Chapter 1 Cinder
CINDER
I couldn’t tell you what I expected Hecate to be like, but ungrateful and wrathful weren’t even on the list of adjectives I’d have considered.
Full of disdain and royally pissed off at Discord, sure. That much I understood. But if she really wanted to mend the veil and get her amulet back, why in Hell’s name did she allow Seraphine…Isabel’s daughter…to get her windy little hands on me?
To say I was disappointed in the goddess would be an understatement.
Disappointed in myself, even more so because I had actually considered following Seraphine willingly.
What the eff had I been thinking? I’d been laser-focused on finding my parents and completely forgotten to use the big ball of noodles inside my skull.
I needed to get my head on straight, and as soon as I got out of this cyclone of doom, I’d do just that.
Seraphine’s tornado had picked up a ton of dirt and debris, swirling it around me and giving me the most intense exfoliating treatment I’d ever experienced.
My arms and face felt like I’d tumbled down a waterslide made of sandpaper and landed in a pool of pine needles.
I wasn’t spinning in circles like the wind, thankfully, but if my feet didn’t hit the ground soon, we could add whatever I’d last eaten to the debris field whirling around me.
My stomach lurched, and I burped. It tasted like sulfur, sharp and pungent.
Finally, after being jerked out of Discord’s grasp, dragged out of the underground chamber, and whirled to Hecate knew where, Seraphine released her hold and dropped me to the ground.
My knees buckled, and I stumbled, catching myself on my hands before I could face-plant onto a rock. My palms scraped across the basalt, my skin tearing, reminding me about the lovely pain amplification feature of this goddess-forsaken realm. Ouch.
I scrambled to my feet and spun in a circle, igniting flames in my bloodied hands, but Seraphine was gone.
She’d dropped me into a massive, circular pit with fifty-foot walls soaring all around me.
Red sigils and purple stones glowed and glittered in the moonlight, and a tar pit bubbled and blooped, releasing puffs of steam that smelled worse than microwaved broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and dog farts combined.
An arched opening, blocked by a tungsten gate with a ginormous padlock, stood to my right, and a smaller arched passage, about four feet high, had been carved into the rock to my left.
I paced toward the larger one, and my head spun.
The entire pit gave off a funhouse effect, the stone floor sloping downward toward the center, where a grate covered what I could only assume was a drain.
Why in Hecate’s name would they need a drain in the middle of a… Oh no.
The smaller gate thunked and opened, screeching on its hinges as if it hadn’t moved in centuries. My heart pounded, my stomach twisted, and I tightened every muscle in my pelvic floor to keep from peeing my pants.
Something inside the tunnel squawked and thrashed.
Chains rattled and locks groaned, but the view of the platform above was what chilled me to the core.
Seraphine stood next to an ornate throne of bone, her hair rustling in an imaginary wind, a smug grin on her face, and malice in her eyes. Sitting on the throne…?
Yep. It was Lucifer himself.
“Eff me,” I muttered under my breath. “I swear I can’t catch a break.”
“Behold, my king.” Seraphine gestured grandly, and…did she really just say behold? “I present to you the gift of not only the pathetic witch’s skull, but the joy of watching her die.”
Sheesh. Dramatic much?
Black waves rippled through Lucifer’s hair, and he rubbed his thumb and forefinger against his chin.
His nostrils flared as he eyed me, so I straightened my spine, lifting my chin in defiance.
The corner of his mouth twitched, the ghost of a smile briefly crossing his lips before he turned toward Seraphine.
“I assume Discord is waiting in the wings?”
She opened her mouth but missed a beat before she replied. “He’ll come for her.”
“And how, pray tell, will he find her? I haven’t used this stadium in centuries.” He steepled his fingers and returned his gaze to me.
“Well…” Seraphine dropped her arms to her sides and then crossed them, shifting her weight from foot to foot. “They have a blood bond.”
“Which I have with Hecate, yet I cannot find her.” His temples darkened, blackness spreading through his hair as he shot to his feet. “Think, you imbecile.”
The beastie in the tunnel screeched. Chains groaned and snapped. I swallowed the lump in my throat, backing away and scanning the ground for weapons or pieces of debris. Hell, I’d have settled for a big stick at this point, but it seemed Seraphine had thought of nearly everything.
“Is that a basilisk?” Lucifer tilted his head, listening to the creature’s sounds of struggle.
“It is, sire,” Seraphine bowed her head. “Your favorite…and he’s hungry.”
Lucifer arched a brow and sank onto his throne. “I do love a good basilisk fight.”
He flicked his wrist, and the sound of chains dropping to the ground echoed through the pit like a death toll.
What the hell was a basilisk?
Another squawk drew my attention to the tunnel, where a pair of glowing yellow eyes with vertical pupils stared back at me.
“Nice kitty.” I lit fireballs in my hands and braced myself, but what emerged from the tunnel wasn’t a feline at all.
The beastie had the head of a rooster, and as it squeezed its massive body through the opening, I took in feathered wings and chicken legs. I squinted, blinking rapidly and trying to understand why my arch nemesis thought sending in an overgrown cock was a good idea.
I let out a breath, relaxing slightly. I’d be serving blackened chicken breast in no time.
Only…the poultry part was just the front half of the creature. It took a few more steps and straightened to its full height, which had to be nearly eight feet tall, and the backside…? Think giant green sea serpent with armored scales and spikes running all the way down to the tip of its tail.
It screeched and roared, both sounds emanating from its throat at once, and spread its wings, revealing taloned claws like a pterodactyl. The creepy combination of bird and reptile was somehow both laughable and terrifying. Apparently, Jurassic Park had gotten it all wrong.
The basilisk’s beak clicked in anticipation, saliva dripping from the corners as his feathers bristled with hostile energy. I swallowed hard, suddenly less confident about my dinner plans and more concerned about surviving the encounter.
Fried assault chicken might not be on the menu after all. Hopefully, fire witch wouldn’t either.
The beastie stomped and squawked, lowering its head and charging. I threw a fireball—and missed—before lunging left and landing on my shoulder. I rolled twice and shot to my feet, igniting more flames and facing my attacker.
“Impressive.” Lucifer clapped slowly, his bored voice echoing through the pit, sounding from all around me, though he still sat in his throne above.
I glanced up at him, my momentary distraction giving the basilisk a chance to whip his tail around, lashing at my abdomen and sending me careening into the wall.
My head hit the stone with a thwack, and I slid to the ground, stunned and in more pain than I could ever remember feeling.
If I made it out of this alive, my entire body would be one giant bruise.
“Get up,” Lucifer commanded. “Don’t tell me that’s all the fight you have left in you.”
Honestly? It kinda was. I’d done nothing but fight for my life at every turn since I got here, and I was so over it.
“I’m noticing a theme here.” Gritting my teeth, I pushed to my feet and braced myself against the wall. Searing pain shot through my side, making it difficult to breathe, much less talk. But speaking was my inborn gift, so I continued despite the agony.
“You created a court of cowardice.” I cringed and pressed a hand to my side. It seemed I’d broken a rib. Lovely. “Bedlam was the only one of your minions who willingly fought us himself. The others hid behind tricks and crossbows to get the job done.”
“You mistake strategy for cowardice.” The imaginary wind surrounding Seraphine whipped her hair, rustling her silver trench coat. “Survival is an art, and I excel at it.”
“From a distance.” I tried for a dismissive shrug, but my face pinched with the pain.
Her eyes glinted with challenge, daring me to argue more as the basilisk circled me, his claws scraping against the arena floor.
My pulse thundered in my ears, but I refused to let either Lucifer or Seraphine see just how rattled I was.
If survival really was an art, I was a Picasso—abstract, kinda weird, but incredibly bold and valuable.
“If you really want to show old Luci how great you are, you should lock up the beastie and fight me hand to hand…element to element.” I curled my fingers inward, sparks dancing across them, my fire begging to be released.
I tempered it, though, letting the heat build in the core of my being and focusing on the tether connecting my soul to Discord’s.
Seraphine arched a brow, clearly amused by my challenge. “Brave words for someone barely standing.”
I smirked, not rewarding her with another response, and searched the ether for my demon. If I could reach him without scrying, if I could somehow use our connection to let him know I was still alive—though barely kicking—maybe he could find me.
The basilisk paused, sensing my shift in focus like static in the air, and with a deep inhale, I dared to close my eyes. It took less than a second for me to pick up my demon’s vibration, low and strong, yet on a frequency all its own. I pushed my magic outward across the tether, hoping to Heca—
I guess hoping to Hecate wasn’t in my best interest anymore, was it?
Regardless, I hoped and said a little prayer to anyone who would listen. The connection solidified like two links of an iron chain locking together. I felt his desperation, his panic. Then he sensed me, and his hope fueled my own.
Wind whipped around me, and I opened my eyes in time to see the basilisk’s beak rushing toward my face. Instinct took over. The fire pulsing in the core of my being flashed down my arm and out my palm, streaming into the beastie’s mouth.
The assault chicken choked, stumbling backward and coughing up charred bits of its own throat before letting out a pained screech that shook the entire arena.
I limped forward, blasting a steady stream of fire at its feathers.
They ignited, and the basilisk’s wild flapping fanned the flames until his entire chicken half was ablaze.
I skirted around the beastie, lest I became Kentucky-fried along with it, and Lucifer had the audacity to laugh.
I glanced up at the platform, and Seraphine’s mouth was tight, her posture stiff.
She raised a palm toward the basilisk and fisted her hand, drawing the air away from the creature and extinguishing my flames.
The beastie roared and charged at me. I shot another stream of fire, but it dodged and swung its tail like a whip, knocking me off my feet. My back hit the stone, my breath coming out in a whoosh as the beastie pinned me to the ground with a taloned foot on my chest.
Smoke curled from the smoldering bird, the acrid scent of singed feathers filling the air and burning my nostrils. For a heartbeat, silence hung heavy, punctuated only by the crackle of dying embers and the ragged wheeze of the wounded basilisk.
My heart pounded, my lungs burning as I dragged in a shallow breath. The basilisk snapped its beak and curled its toes around me, clutching me like a vise. What was it with half-snakes trying to squeeze the life out of me?
“Discord,” I rasped. “Help me.”
Whether he sensed my plea, I couldn’t say. The basilisk lifted me from the ground, charred bits flaking from his singed beak as he brought my head toward his mouth.