Page 72 of Reign

“Hell-beast, you disappoint me. You have returned only to kill my soldiers? Surely you know I don’t tolerate such betrayals.” He cocked his head, his eyes flaring with burnished ruby flames.

I didn’t speak. Instead, I fortified my mind. Satan could manipulate and control minds as easily as a human could breathe. It was one of his favourite forms of torture.

“Hm? No words?” He pushed against my mind, and my shadow fae, not of this world or the human realm, blocked his probing power with a wall of its own. Satan grinned. “I’d love to play with you, Hell-beast, to break you down to nothing more than a begging mess at my feet, but I have other toys, which are vastly more important to me than your stinking hide.” His face turned cruel and he reached out, his arm disappearing into a rip in the air. When he withdrew it, his limb was black and red, claws ripping into his prize.

My fury could not be contained. Flame and shadow burst from me, swirling around Prime like a firestorm.

Satan chuckled.

My howl ripped from my throat, echoed above and beyond the gates of Hell. Zander turned his head towards me, and I bellowed my fury. His face was skeletal, his naked body emaciated. It seemed all life had been sucked from his flesh and all energy from his soul. His tortured eyes met mine. No matter how he had suffered, he shook his head, and I understood.Don’t give in to him.

“Hm, I gave your brother to my succubus demons. They can be so cruel, can’t they?” He tightened that clawed hand around Zander’s neck, his nails digging in deep. “Every time they sucked the life from him, I brought him back. His screams amused me.” Zander’s blood dripped from the wounds Satan’s nails had made in a steady stream. “Now, where is my Halo?” He dangled Zander out over the boiling red river. “Tell me, and he gets to keep his flesh and bone body. Defy me, and I drop him in. His body would boil to death, but his soul, ahh, now that would be mine for eternity.”

I snarled and took a step forward. Satan’s grin was pure evil, his eyes flaring with delight. “Now, now. That’s not how this works.” He lowered Zander until his feet were in the blood lava.

Zander screamed and thrashed. Satan lifted him. “Tell me who has my Halo and I will let you all…” His eyes flicked to D, who stood at my shoulder, strong and determined. “...serve me, in my new kingdom.”

He meant on Earth.

“Don’t. You. Fucking. Do it,” growled Zander, panting, his face like a death mask.

Satan shook him. “Hush, now.” And he sealed Zander’s mouth shut with a look, blocking his nostrils so he couldn’t breathe. And even in Hell, flesh and blood demons needed the sulphurous air to survive. Zander thrashed weakly.

I growled and snapped my teeth. The other guard turned his head. D glanced at it, then me.

“Kill it. That river will end any living thing, flesh or spirit.”

D snarled, then launched himself into a sprint. There was no compassion in him. I could feel it. Killing the Were, as well as the demon, was a mercy. His determination to end its suffering filtered into me.

Satan sighed and looked at his wrist as if he were wearing a watch. “Time’s a-ticking, Hell-beast. But, no matter. Your time is up. You have served your purpose. And my army awaits.” His dark gaze rose to the gates.

What the fuck did that mean? With dread in my heart. I looked up. A beautiful firebird shot through the gates of Hell and dove for us.

“My Halo is, of course, not my main objective.” Satan shrugged and winked at me. “But keeping you here meant she would come for you. Love is so predictable.” And he threw Zander in the air. Huge bat-like wings exploded from Satan’s back, and he spiralled upward, heading right for Ember at the same time as swarms of winged demons descended upon her.

I lost my breath. I could not fly. My heart broke as my mate approached her destiny, and our world neared its apocalypse. My brother fell through the air towards his demise. No matter if we lived or died, I would not fail him. I thrust out my shadow and ensnared my brother, dragging him from the air before any more of his body could touch the bubbling blood lava.

His feet were burned and blistered up to his ankles, his body covered in scars and bruising. D helped me drag Zander away from the gates. Zander’s face was blue, his eyes closed and his chest heaving in an attempt to breathe. Satan’s magic was born of this realm, and I had nothing like it. With no other choice, I shoved my fingers into the burning lava, gritting my teeth against the pain. But it was nothing compared to the agony in my heart. Above us, my mate fought the army of Hell and its king, alone. Returning to Zander’s side, I lifted my fingers above his sealed mouth and nose. “This is going to hurt.”

Zander didn’t move.

I dripped the boiling lava against his mouth and nostrils, hoping against hope that it would burn through the magic.

Above us Ember fought. She fought so hard. Fire spewed from her great beak, and she incinerated demon after demon. But her fate was sealed. She couldn’t win. I felt a pulse of fear—hers. Satan changed form, becoming bigger, his reach far more than a phoenix less than half his size could evade. His red wings caught her in their snare and brought her, still fighting, into his embrace. She screeched down at me, a pulse of love hitting me so hard, it drove me to my knees. I let loose a soul-deep roar and launched myself at the gates, slamming my claws into the bone like substance, and clawed my way up to where Satan had her in his grip, only to slip and fall to the island of bone.

Satan crushed Ember’s burning form against his body, his eyes burning with a glee the fire in them couldn’t conceal. His laugh echoed throughout the realms of Hell, only to receive an answering clamor from his awaiting army.

“Mother Wolf,” breathed D after he shifted back to his human form. “He planned this, didn’t he?”

I flipped onto my feet, shifting back too, Prime simmering just beneath my skin. “Yes. He let us find the Halo. He let us bring it to the Rift, and he dragged Sophie in knowing that I’d rescue her.” I eyed Zander, who still looked slightly blue. The blood had opened his mouth and nostrils, leaving them burned and blistered but free. “He also knew I’d fall in here again and try to rescue you and my brother. It’s why he kept you here, near the gate. That's why he let me see you when I was here before.” I shook Zander. “Wake up, brother!”

Zander groaned.

D swore. “I’m sorry, Prime.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. How could you know? Or do anything about it if you did? He used us, all of us, to get what he wanted. The key to the Hell gates.” Anger and terror mixed in equal measure in my gut. My soul mate and my baby were in the hands of the Devil, and there was nothing I could do...

Above us, Ember shrieked. Her pain hit me straight in my soul, dropping me to my knees, both me and Prime bellowing loud enough we shook the gates of Hell.

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