Page 25 of Hell Gate

Sighing, he stands aside and allows me to enter the cemetery, keeping close behind me. The dead grass crunches beneath my bare feet. My gaze drifts to the woods that lead to Talbot House. If I run, he’ll catch me easily. Part of me wants to test them to see, but it’s fleeting. My curiosity keeps me moving up the hill with everyone.

I haven’t stepped foot inside the graveyard since my first night here. It’s not lost on me that the last time we were all here together I was running from them in terror, believing they were playing a cruel prank on me. Now the three of them position themselves around me while we navigate the headstones as if they want to keep me safe.

At the top of the hill, Valerian approaches the chapel ruins. He recites some kind of lilting incantation, frowning when the air crackles. The others tense. If I squint, I can make out the static electricity in the stone arch beneath the staircase, fainter than when I thought I saw them before.

“What’s supposed to happen when you do that?” I ask.

“Not that,” Matthias mutters. “As guards of the portals between realms, we have a connection to our gate. It’s like a unique key.”

“So the door is locked?”

“They’ve been here,” Alder says.

“Yes.” Valerian blows out a breath. “They’ve blocked our exit back to Hell. We have to abandon our post.”

Without another word, he starts down the hill. Alder lingers, touching the side of the arch. The tightness at the side of his mouth and eyes draws a pang of sympathy from me.

I place a hand on his arm. “Are you okay, Alder?”

“Fine,” he responds gruffly.

“Roadtrip. I call shotgun.” Matthias drapes an arm over my shoulder, steering me back to the car. I don’t miss the cautious glance he sweeps the area with as we walk through the cemetery. “Give the big guy a minute. He takes his orders seriously. Vale’s been guarding this gate the longest, but Alder’s the one who lives to serve our king. Abandoning our post is as good as treason to him.”

I peer back at Alder. “I mean, they did try to kill us. I think we’re past that.”

“It will be difficult to prove we aren’t traitors by leaving,” Alder says behind us. “We’ve never failed our duties before.”

“Better than dying,” Matthias says.

“I could just go back to Talbot House.” I motion to the trees with no intention of stepping off the path I’ve been dragged down to return to my miserable life. “It’s right there through the woods.”

Matthias drags me closer. “Nah. We’ve captured you. We’re not letting you go yet, lost girl.” He plays with the ends of my short hair. His tone shifts, becoming more intense. “You’re ours.”

I huff, grasping for sarcasm to cover for the weird tug low in my stomach at his words. “I guess I’m stuck with you. Woo. My safe word is meatloaf.”

He snorts, but this reference seems lost on him. I explain the lyrics being the perfect fit for when things are over the line and his golden eyes light up. I want to kick myself for ever thinking they were special effects contacts as a way to convince myself otherwise and ignore everything I saw, because that luminous flare of color is pure magic.

His knuckles brush my cheek and my stomach dips. “Clever little thing.”

The wind rustles through the trees, making me shiver. My gaze darts to the woods again. “So, uh. Do I have time for some B and E? I don’t want to go around barefoot in the t-shirt I wore to bed. Hopefully Mrs. T hasn’t donated my clothes yet.”

His crooked grin stretches into something wolfish and he tugs on the hem of my shirt, sending a cool breeze higher up my thighs the more he exposes them. “I dunno, I’m really digging this on you. It has easier access than that hot little pair of shorts you had on.”

Alder smacks the back of his head as he passes us with long strides. “We took your bag when we stole you. Made it look like you ran off on your own. It’s in the trunk.”

“How thoughtful,” I say cynically. “Thanks for leaving me unconscious for two days without pants on.”

The warm, rich scent of woodsmoke and maple tickles my nose. I glance between Matthias and Alder, trying to decipher which of them it belongs to. Matthias’ expression is too open, but a muscle in Alder’s jaw jumps and he flexes his hand at his side.

Valerian is behind the wheel and has the car idling by the time the rest of us reach it. Alder lifts me without warning and carries me to avoid broken glass at the edge of the road. He deposits me in the backseat, then goes to the trunk and thumps his fist on it twice. Valerian pops it and Alder brings me my beat up duffel bag held together by duct tape and a prayer.

“Thanks.” I quickly rummage for a pair of leggings and shimmy them on while the car whips around to head back the way we came.

“You’re the source of the power surge we felt during the attack.” Valerian’s accusation slices through the silence in the car.

I glare at the back of his head. “Excuse me?”

“It wasn’t power from the three of us.” His haunting blue eyes flick to the rearview mirror to meet mine, narrowing. “We’ve been together long enough to recognize the feel of each other’s power signature. It came from you. Care to share what you haven’t told us?”

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