Page 77 of Frosted Torment

Then, as one angel swooped down to get a closer look at the field, it vanished into thin air. A breath caught in my lungs, and I waited for what felt like hours, but in reality, it was a mere second before I jumped to my feet. Our invisible protection had returned.

“The bracelet is a key to Vallen’s prison!” I yelled, handing the hammer back to Lex, then readjusting my crossbody bag. I began pacing back and forth, running through my thoughts out loud. “It has to be here somewhere. There’s no reason Vincent would lie about owning the bracelet and say we couldn’t get to Vallen if this thing wasn’t a key.”

Lex already stood next to me, holstering his pack again, and I looked down at Baz. “Get up! What are you waiting for?” I said, moving my hands in a hurried motion.

I started walking and left Lex to finish securing his pack. Baz trotted beside me at a quicker pace.“You need to think about the fact that Vallen is not without power. If you find him, he could obliterate you.”

“Lights out. I know.” I stopped in my tracks, spinning around to face him with a hand pressed against my forehead. “Vallen won’t let me die. It’s all part of his twisted plan to retrieve the secrets for the veil. And with my soul in his grasp, he thinks he holds all the power.” I raised my hands to the sky in gratitude. “That could be the one thing Vincent didn’t lie about.”

Baz leaned in closer, his voice skeptical as he pressed further.“Which is what, exactly?”

I swallowed hard before answering, my head spinning with enthusiasm, and I smiled. “The colossal task of getting my soul back.”

Lex caught up to us as excitement rose in me and my thoughts drifted to my mother. A heavy pressure settled in my chest, a constant reminder of her absence. I missed her gentle smile and the way she always knew what to say to make everything better when it wasn’t.

But now, she and Sasha were in hell, getting tortured by demons. Probably by Maros, if he had his way. If I could get their souls back too, they could rest in peace.

“Noa,” Lex said as he studied my face. “We have an inkling of where the tree is. How are we going to find an invisible, not to mention heavily guarded, angel prison?”

I halted at the edge of the field, where twisted ancient trees marked the beginning of the angel burial grounds. Their gnarled branches were like skeletal hands reaching out.

“Well,” I breathed. “I’m pretty sure the angel at the tree will tell us if you guys would quit stopping and avoiding getting there.”

Baz stood next to me, his blue eyes meeting mine as he shifted back into his human form, letting the saddlebags and the belt fall to the ground.

“We’re not avoiding it, Noa,” Baz said, his eyes narrowing at me. “But throwing yourself into a snake den without any clue of how to handle it will kill us all, not only you.”

I couldn’t bring myself to look at his exposed body again. It was too raw and overwhelming. My gaze frantically searched for something—anything—else to fixate on. Hiding my eyes withmy hand, I turned to face Lex, then heard Baz digging through his bags.

“Next time, give me a heads-up before you shift,” I snapped through gritted teeth.

“She’s got a point, man,” Lex agreed as his mouth quirked, stifling a laugh.

“Sorry, it’s not intentional,” Baz sighed. “But my emotions get the better of me when Noa starts going off on ideas that will get us all exterminated.” I heard a zipping sound and huffing. “You can turn back around now.”

“Baz,” I pleaded, “What if…what if there’s a way to get their souls back? Not just my mom and Sasha, but everyone taken from my family? They could leave hell.”

“Enough,” he commanded. “Noa, I understand how much you hate Vallen for killing your mother. And stealing your souls, but getting them back is impossible. Your mom... she’s gone. So is Sasha. They all are.”

“Do you even hear yourself?” I challenged, growing frustrated with each of them dismissing my decision. Shoving my wrist in both of their faces, I said, “Looks like I’ve got the upper hand here. And trust me—I can do a lot more than bargain.”

“You can’t bargain with a sociopathic, soul-stealing angel of one of the highest orders,” Lex added with a heavy breath. “We need a solution to keep you alive.”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing.” I proceeded to unhook the rope that separates the lilacs and the Valley of the Fallen, then looked back at both of them. “Y’all coming?”

Baz nodded reluctantly, his gaze locking with mine. “Lead the way,” he commented, still unsure of our decision or what I would do once we found Vallen.

After shouldering his saddlebags and securing the belt to Lex’s hiking pack, Baz stepped onto the pathway we would follow through the valley. With a final glance back at the lilac field, I turned and then crossed a threshold onto ground that shook my body with all the ancient energy it held.

CHAPTER 28

As we walked through the Valley of the Fallen, a worn path led the way. With each step, the vibrant green underfoot dulled to lifeless brown. Charred ground crumbled beneath our feet; the air was thick with the scent of ash.

A shiver ran through me, and not from the frigid air. The valley felt wrong somehow—eerie and unsettling in a way I couldn’t quite define. I hugged my arms across my chest as I glanced up at the sky, now an ominous gray. Another snowstorm was headed for us.

“You okay?” Baz asked, noticing my unease.

I didn’t have the opportunity to respond, as he inched closer and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me against his solid warmth.

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