Chapter 27
ARAN
Two days ago
The descent beneath Zeriavoss feels like walking into the Pits themselves.
The tunnels narrow as we go, the ceiling pressing lower, the walls slick with preserved heat that never quite cools.
The air hums faintly, a constant pressure sits behind my eyes and teeth, like the oxygen here is so far depleted and corrupted it’s desperate to extinguish any form of life.
Every inhale tastes of iron and ash. Every exhale feels stolen, as though this place is aware of us, and can snuff us out at any minute.
Velentha walks ahead, her oil lamp slicing through the dark.
The light makes her shadow stretch long and distorted across the stone, flickering with ever step she takes.
The deeper we descend, the stranger the air becomes.
It almost feels… dense. Saturated with something ancient and exhausted, like power that has been left to rot in its place. It makes my skin crawl.
Lucifer trails behind us, his boots striking the stone with unhurried confidence. He doesn’t seem bothered in the slightest. But then again, this is his realm. His section of Hell. His nightmare to command.
“You know,” he drawls, “for something called the Heart of Hell, this place could really use some decor. Maybe a rug. A bit of soulfire mood lighting.”
I don’t turn around. “Shut up,” I mutter, my jaw tight enough that my teeth ache.
He steps up beside me, smirk already in place with his crimson eyes glittering faintly in the lamplight. “What? You don’t appreciate a man trying to lighten the mood before we possibly collapse an entire cavern system?”
I glare at the wall instead of him. Looking directly at Lucifer always feels like inviting trouble.
It’s like staring at a blade close to the heart for too long to see if it’ll cut.
I don’t trust him. I certainly don’t like him.
And right now, I need him more than I want to admit.
Which both irritates me, and makes my stomach twist.
Velentha stops abruptly, and her lamp dips towards the floor. “We’re here.” Her voice is softer than usual, stripped of its usual calm certainty in a way that gets my immediate attention.
I move closer as the light reveals a wide clearing in the rock.
Ancient runes spiral across the obsidian floor, half-buried beneath centuries of dust. They don’t look carved.
It looks like they had grown here, like veins fossilised in stone.
They pulse faintly, a dull glow that brightens and fades in slow, tired rhythms.
“This is it,” she breathes. “A dormant leyline. Saerathi-made. It runs beneath every realm, but it’s been asleep for tens of thousands of years.”
I swallow, suddenly aware of how loud my own heartbeat sounds in the quiet. This deep down, even the screams from the Pits can’t be heard.
“How do you wake it?” I ask, lowering myself behind her. My knees protest, joints stiff from tension and too little rest.
“With a pulse.” She pulls a small dagger from her belt, the blade catching the lamplight in a brief, cold flash. “Leylines respond to blood and intention. That’s how the gods built them. You tell them where to go, and they listen. If they want to, that is.”
Lucifer crouches beside us, close enough that I can feel the faint heat radiating from him. “And if they don’t?” he asks, one brow lifting.
“Then, they eat us alive,” she answers matter-of-factly.
He gives a low whistle, leaning back on his heels. “Cheerful.”
I scrub a hand over my face, suddenly exhausted in a way that has nothing to do with the lack of sleep. Every muscle in my body feels coiled too tight, ready to snap. My mind keeps circling the same thought over and over.
Daisy is out there. Alone with Maelkar. Because I let her go.
I force the thought down before it can hollow me out completely. Focus. Move forwards. Fix it.
I watch intently as Velentha slices her palm and presses it against the runes, then holds out the dagger to Lucifer for extra power.
He doesn’t hesitate—just drags the blade across his own hand, and plants it down beside hers.
The intricate lines flicker to life beneath them, light racing through them like lightning trapped under glass.
It spreads outwards in branching veins, pulsing brighter with each beat, causing the ground to shiver faintly beneath my boots.
I hand her the grimoire, careful not to disturb her concentration, and notice the tremor in her arm as she takes it. It’s subtle, but it’s there. Exhaustion is catching up with her, whether she wants to admit it or not.
“Velentha—” I start, but she shakes her head before I can finish.
“I’m fine,” she murmurs, eyes closing as if she’s listening to something only she can hear. “I can feel it. The leyline recognises my blood.”
I reach for her free hand, threading my fingers through hers and gripping it tight, more to steady myself than her as power surges through the stone.
I feel the power vibrating from her as it hums up my arm, raising the hair along my skin.
The runes flare brighter, their glow shifting from cold blue to molten silver, the light painting her face in something almost otherworldly.
Lucifer takes a cautious step back, boots scraping over the rock. “Alright,” he says, dabbing his palm with a handkerchief. “So far, so not dead. Good sign.”
Velentha exhales, the sound thin and shaky despite the calm she’s trying to project. “I’ve set the coordinates to Aurora’s Veil.”
“Wait,” I blurt out, my grip tightening instinctively. “You’re sure you’ll be undetected?”
Her silver eyes lift to mine. They’re steady, but there’s distance in them now.
That strange, glassy focus she gets when she’s already halfway somewhere else.
“If I veil myself completely, I’ll appear like a phantom in their realm.
I just need to stay hidden long enough to find Daisy and Maelkar.
” She swallows, pushing down that slither of fear I see flicker across her face.
“Once I locate them, I’ll anchor the leyline from their side.
You and Lucifer will feel it when it opens. ”
Lucifer’s brow furrows. “And, if you don’t?”
She hesitates, just for a second. But she doesn’t look at me when she answers. The omission hits harder than any words could, my chest tightening painfully as dread coils low in my gut. “Then you’ll know I didn’t make it.”
“Don’t,” I snap, the word coming out harsher than I intended. “Don’t you dare talk like that.”
Velentha’s expression softens slightly, the tension in her features easing into something gentler. She lifts her clean hand and cups my cheek, her palm warm against skin that suddenly feels too tight. The contact sends a sharp heat through me, grounding and unbearable all at once.
“Aeshira,” she murmurs, her voice steady. “I’ve survived worse than this.”
“Not this time,” I whisper, leaning into her touch. “You don’t know what’s waiting there.”
“I know Daisy is,” she says simply. There’s no bravado, no fear. Just outright certainty behind the statement.
Lucifer exhales loudly behind us. “You two are nauseating, you know that? Just, hurry it up before I start feeling something human.”
Velentha glances over her shoulder, a flicker of amusement breaking through the strain. “Thank you, Lucifer.”
He blinks, thrown off balance for perhaps the first time since I’ve known him. “For what?
“For helping us.”
His grin spreads slowly, all teeth and promise of violence. “Oh, sweetheart. Don’t mistake this for kindness. I’m helping because if Kaelith hurt Daisy or Maelkar, I want the personal satisfaction of tearing his lungs out.”
Velentha’s smile lingers, faint but genuine, before she turns back to the runes.
She lowers herself to her knees, pressing her bloodied hand to the stone again, tracing glowing symbols with deliberate care.
Light floods outwards from her touch, the leyline flaring brighter until it stings to look at, the air vibrating with barely contained force.
She pauses, glancing back at me once more. “Stay here. Keep the leyline stable. I’ll send the signal once I find her.”
My throat feels tight. I can’t bring myself to tell her I love her in the way we always do. So, I just say it in simple human form. “I love you,” I whisper.
“I know,” she says. “I love you, too.” Then she straightens, wiping her bloodied palm against the stone. “It’s stable enough,” she mutters, her voice steady. “I can use this leyline as a compass when I pass through the gates. It’ll lead me to a new leyline in Aurora’s Veil.”
My stomach tightens. “Velentha—”
She meets my gaze, calm and determined as she cuts me off again. “You said it yourself. None of you can pass through the gates. The curse binds every being tied to Hell, even those not born in it. But I’m not bound by that law. I can pass through safely.”
Lucifer exhales, folding his arms. “Safely, she says. Love, that gate hasn’t seen action in centuries. It could spit you out in a star field for all we know.”
She gives him a look. “Then it’s a good thing I’m excellent at navigating the dark.”
“Velentha,” I begin again, trying to hide the wobble in my voice. “What if it doesn’t open on the other side? What if—”
“Then I’ll make it open.” She kneels, her hand pressing once more to the glowing runes. “The leyline will remain our tether. If I lose my way, I’ll trace this pulse back to you.”
Lucifer’s expression softens, though his tone stays dry. “You gods really do have a flair for dramatics.”
“I learned from the best,” she says, glancing at me with a faint smile.
That smile kills me. It’s small, brave, and filled with all the things she doesn’t have time to say.
She leans in, placing her palm at the back of my neck to pull me down to her so she can touch her forehead to mine. “Aeshira,” she whispers, “keep the leyline alive with Lucifer. If it fades, I won’t be able to find my way back.”
My throat feels raw. “I’ll keep it pulsing until it kills me.”
“I know.”
She pulls her hood up, the glow of her magic flickering faintly as she turns towards the mouth of the cavern. Her form blurs at the edges, veiled in shadow.
“Velentha, do you have your anchor?”
She looks back once, her silver eyes catching the light as she holds up a small vial that holds soulfire. “I’m going to bring her home.”
And then she’s gone. Her silhouette swallowed by the dark tunnel, her familiar aura fading like mist. The leyline hums softly underfoot, its veins pulsing with dim light.
Now
Two days.
Two fucking days.
I haven’t moved from this spot except to piss in the corner like an animal. The leyline sits there—still, mocking me with its quiet pulse that never changes.
Lucifer’s footsteps echo from behind me. “You look like shit,” he announces, setting down a sack that smells suspiciously like fried food and meats.
“Don’t care,” I mutter.
“You should,” he says, plopping down beside me with infuriating nonchalance. “I brought you food. And liquor. But if you glare at me like that again, I’ll shove it up your ass instead.”
I ignore him. The leyline’s veins glimmer faintly in the dark, taunting me. “She should have opened it by now.”
“She’ll open it when she can,” he replies, biting into a piece of bread. “You ever considered maybe your wife’s busy not dying?”
“Lucifer—”
“No, seriously,” he interrupts, gesturing with his half-eaten food. “You’ve been sitting here for forty-eight hours, talking to a glowing floor like it’s going to start talking back. At some point, even obsessive love needs a break to sort out their hygiene.”
My jaw tightens. “If you’ve come here to be an asshole—”
“I’ve come here,” he says sharply, “because I know what it’s like to wait for someone you love who might never come back.”
That silences me.
Lucifer tosses the bread aside, dusting off his hands. “Don’t forget, Aran. My boyfriend’s stuck on the other side, too. Maelkar’s not exactly easy to kill, but he’s not invincible either. So yeah, I’m worried. You’re not the only one bleeding out anxiety.”
The words hit harder than I want to admit. I drag my hands down my face and sigh. “I can’t just… sit here and do nothing.”
He snorts. “That’s funny, because that’s exactly what you’ve been doing.”
“Lucifer—”
“Don’t Lucifer me,” he growls, suddenly serious.
“I know you’re scared. You think I don’t see it?
The twitch in your jaw, the way your energy hums every time the leyline flickers a little.
You think love’s going to save her? It’s not.
She’s out there finding Daisy, and you’re down here brooding like a rejected teenager. ”
“Fuck you,” I hiss.
“Get in line,” he says dryly, standing up. “I’m heading back to Gehenna quickly to check on the Pits. When I get back, you’re leaving to take a shower. I’ll watch the line.”
He starts to walk off, but I call after him. “Lucifer.” He glances back, red eyes glowing faintly in the gloom. “Thank you,” I say quietly.
He smirks. “Don’t get sentimental on me. I’ll start writing poetry.” He leaves without another word, the sound of his footsteps fading into the distance, leaving me alone again.
The silence presses down like a weight and my fingers twitch with pent-up energy, despite being drained. Every few minutes, I press my palm against the leyline, hoping she’ll feel me. Nothing. No echo, no pulse back. Just the same, lifeless hum.
I close my eyes, trying to reach her the way Velentha taught me. To let the magic listen, instead of forcing it. But all I find is static.
Time blurs with my dwindling energy. Maybe an hour passes. Could even be six. The only thing I am certain of is, the more time passes, the more my thoughts spiral: what if she’s dead? What if Daisy’s dead? What if the Six found them both before she could even hide?
I slam my fist into the ground, the force rattling through the chamber. “Come on, V,” I whisper. “Give me something. Anything.”
The leyline hums faintly beneath my fingers. For a split second, I think I imagine it—but then it happens again. A pulse. Weak, trembling.
I shoot to my feet. “Lucifer!” I yell, my voice echoing through the caverns. “Lucifer, get back here!” No answer—just the faint rumble of power beneath the stone, flickering like the heartbeat of something barely alive.
My hands shake as I press both palms to the runes. “Velentha?” The leyline flares once, then dims again. It’s not enough to open, not yet. But it’s something.
My chest heaves, a shaky laugh breaking from my throat. “She’s alive,” I whisper. “She’s alive.”
And as the light fades, swallowed again by the dark, I swear I hear her voice. It’s so faint I almost think I’ve imagined it.
Come on, Aeshira. Come back to me.