with the three others I’d already taken care of.
It wouldn’t kill him, but it would incapacitate him for some time.
The knife wasn’t big enough to hack off his head, not easily, and I had three more demons surrounding me, hissing with fury.
“You come any closer, you’ll end up with punctured balls like your buddy down there.
” I needed to get out of here. I needed to get to Hell, to Lucifer, and tell him what was happening.
Something was wrong with this whole thing.
I had a niggling feeling that wouldn’t leave me alone.
We were missing something, I was sure of it.
A howl echoed in the distance. Not hound, wolf.
The three demons in front of me froze, and the one closest to me tilted his head, listening.
“Sounds like backup just arrived,” I said. “Now would be a good time to run.”
“Fuck,” the demon growled, then spun, and they ran for the door, bursting out and heading for the cover of the forest.
Four wolves exploded into the clearing before they could make it, and the sounds of their snarls and demon screams came next as the pack members tore them to shreds. I recognized one of the wolves instantly.
Asher.
She shifted, and naked and covered in blood, strode into the cottage. Her gaze landed on me. “You okay?”
“I’m good,” I said and forced the growl from my voice. Asher was a good female, and Lothar’s friend. Jealousy was not the emotion I should be feeling now, so I squashed it ruthlessly.
“War told us you might need help.” She eyed the demons flailing on the floor.
“Sorry we didn’t get here faster.” She held out a hand, and a hunting knife was tossed to her from another wolf just outside the door.
She went for the closest demon, fisting his hair.
“We were on the other side of the forest when I got the text,” she said as she hacked off his head.
The demon turned to ash.
“Looks like you had it handled though,” she said as the next demon’s head hit the floor, then turned to ash.
“I appreciate the help. I have somewhere I really need to be.”
Ash nodded, then dealt with demon number three. “Lothar okay? We heard from Willow, she told us to lock down the keep.”
I wanted to tell her not to say his damned name, but again that was born from jealousy, from finally being mated in truth.
“He’s okay, but yeah, there’s some serious shit about to go down, Ash.
” An angel fighting, using powers like Seraphina’s in this realm, could cause some major problems. “The sooner you can get back to your pack and protect them, the better. The demons here might start acting weird, they might feel emboldened. Honestly, I don’t know what will happen, but you need to be prepared. ”
She nodded. “Gotcha. Let’s get you out of those chains, then we can do what we need to do to get through this.”
I yanked at my chains. “Our best bet is to pull them from the wall. These aren’t coming off, not without some serious magic. The collar, though. I think we can get it off. It’s buckled on.”
Ash closed in, her hand going to the fastening.
“You’re going to have to do it fast. There are needles imbedded in it, made from blessed silver that will shoot out as soon as you undo it. I need you to tear them from my flesh as fast as you can or they could decapitate me.”
Asher froze. “The fuck?”
“I can’t enter Hell with this on, either, or same thing will happen, and Hell’s where I’m headed.”
“So no pressure, then?”
I laughed. “Nope. Just the fate of existence as we know it.”
“You’re being serious, aren’t you?” Ash said.
“If I die before I can get to Lucifer, and things don’t go the way we need them to, our world, the realms, will never be the same again.”
Asher took a deep breath and shook out her hands. “Okay, then, Rox, let’s get you to Hell in one piece, yeah?”
“I’d really fucking appreciate it, Ash.”
“You got it. My count?”
I nodded.
“On three.” She cracked her knuckles. “Three…two…one.”
Fuck.