Page 71 of Reign

“No, I don’t believe B’nar knows anything. He’s a good man, Owen, you know that.”

“I do.” His snarl lessened, and he gave me all of his attention.

“Good. Then take care of them all. Rawson...?” My stomach twisted when he briefly closed his eyes and nodded, his lips pressed tightly together.

“I know...go.”

Without even taking another breath, I ran. I ran toward the doorway to Hell, and yeah, fuck the consequences because I was not letting Satan take the man I loved or use me to destroy this world. Fire’s pulse of reassurance was all I needed. She wouldn’t hurt our baby if I fully shifted into her form. She couldn’t. We were her salvation, and she would always keep my baby safe. A new wave of determination hit me, and I shifted.

Voices yelled. To stop or to encourage me, I had no idea. It didn’t matter. I wouldn’t be swayed from this course. Spiralling high, I peered through the eyes of my phoenix. Then dove, straight as an arrow, after my mate.

Hot air triedto flay my fiery feathers, but nothing could harm me here. I was born of Hell, conjured from the flames of the damned, that scorched this realm, gifted with the immortality of the goddesses who had birthed me with their power and souls. I flew down faster and faster, aiming for the falling form of my mate.

He reached forward, his arms outstretched towards the vortex that clutched the glowing Halo. The runes on it burned brightly. Sophie had unlocked its power, and now Satan himself had a hold of it. My heart hammered, sulphur filling my nostrils. Fire screeched, the sound swallowed by the roaring red hot winds. Connor’s dark monstrous form fell faster the closer he got to the vortex. As if he was being dragged down too.

No, Hell would not take Connor, not again. If he fell into the clutches of Hell, this time as the King of Hell-beasts, he’d never escape.

Five inches. Four. Three. Two. One. Connor’s large hand gripped the circlet and yanked. It didn’t budge as a horrible grating laugh boomed through the air.

I narrowed my eyes and screeched. Catching up, I snapped out my wings to slow my speed and plunged my claws into the swirling shadows, sending a wave of bright flame through it. The vortex disintegrated, and the Halo was free. Connor grabbed it and flung it upwards. “Ember! Take it. Fly! Get it to Sophie and get out. Leave me. Close the Rift!”

I screamed, my heart breaking. Because there it was. My choice. Save my mate. Or save my world and everyone in it. The Halo kept on its upward journey.

Connor looked at me. “Please! Go! Save our family.”

My eyes steamed as a tear slipped free. He didn’t just mean our baby, he meant everyone who was a part of our lives. They all held a piece of our hearts. “Don’t let them die, Ember.” And then he was gone. He slammed through the gates of Hell. I didn’t know what was on the other side, but I knew if I followed, there would be no way to close this Rift.

Keening with agony, I left my soulmate and propelled myself through the air. My beak snapped closed around the Halo, and I pushed myself harder than I ever had, flashing through the air and bursting from the Rift. I threw the Halo to a shaken Sophie. Wide-eyed, she caught it. I hovered and shrieked down at her before diving back into Hell’s embrace.

Yeah? Fuck you, Connor, if you think I’m ever leaving you in Hell again.

Chapter 28

Connor

I slammed into the ground,but there was no pain. Familiar, white dust coated my clawed hands and my body. I snarled and sprung to my feet. Satan’s vortex had disappeared as soon as Ember had speared it with her flames. I grinned. She’d listened. She’d gotten out, and that was all that mattered. Before me was a sight I’d hoped never to see again. The blood still fell in raging torrents from the top of the Hell gates. The rivers of blood around the island of bones still flowed and bubbled. At least I didn’t have chains this time.

I moved my attention to the Weres guarding the gates, hope squeezing my chest. And there he was. D, my brother. He surveyed me with a cold hard gaze, his grip tightening on his spear-like weapon. That little movement was enough.

“That’s right, you motherfucking demon spawn. I’m coming for you.”

The demon inside my brother snarled. Dust exploded under our feet as we both charged. I hit him head-on, my shoulder crushing his ribs. My arms encircled him, my claws spearing him through his back even as he tried, and failed, to do the same to me. He wasn’t strong enough, and a Were’s claws couldn’t penetrate my tough skin. “I am your King!” I roared, trying to get through to the wolf buried in D’s mind. “You will do my bidding!” And I physically forced him to his knees. This wasn’t going to be gentle as it had been with Reed. I had no time for that, and I was stronger here than I’d ever been in my own realm. The spirit of the King of Hell-beasts thrived on the power of the underworld. He relished it. But I was still in control, and Prime was mine. I controlled him, not the other way around. I clenched my jaw and thrust my spirit into the mind of my brother.

The demon screamed. It had become complacent and lazy here in the confines of Hell. It believed itself safe. I chuckled darkly. How wrong it was. The wall in D’s mind wasn’t strong, and I smashed through it quickly.

D? We are in danger. I can’t be gentle. I’m going to force that fucker from your mind, but you need to be ready to retake your body. If you don’t, you will die all over again, and next time there will be no chance of redemption. These bastards will never let you go. Fight, brother. You hear me?

D’s wolf answered with a deep spine-tingling growl, the spirit of the man right beside him. The wolf protected his human counterpart even now.

I took that as confirmation he was willing to try. Without hesitation, I searched through D’s mind and body for the oily presence of the demon. It scrambled as I hunted it down and cornered it. I surrounded it with my shadow and dragged it kicking and screaming from my brother’s Were body, keeping it locked in the grasp of my power. D fell to his knees, his shoulders slumping forward. “Fight!” I hollered at him.

The demon shrieked, trying to force itself into me. I laughed at its pathetic efforts. “I am a King of Hell!” I growled. “Now die, you oily little bastard!” And I shoved it under the boiling surface of the river of blood. It fought and screamed—until it became nothing.

“Oh, Hell-beast,” crooned a smooth, sinister voice.

I turned around. My gaze slid over my brother, but it was enough to see he was already moving, trying to stand.That’s it. Get up.I sent a wave of determination and compulsion into him. His head snapped up, and he growled, not in anger but thanks. I willed him to stay as a Were. His scarred face twisted, but he nodded. Only when I knew he was on his feet did I look at the source of the voice. My heart hammered. A tall, dark man with elegant angular features and the coldest, black eyes I’d ever seen watched me. The satisfied sneer on his upper lip was enough. I knew who this was. He should incite terror in my soul, but we’d beaten his rule before. We’d do it again. No matter his guise, he no longer scared me.

Prime growled, but it wasn’t fear he felt, only a determination never to become this creature's servant ever again. I felt the heat of the red river against my back. We’d end our existence here if necessary, but we’d never bow before him again.

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