Page 65 of Mortal Heart

“Onourplanet, perhaps. Not on this one.”

In the distance, they could hear a horde of demons howling, and the noise seemed to be getting closer.

“Speaking of which…how the hell are we going to get home?” she asked. “We’d better figure something out quick. That sounds like more demons than evenIwant to take on.”

“That makes two of us. Do you know where the portal is where we arrived?”

She shook her head. “Another room, but I have no idea where. I was sick and dizzy. Everything was a blur until she dragged me in here. Are we screwed?”

“Possibly not.” He gestured at the ceiling, where a faint black circle was just visible. “I believe that’s a portal above us.”

“Where does it come out in our world?”

“I don’t know, but wherever it is, it’ll be better than staying here.”

“Damn it, I was really hoping you’d say Bali.” She made a face. “How do we get through it, though? I’m assuming a demon portal requires a demon to operate, and at the moment, we’re fresh out of demons. Whole ones, anyway.”

“We might not need a whole one.” He reclaimed his sword from where the demons had tossed it next to the cage and then picked up Atonoskelis’s crushed heart. “There’s probably enough demon magic left in this to get us through and out the other side.”

“Probably?”

“Probably.” He nodded in the direction of the demons’ howls. “As opposed todefinitely, which is how likely we are to die very unpleasantly if we’re found.”

“Point taken.” She joined him under the portal. “We don’t fly, though, and that ceiling’s about fifteen feet up. Unlike the elevator at Nyx, you can’t just give me a boost and then pull yourself through. How do we get up there?”

The howling demons sounded like they were approaching fast. Their time was about to run out. He figured they had one chance, and it was even more of a long shot than trying to use Atonoskelis’s heart to get them through the portal.

“We take a leap of faith.” Ronan switched the heart to his left hand and held out his right arm. “My wings are bound, but I may have just enough strength to lift us.”

“I’m not much on leaps of faith, but sometimes that’s all you’ve got left.” She nestled herself against his side and let him wrap his arm around her waist. “Good thing I have faith in you, O Great and Mighty Asshole.”

If she had faith in him, he’d be damned if he’d let her down.

He held her tightly against his side, raised the bloody, dripping heart above his head, and braced himself. “Whatever you do, don’t let go of me, Miss Woodall.”

“I don’t plan to,” she said.

With a flutter of his aching, bound wings, he jumped.

* * *

They landed on black satin sheets that smelled of perfume and demon.

“I used to think satin sheets were kinda sexy,” Arkady mumbled from somewhere on Ronan’s right. “Never, ever again.”

With a groan, he managed to roll onto his back and look up blearily. The enormous mirror on the ceiling showed they’d landed in the middle of a custom bed roughly the size of Arkady’s living room. In the mirror, he saw a circle that crackled with power and magic. The portal.

He still had Atonoskelis’s heart in his hand. He tossed it over the side of the bed and turned to Arkady. She lay where she’d landed, face down, her arms spread. The stab wound in her upper back had soaked her shirt with blood.

His own shirt wasn’t in much better shape, but he tore it off and pressed it to the wound. She jerked and sucked in air through her teeth. “Jackass, warn me when you’re going to do something like that. That hurts.”

“Why didn’t this heal?” he demanded.

“My knife was spelled to bring me back and it did, but it’s still a damn knife. And the spell doesn’t heal all wounds—just the one that killed me.” She took a shuddering breath. “Alice told me dying hurts, but coming back hurts worse. I wish I hadn’t just found out it’s true.”

“I wish neither of you knew that.” He rested his head on the bed so he could look into her eyes. “Tell me how to help you.”

“All I need is a healing spell and I’ll be fine. This stab wound isn’t going to kill me.” She caressed his face with her bloody hand. “Thanks for getting us home.” She looked past him and her eyes widened. “Oh, shit.”

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