Page 42 of Hell Gate

Valerian’s boots enter my peripheral vision. “Do you know what a changeling is?”

“They’re in fairy tales and mythology. A stolen child swapped for another.” My eyes widen. Oh. I was found as a baby. “Is that what I am? How I appear human, but…I’m not?”

“I believe so. Your demon was magically sealed in this form. You’re trapped. It’s possible that the force of your mature powers were too much to handle before your human vessel aged to adulthood.” His voice hardens. “Whoever brought you here and sealed you like this most likely expected your powers to kill you.”

My shoulders sag. So this might not be my body. Lily Sloane doesn’t exist. I’m nothing.

I smell smoke before I sense something—off, like a strange shift in the air. It’s not a familiar scent from one of the guys. Alder and Valerian tense, searching the woods. The three of us whirl to a rustling bush. Alder rushes to guard me, pulling me behind him.

Matthias tears through the bush, alert, fanged teeth bared. “Do you sense it?”

“Someone’s approaching,” Valerian confirms.

A deep laugh echoes around us, seemingly from all directions. Valerian instinctively reaches for his hip, closing his fingers around air. He curses under his breath.

A moment later, a demon materializes out of thin air on a small incline above us with a broad grin. “I see it’s still impossible to sneak up on you, Vale.”

“Rainer,” Valerian says flatly, still on edge.

“Hello, old friend. It’s been a long time.”

“Almost three centuries,” Valerian mutters.

Rainer looks every bit like a knight, his dark leather attire outfitted with a sword hilt attached at his hip beneath his cloak. He has thick sandy hair that reaches past his shoulders, half tied back, and a trimmed beard. Like my demons, the only indicators he’s not a human messing around cosplaying a fantasy knight in the woods are his glowing eyes and the serpent-like tongue poking out from the edge of his smile, keeping his other demon features hidden. His friendly eyes are a deep amber that match the shade of mine. He said three hundred years, but only looks in his late twenties at most.

He jumps down from the incline, surveying us. “I found you. As soon as I heard, I set out to search for you. I have news—”

Valerian cuts him off. “Not here.” He sweeps our surroundings with a calculating gaze. “If you can get past our perimeter without tripping it, so can others.”

Alder keeps himself positioned between Rainer and me as we head for the dinky motel we’re staying at on one of the isolated backroads that cut through the Pine Barrens. Matthias puts his arm around my waist, almost lifting me off my feet from how tightly he holds me. Even Valerian serves as a barrier when Rainer glances at me.

The walk to the motel isn’t far once we make it to the road from the trail we took into the woods. Valerian remains alert until we’re inside the dim, musty room.

I crinkle my nose, looking forward to getting out of here. I grab the first stray shirt I find—Alder’s, making my stomach dip—and slip into the bathroom to change out of my ruined sweater. His shirt reaches the ripped knees of my jeans. Tying it in a knot at my hip, I dust the sand and a leaf stuck in my hair before returning to find my three demon companions blocking Rainer from entering the room further than the small chair posted by the door.

Smirking past their shoulders at me, he takes a seat.

“So what the fuck is going on?” Valerian folds his arms. “It’s been a shitstorm up here. Demons are crawling all over the realm.”

“The underworld is in chaos as well.” Rainer sighs, gesturing flippantly. “No one can get to the king to seek an audience and find out his wishes. The council is acting on his behalf. You’ve been labeled as traitors. It’s come down directly from the council.”

“The council?” Alder barks. He pushes his large hands into his brown hair. “How? What did we do that warrants this?”

“The official report is grim. It details your plot to harbor a fugitive to overthrow the crown and take the throne for yourselves.”

Valerian scoffs. “That’s ridiculous. If I was going to do that, I would’ve been better off doing it with Lil—” He cuts off, sharp jawline working as he collapses to sit on the end of the bed I’m standing beside. It’s the first time I’ve seen him so weary. He glances at me. “I was in a better position to stage a fucking rebellion when I was a knight. I don’t have any interest in that. My loyalty has always been to Lucifer. Why would I wait until now, festering away guarding a gate portal?”

“I’m only telling you what the council claims. I don’t believe them for a second. Though it’s been a long time, I still know you, Vale.” Rainer shifts his curious gaze to me. “They say the girl is powerful.”

The three of them close rank around me with feral warning growls. Valerian pulls me into his lap while Matthias and Alder square off with Rainer. My heart thuds, startled by the speed they moved. Valerian’s arm slides around my waist, his palm spread on my soft stomach to keep me in place.

“Don’t look at her,” Matthias says viciously.

The force of Valerian’s answering growl vibrates against my back, his chin dipping over my shoulder. In my periphery, I can see his fangs as his lip curls back. Alder’s fists are poised to punch, his tense knuckles smoking with his impending flames at the ready.

Rainer sniffs the air and laughs. “I see. Quite the predicament you’ve ended up in, old friend.”

“Why are you here?” Valerian demands.

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