Chapter 6 Cinder
CINDER
My breath came out in a rush, my entire body slumping in relief despite the fact that we stood in the center of Lucifer’s death trap.
We’d done the impossible. We’d survived his deadly game and freed the goddess from her chains…
but there was still one impossible thing I had left to do.
And it had to be done with grace and diplomacy, no matter how badly I wanted to demand it.
“May I see my parents now?” I pressed my palms together and bowed my head, flicking my gaze to Hecate and hoping to…well, to her…that she’d show a little mercy.
Lucifer flinched, his posture stiffening as he turned to the goddess. “You are the traitor who helped them escape?”
Her nostrils flared, and she tightened her jaw, her brow arching. “Mind your words, lover. You and I have much to discuss when this is through.”
Lucifer lowered his gaze, his shoulders inching toward his ears, and I stifled a laugh at the absurdity of it. The King of Hell…being scolded like a child.
You go, girl.
Hecate’s eyes softened as she regarded me, the tension in her jaw relaxing a fraction.
“I will take you to them, Cinder. Your courage has earned it.” She turned to Lucifer, her gaze steely once again.
“Do not mistake my mercy for weakness. I grant this only because the fates demand it, and she deserves it.”
“I do not doubt your strength, my love,” Lucifer said, tentatively at first, his voice growing more commanding as he continued, “but until the amulet is returned and the veil is mended, their souls belong to me.”
“But—” I started to protest when a flash of silver light engulfed me, yanking me from the arena and dropping me at the mouth of a massive cave.
Discord appeared beside me in another blinding flash, and he stumbled, clutching his chest as if the goddess had tried to turn him inside out.
“Are you okay?” I gripped his shoulders, steadying him, and searched his eyes.
“Hecate’s magic isn’t meant for demons.” His voice was strained, but he straightened and took a deep breath. “My body requires respite before we can finish our quest.”
“We don’t have time,” I said, but the desperate look in his eyes stopped me short. My demon was in no shape to walk half a block, much less save the world.
The energy around us vibrated, raising goosebumps on my skin, and the air thinned, the pressure dropping and making my ears pop. Hecate glided toward us, literally out of thin air, her silver hair flowing like a supermodel in the path of an industrial-strength fan.
“Your parents are stationed inside the cave.” She waved a hand toward the entrance. “Scorsha is the only thing holding the veil together, and her vim is waning quickly. I can feel it weakening as she channels my energy.”
“But you can help her now. You’re free, so you can fix it.” I took a few steps into the cave, but Hecate made no move to follow.
“I am helping her, but I cannot fix what I did not break.”
My heart sank, and I fought the side-eye I really wanted to give her. She was a goddess for eff’s sake. She could do anything. “You can’t, or you won’t?”
The ground rumbled, echoing the sounds of the shredding veil, and she pressed her lips into a hard line. “I must return to Lucifer. He will need help keeping his demons at bay. I hope your sisters find the amulet soon.”
In a final flash of silver light, she disappeared.
“Thanks for nothing,” I muttered, and Discord groaned.
“Okay, let’s get you inside.” I draped his arm over my shoulders, and we stumbled through the entrance.
The antechamber was exactly what you’d expect from a hole in a mountainside in the Underworld: damp, smelling faintly of sulfur and despair, with jagged stalactites hanging like teeth in a massive maw, ready to snap shut on its unsuspecting prey.
Slick black moss that squelched beneath our boots coated the uneven ground, and the shadows seemed to cling to us, heavy and oppressive.
“Mom? Dad?” I called as we crept farther into the cave.
Silence answered.
Discord leaned on me, his breathing ragged. Whatever Hecate’s magic had done to transport us here, it had scrambled his internal frequency.
“Just a little farther,” I whispered, though I had no idea how far we needed to go.
We rounded a bend where the tunnel narrowed, forcing us to squeeze through single file. Ahead, a soft, pulsating light spilled from an archway carved in the stone. It didn’t look natural; the edges were too smooth, the curve too perfect for nature to have created it.
I stepped through the archway and stopped short, my jaw falling open for the second time in an hour.
If the antechamber was the basement of Hell, this room was the penthouse suite of a high-fantasy novel.
The cavern opened up into a massive, circular grotto with smooth, obsidian panels embedded with thousands of crystals that glittered like diamonds under the light of a floating, magical chandelier. The floor was covered in plush, woven rugs in deep burgundies and golds, softening the harsh stone.
It looked less like a cave and more like the ballroom of a castle.
A long banquet table and high-backed chairs with velvet cushions filled the space, and a massive fireplace stood tucked into an alcove.
Tapestries depicting constellations I didn’t recognize hung from the ceiling, swaying gently in a breeze that shouldn’t exist this deep underground.
“Hecate has expensive taste,” Discord murmured, straightening slightly as he took in the room.
But my gaze didn’t linger on the furniture.
It locked onto the center of the room where a massive, circular rift hovered in the air, crackling with unstable energy.
It looked like a window made of lightning, the edges fraying and snapping.
And standing before it, her hands raised, pouring streams of golden vim into the tear, was a woman with wild, graying hair and a spine of steel.
“Mom?” The word came out as a squeak.
The woman didn’t turn—she couldn’t. The strain on her body was visible, her arms trembling as she fought to stitch the fabric of reality together with sheer willpower.
But the man standing beside her, wiping sweat from her brow with a cloth, froze. He turned slowly, his eyes widening behind wire-rimmed glasses that were broken on one side.
“Cinder?” Dad’s voice cracked, raw with disbelief.
“Dad!” I dropped Discord’s arm and sprinted across the rugs.
He met me halfway, catching me in a bone-crushing hug that lifted me off my feet. He smelled like old parchment, peppermint, and sage—the scent of home.
“Oh, goddess, you’re here,” he sobbed into my hair. “Why are you here?”
“I came to find you.” My voice was thick, and hot tears streamed down my cheeks. “I told them I would. I told them you weren’t dead.”
“We are, though.” He pulled away, clutching my shoulders, his brow crumpling. “And if you’re here, that means you are too.”
“Semantics.” I half-sobbed, half-laughed. “We won’t be dead much longer.”
He shifted his gaze, searching behind me. “Ash and Ember? Are they…?”
“They’re still in our realm, searching for Hecate’s amulet so we can go home.”
He shook his head, his shoulders slumping as he released me. “The amulet is a myth. Your mother scoured the library.”
“It’s no myth.” Discord stepped beside me, his spine straight, his head high, but I could tell he was hurting. He needed rest. “I’m the one who took it to your realm.”
My father backed away, clutching my hand and trying to tug me with him, but I stayed by my demon’s side.
“Dad, this is Discord, Prince of Hell,” I said matter-of-factly, as if simply introducing an old friend.
Dad’s eyes widened, a series of emotions flashing across his features: shock, fear, anger. “He’s the one who…”
“Cursed your bloodline,” Discord said. “My apologies. Cinder has taught me the error of my ways, and I am trying to make amends.”
“It’s a long story, but…” I tugged from my dad’s grasp and slipped my hand into Discord’s. “He’s my soulmate.”
Dad cut his gaze between us, his skepticism finally fading to wary acceptance. “Apparently, your mother and I have missed a lot. How long have we been here?”
“It took me months to find you. I have no idea how long it’s been since I got here.”
Discord squeezed my hand. “Time runs differently in Hell.”
My mother wheezed, and Dad shifted his gaze from my demon to me before returning to her side. Resting his hands on her shoulders, he whispered into her ear, and a single tear trailed down her cheek.
My heart lodged in my throat at the sight of my mother, deep in a trance, the only thing holding the world together.
Was she still channeling Hecate’s magic, or had the goddess abandoned her to deal with her loose cannon of a…
boyfriend? Husband? Flavor of the century?
I didn’t dare interrupt her to find out.
“Can I help her?” I asked instead.
“Hecate gave your mother the ability to channel her.” Dad turned toward us, finally taking in our ragged appearance. “You look terrible, sweetheart.”
I laughed, a wet, snotty, hysterical sound. “You should see the other guy.”
“Your daughter has quite the right hook,” Discord said. “And her magic is unparalleled.”
Dad smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “We’re so proud of them all. I only wish you didn’t follow us here.”
“You didn’t leave me much of a choice. What were you thinking, summoning Lucifer himself?” I led Discord to the grand table and gestured for him to sit in a chair. He didn’t argue, which meant he was teetering on the brink of collapse.
“We didn’t mean to,” Dad said. “Your mother wrote the incantation to summon any demon who could deliver the princes to us.”
“Lucifer was the only one with the power to free us from the dark prison.” Discord leaned his elbows on the table, pressing two fingers to each of his temples. “Until your daughters came along.”
Dad’s eyes widened. “The other two are free as well?”
I sank into a chair next to my demon and gently rubbed his back. “Ash and Em released them. As soon as they find the amulet, they’ll summon Discord again. Then, we can all go home and end this.”
My stomach turned at my words. Ending “this” meant ending my bond with Discord…a feat I wasn’t sure I would survive.
I pushed the morbid thoughts aside and rose to my feet. “He needs rest. Is there somewhere we can lie down for a few minutes?”
“Follow me.” Dad gestured toward an arch carved into the cave wall, and Discord stood, taking my hand again.
The plush rug squished beneath my boots as I padded behind him, and I glanced at my mom before I crossed the threshold. Her eyes were glazed with white, her expression pained. She wouldn’t make it much longer in this state. Honestly, I was surprised she had any vim left at all.
The arched tunnel jutted right, then left, snaking deeper into the cave until it opened into another massive chamber.
A giant four-poster bed with dozens of pillows and a thick, black duvet stood against a glittering purple wall.
Across from it, a set of three stone steps led downward into a pool of sparkling blue.
A waterfall poured in from a fissure in the ceiling, churning the pool and causing sparks of magic to dance across the surface like fireflies on a lake.
“Holy Hecate.” I stopped at the entrance.
“The goddess is amazing,” Dad said. “This is a sort of vacation home she lets her followers use when they help her.”
“Like a HellBnB?” I asked.
Dad chuckled. “Something like that. I never imagined the Underworld would mimic our realm so closely.”
Discord sank onto a carved-wood feinting couch, his spine rigid, though it was obvious he was ready to collapse.
“How much longer can Mom hold the veil?” I swiped my hand down a bedpost, and magic tingled on my fingertips.
“I don’t know.” Dad’s expression turned solemn. “She’s been in a trance since Hecate sent us here, and I have no idea how long ago that was. Sometimes it feels like it’s been months. Other times only hours.”
He sucked in a breath. “Right. Let’s get you both healed. Hecate enchanted the waterfall. It will heal injuries and help restore your vim. I’ve been wiping down your mother with the water and giving it to her to drink.”
Discord stood, bowing his head. “Thank you.”
“I’ll give you some privacy to get cleaned up.” Dad walked toward the tunnel and turned to me. “Do you have a plan for what comes next?”
“Right now, all we can do is wait.” I shrugged. “Without the amulet, we’re all screwed.”
He nodded solemnly and strode out of the room.
“Let’s get you…” I turned around and found Discord wading into the pool.
He stripped, rinsing his clothes and laying them on a hot stone to dry before backing toward the waterfall, letting it cascade around him.
He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply as the color returned to his ashen complexion.
When he opened them, they glinted with newfound resilience… and a hint of mischievousness.
“Come on in,” he said. “The water is fine.”