Page 19 of The Road to Hell

“Get ready to move!” I shouted.

Then I touched the gate. Called it to life.

Energy surged through me, tearing and burning as it coalesced into a swirling vortex of red and black light. The gate pulsed, unstable and ravenous, but it was forming. I just had to hold it long enough for them to get through. My body trembled under the strain, pain tearing through my chest like I was being ripped apart from the inside. My knees buckled, and my vision blurred, but I couldn’t stop—not until they were safe.

Movement in my periphery snapped my attention back to the battlefield. The fallen had regrouped, and Gremory had directed their focus to me. Their predatory gazes seemed to analyze my exposed and vulnerable position. Gremory barked an order, his voice booming across the clearing, and the others surged forward like a pack of wolves scenting blood.

I raised my blade instinctively, but the gate was taking everything I had. My wings drooped with exhaustion and my muscles screamed in protest as I tried to ready myself for their assault. Despair crept in—I couldn’t fight them like this. Not now.

Then I saw her.

Lily.

She charged toward me, fire trailing behind her like a comet, her swords flashing in the dim light. Her expression was fierce, determined, and utterly breathtaking. For a moment, I forgot the pain, forgot the gate, forgot everything except her.

The fallen were nearly upon me when she slid to a halt in front of me, her blades slashing through the air in an arc of fire and shadow. Ezrion lunged first, flames erupting from his hands, but Lily met him head-on, her fire surging in a violent clash against his. Sparks flew as their powers collided, and both stumbled a step back.

Eliza joined the fray, and she parried Gavrel’s strike, her daggers moving with practiced precision. She spun and kicked him square in the jaw, but it did little more than annoy him.

Lily fought like a force of nature, a whirlwind of fire and fury, holding them at bay with every ounce of strength she had. But I could see the strain in her movements, the desperation in her strikes. She couldn’t keep this up forever.

And neither could I.

The gate’s pull grew stronger, its hunger gnawing at my very soul. My knees buckled, the pain in my chest now a fiery lance threatening to split me in two. If I didn’t let go soon, it would take everything I had. The realization hit me like a blow.

Lily must have sensed it because she turned, her gaze locking with mine. Her eyes widened, the fire in them dimming with fear. “Rath!” she shouted, her voice breaking. She fought her way back toward me, slashing through Calyx’s illusions as she cleared a path.

“Let go!” she shouted.

“I can’t,” I whispered, my voice shaking as I fought to keep the gate stable. I only needed a few more moments until they could safely jump through. “It’ll close.”

Lily reached me just as my knees gave out, her fire scorching the air around us as she planted herself between me and the fallen. She didn’t hesitate, didn’t even glance back as she fought against Calyx and Gavrel.

Afte a moment, she glanced at the gate, at me, then at the fallen bearing down on us.

“Damn it, Rath,” she muttered.

Before I could react, she shoved me back. The force broke my connection to the gate like a taut cord cut loose. Relief hit me hard as the gnawing hunger immediately vanished. My knees hit the frozen ground, my chest heaving as I dragged in air, my limbs trembling.

But the relief was short-lived.

I lifted my head just in time to see Lily reaching for the gate. Panic sparked within me like a lightning bolt. “Lily, no!”

Before the words fully left my mouth, her fingers connected with the swirling vortex and everything exploded.

A surge of power tore through the grounds, scorching hot and blindingly bright. It detonated outward like a bomb, a shockwave that ripped through the battlefield. I barely had time to throw my wings up in a feeble attempt to protect myself before the force slammed into me.

I was airborne before I even realized what had happened. The world blurred in a dizzying spiral of snow and fire. It took longer than I would have liked to gain my bearings, but once I did, the sight before me shocked me into silence.

Lily stood at the gate’s center, glowing with an unearthly light and hair whipping wildly as energy poured out of her. Flames burst from every inch of her, spiraling upward like twin pyres, and a six-foot-wide patch of ground beneath her cracked and shone with molten heat, the snow now melted.

But it wasn’t just the power radiating from her that stunned me—it was the gate. It had burst wide open, its swirling vortex of red and black light stabilizing and expanding as though it were alive. It thrummed with something I’d never seen before. Something almost…joyful. The gate wasn’t fighting her. It was welcoming her, responding as if she was the key to its lock.

The fallen hesitated, their expressions shifting from fury to something closer to disbelief. Even Gremory faltered in the air, his wings slowing as he took in the impossible sight.

“Go!” Lily screamed. She didn’t look at me, didn’t falter in her stance as she held the gate open with sheer force of will.

Eliza and I didn’t hesitate. We raced toward the gate, snatching up all our packs along the way—Purrgatory and Vol included. The energy from the gate clawed at me as we approached, its pull growing stronger, more insistent.

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