Page 67 of The Road to Hell

I shook my head. “No. I can’t leave you here.”

“Yes, you can,” he said, his voice strained. “And you will.”

He reached up, pressing his palm firmly against Mephisar’s massive neck. “Go. And protect her.”

The hellwyrm let out a deep, guttural rumble, his massive body tensing beneath me. His wings flared open, catching the smoke-choked air.

Then, with a powerful push, he launched skyward, with Sable following immediately behind us.

I adjusted easily, my body moving with the momentum as the world below shrank away. The heat of Hell faded. The wind tugged at my hair, curling around me like a phantom’s touch, but I barely noticed. Flying had never unsettled me. It was as natural as breathing.

Still, I twisted, looking down.

Rathiel stood where I left him, motionless, his wings partially flared as if he ached to follow.

The distance stretched. But still, he didn’t move.

My fingers curled against Mephisar’s scales, my chest tightening with dread. Fear that I’d never see him again nearly shredded my insides, but I couldn’t let it. Instead, I just watched as Rathiel faded into nothing—a lone, dark figure swallowed by the looming shadow of my father’s palace.

ChapterSeventeen

LILY

My mind spun in a dozen directions, yet not a single thought was coherent. So much had happened in the past few hours alone and I didn’t know how to deal with any of it, other than replaying everything over and over in my head.

Levi had revealed his celestial nature. Then asked me to lead the rebellion. Deidre had betrayed me. My father had nearly killed me, then sentenced me to a decade of torture at the hands of his favorite pet, Belial. Rathiel had betrayed Lucifer to save me. Thenkissedme. But the one that hurt the most was Rathiel forcing me to leave the palace. To leave him.

I thought I hated him. No—Ididhate him. So, why then did my lips still burn? For the first time ever, I was free from my father—yet I wanted to go back? For Rathiel? That made no sense!

But emotions rarely made sense. It was why my father had done everything he could to beat them out of me.

My mind replayed the last few weeks. The changes I’d sensed between Rathiel and me. The tension, the heat, the—dare I say it—yearning. Our last few sessions had felt more like foreplay than swordplay. And while it confused me, it hadn’t disgusted me. If anything, I’d wanted more.

And he’d given it to me. My first kiss.

If my father ever found out, he’d kill us both.Father. Ha. The word was laughable, considering he’d just tried to kill me. I could still feel him squeezing the air from my lungs, feel his strength cracking my damn bones. He’d poured his power into me like a poison, seeking every little weakness to exploit. And he’d done it to remind me that I belonged to him. That I was nothing more than his weapon. His tool.

He’d only released me because he still had use for me. Because he believed breaking me would accomplish something.

But Rathiel?

Rathiel had no such value to him anymore.

Lucifer wouldn’t let this betrayal stand. He wouldn’t just punish Rathiel—he would destroy him. Slowly. Thoroughly.

And I had left him behind to endure that alone.

I growled under my breath, forcing that thought away before it could root too deeply. If I let myself dwell on Rathiel, I’d spiral, and I couldn’t afford that right now. I couldn’t go back for him. I couldn’t save him. Lucifer would massacre us both if I did. And what would that accomplish? A grand, bloody execution and nothing more. No rebellion. No justice. No future.

I had to move forward. Because moving forward was the only way I could help Rathiel.

And that meant finding Levi.

He was the only one who could help me. The only one who had any real plan to fight back against Lucifer. He had resources. Knowledge. Allies. But he also had one massive stipulation—that I lead the rebellion.

Good thing I was feeling a little rebellious right now.

No.

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