Chapter 46 #2
This… this is what unity looks like. Creatures from every realm, standing together to fight the oppressor. Because here, no matter what any realm thinks of another, there is only one enemy. The Six. And those who follow them.
I stop walking without realising it, because I see them.
Daisy stands near the centre of a large ring, her posture straight, commanding without effort.
She’s laughing, actually laughing, as she barks instructions, correcting footwork here, redirecting energy there.
She’s with Hell civilians who chose to fight.
Their queen standing by their side, helping them learn how to wield, fight, defend.
She looks… alive. Grounded in a way I haven’t seen since before everything shattered.
And beside her—Korithax.
He’s unmistakeable, even among the thousands. Tall, broad, his presence cutting through the chaos like a blade through silk. He moves between soldiers with easy authority, correcting stances, demonstrating strikes, barking orders that are followed without hesitation.
He’s commanding again. Not ruling from a throne. Not drowning in grief or fury or self-recrimination. This. This is what he was made for.
A strange, unexpected warmth settles in my chest as I watch him work. The way his voice carries. The way soldiers straighten instinctively when he passes. The way Daisy glances at him. It’s brief and subtle, but full of trust. My brother is back. Not untouched. Not unscarred. But he’s back.
It’s Daisy who sees me first. She’s mid-instruction, correcting a soldier’s grip, when her gaze flicks past the ring. For a moment she doesn’t react—then her eyes widen just slightly. The shift is subtle, but unmistakable. Her focus falters, clearly shocked at seeing me away from the leylines.
She straightens, lifting a hand. “Hold,” she calls. Her voice cuts clean through the noise of the group she’s training. “Take five. Hydrate. We’ll continue in ten.”
There’s no argument. The soldiers disperse immediately.
She turns to Korithax, says something quietly, and he nods once.
His eyes follow her as she moves away, a faint crease forming between his brows when he spots me.
She crosses the sand towards me, boots kicking up dust, the heat clinging to her like a second skin.
Up close, I can see the sheen of sweat on her brow, the faint flush on her freckled cheeks. She looks exhausted.
“Aran,” she says softly, like she’s afraid I might vanish again if she speaks too loudly.
“Sunshine Queen,” I reply, unable to stop the corner of my mouth from lifting.
She exhales a laugh as she steps closer, her eyes scanning me quickly. She’s checking me, assessing me in the way she always does. “You look like hell.”
“I am in Hell,” I deadpan.
That earns me an eye roll with a tired huff of laughter. “Fair.”
Her gaze drifts back to the training grounds, to the chaos and coordination unfolding behind us. “You’ve not been sleeping again.”
I don’t deny it, there’s no point. She always sees too much. Probably part of the reason she wanted to be a psychologist before everything changed for her. Before I had a helping hand in changing it…
“So, what do you think… of all this?” she asks quietly.
“You’ve done well, Daisy.”
She swallows, her jaw tightening for a half a second before she softly smiles and nods. “We didn’t have a choice.”
“No,” I agree. “But you still made the right ones.”
She looks back at me, her ocean-blue gaze piercing. “You didn’t come just to compliment my drills.”
I shake my head and something shifts in her expression. It’s not fear, but readiness. The look of someone who knows the ground beneath them is continuously cracking but refuses to step back anyway.
“Then tell me,” she says. “Because if it’s bad, I want to hear it now, rather than later.”
“We’re out of time with the leylines. They’re not going to work. They’re purposely fucking with them, trying to burn us out,” I say quietly, ensuring nobody can hear other than her. “But… there is somewhere to put the civilians.”
Her breath catches, her brow furrowing slightly.
“Gehenna,” I continue before she can interrupt. “Lucifer offered it.”
She stares at me in disbelief. “The pits? Aran, no—”
I shake my head at her. “Not the pits. Lucifer has old vaults. Deep beneath Hell, under layers of stone and wards. He’s already started working on clearing them out to make them safe, alongside help from Vailith, and his lowers. He’s making them a home away from home.”
Daisy barks a laugh and it makes me smile. “Lucifer. Ruler of Gehenna. Master of torture. Is offering protection in his home. And making it homely?”
I nod, laughing with her now. “Maelkar truly is making him soft.”
She lets out a long sigh of relief. “That’s a weight off, that’s for sure.”
“He asked me to come speak to you. To ask you to start evacuations immediately. Don’t draw attention in case we’re somehow being watched.”
She glances to Korithax for a moment. “Korithax can teleport some. You can open portals for them, right?”
I nod. It’s been a while since I’ve portalled myself, never mind anyone else. And I’m utterly exhausted. But maybe I’ll finally be able to rest once I know the civilians are safe in the depths of Hell.