Page 114 of The Road to Hell

“Very much so,” Calyx confirmed. “Along with that ravager you’re so fond of. And that chap of yours, the one with the golden hair.”

“Levi and Gorr.” Their names rushed out of me. “They’re here? Where?” My gaze darted between them, searching their faces. “Wait…the fallen attacked? And Rathiel remained behind to fight? You left him behind?”

Eliza pressed her lips together.

“He told us to leave,” she said. “We had to get you somewhere safe.”

Somewhere safe. Here. Which I now recognized as the ruins of the rebellion encampment. The valley. The half-burned wall. The ashes and remains of all the tents. Lucifer must have razed this place after our last battle.

My body moved before my mind caught up.

I stormed across the encampment, Vol clinging to my shoulder.

“Lily,” Eliza called.

“No. I’m not sitting here while he’s out there?—”

“You’re not exactly in prime fighting condition,” Calyx pointed out.

“I don’t care,” I snapped. “Rathiel’s out there, alone, and you expect me to just sit here?”

“He’s not alone,” Eliza interrupted, her voice tight but steady. “Those friends of yours are with him.”

I shook my head, trying to clear it. Rathiel and I were due alongconversation, and I refused to let him die before I could kill him myself.

“Lily, please!” Eliza shouted. “You just woke up five minutes ago. Would you take a second and think? You don’t even know where we left them!”

“I’ll find them,” I muttered, not caring about her so-called logic.

“Well, at least we can say you’re committed,” Calyx commented.

I turned on him. “Either help me or get the hell out of my way.”

Calyx lifted his hands. “Fine, fine. No need for threats, darling. I like my head exactly where it is.”

“Ah, yes,” Vol mused. “We’re charging back into chaos on wobbly legs. Brilliant idea.”

I ignored all their comments, determined to find Rathiel.

I’d barely made it two steps when a thunderous roar split the air.

It rolled through the ruins like a shockwave, shaking the very ground beneath my feet. My body reacted before my mind did—I froze, heart pounding, head snapping toward the sound.

That was not a cry of pain. That was a victory roar.

I turned just in time to see the first massive shape emerge in the ashen sky.

Mephisar.

His enormous wings cut through the air, powerful beats sending gusts of wind tearing through the encampment ruins as he descended. Blood caked his body—I only hoped none of it was his—but he was alive. He angled his flight, banking toward me before landing with a ground-shaking thud.

A second shadow followed, weaving through the air like a blade slicing through silk.

Sable.

She twisted mid-flight before diving, her wings folding at the last moment as she landed beside Mephisar with effortless precision. Her molten eyes locked onto me instantly, her mouth splitting into a horrifying grin that would have had a grown man shitting himself.

Gorr jumped off her back, his feet landing on the dusty ground. He spared me a single glance before his mouth split open into a demonic grin, and he barreled toward me, his speed increasing with every step.

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