Page 87 of Hell Gate

They are my reason to fight. To survive. For them and for myself. For everything I’ve been denied being stuck on this earth destined to suffer until I found the ones who healed the jagged shards of my heart.

No more. I’m terrified of going through that portal, but I won’t be less for anyone else ever again.

Vale’s gaze bounces between mine. I feel echoes of his own fear of losing me again. I press closer to reassure both of us that it won’t happen. Nothing will keep us apart.

“Lily,” he says roughly.

“It’s time,” I say. “Those bastards thought they got away with this for the last three hundred years.”

He grits his teeth. “Very well.”

“Same plan?” Matthias leans against the wall. “We need to outsmart Cessair and whoever else is on Team Asshole. You know Cessair isn’t calling the shots. Leadership isn’t his style. He prefers to let someone else do the heavy lifting while he reaps the benefits.”

“I know how he thinks. Sneaking back in under cover is out. All isn’t lost, though.” Valerian paces the small room, stroking his angular jawline. Alder’s arms band around me and tug me against his broad chest. “This gate will put us close to a wellspring in the underworld.”

My stomach turns. “A well?”

“Not necessarily a physical well,” he answers. “Hell has many natural pockets of energy that provide the demon fae with their restorative power. It’s how we can heal, even when we’re in the mortal realm.”

“River Styx?” Matthias’ brows pinch. “Yeah. Cessair won’t expect us to come through Hell where the human souls crossover.”

“The waters will help undo the unnatural curse binding her,” Alder says.

My nose wrinkles. “There will be souls in the water?”

“We’re not making you eat souls, though it would help you regain your full power faster,” Valerian says.

“Hard pass.”

“The waters have absorbed the latent power of the souls that are ferried to their afterlife. We’ll have to worry about any soul reaper demons and hellhounds in the area, but otherwise it’s the nearest natural pocket of energy we can get you to. Once there, you’ll be able to break the seal.”

“And then we go for the council.” The brittleness in Alder’s tone is shocking. Compared to the demon I first got to know as someone who respects his orders and the chain of command, he sounds ready for bloodshed. “They’ll pay for all they’ve made you endure. They’re the ones who put you in the hands of the humans who harmed you.”

I shiver at the vow of violent retribution bleeding into his words.

Valerian touches his wrist and murmurs, activating the glowing red symbol of his Demon’s Pledge connecting him to Rainer. Concentration lines his sharp features to reach the demon knight across the realms, testing the limits of the spell. “The time has come, old friend.”

Rainer’s voice filters in Valerian’s head, and he pushes it through to the rest of us with his telepathic gift.I tracked Cessair as you asked. He returned to the council’s wing of the castle. Most of the underworld is under their rule. They’ve been acting in place of the king and queen, not just on Lucifer’s behalf, but with their own agenda in mind.

“Do they believe they have the power to dispose of Lucifer to take the underworld for themselves?” Valerian frowns. “Their greedy hunger for power has gone to their heads.”

Lucifer has yet to stop them. He’s still nowhere to be found, Rainer answers.I’ll make my way to you.

Valerian nods. “It’s decided. We’ll leave at dusk and set out to break Lily’s seal.”

That gives me a little over an hour to hide how much I’m freaking out. We have to do this. The council won’t get away with what they’ve done to me and my mates. We’re going to the underworld to kick ass so we can be left the hell alone.

“I’m going to change,” I say.

And I need a minute alone to prepare for what awaits us.

“Not keen to rock up wearing nothing but your mate’s stolen shirts, barefoot and commando beneath?” Matthias wriggles his fingers teasingly. “That’s the way we like you. Easy access.”

I level him with a sardonic expression. “Well, you dickheads kept shredding my clothes with those claws, so yeah, your shirts are offered up as acceptable sacrifices. I don’t have much, but I fought with my elbows out to score my small collection of vintage pieces from secondhand shops.”

He pops off the wall and threads his fingers in my hair, tugging lightly. “I’ll buy you new clothes, babe. You’ll never want for anything ever again.”

I nuzzle against his wrist with a soft sigh. I can’t lose this.

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