Page 78 of The Road to Hell

Sable coiled through the wreckage, her immense body crushing anything in her path, while Mephisar perched atop the shattered remains of the main barracks, his chest expanding with a deep inhale. Then, with a shriek, he unleashed a jet of hellfire and engulfed what remained of their resistance.

The remaining hellspawn broke. Some ran for the gates, others dropped their weapons, cringing under the weight of our assault.

“Cowards,” Varz muttered, disgust lacing his tone as he drove his blade through a brimlord’s chest.

I let out a breath, surveying the wreckage. Mephisar and Sable had decimated the walls and reduced the watchtowers to smoldering ruins. Most of the hellspawn lay in twisted heaps, and the few who still lived and could move fled into the wasteland beyond.

The outpost was ours.

Gorr let out an eager chuff, tail swishing as he nudged at the corpse of a fallen netheron. His head lifted, bright-eyed, like he was waiting for approval.

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, patting his head. “You did good.”

His ears perked, and he wagged his tail like an overgrown demonic hound.

Calder wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, looking disgustingly pleased with himself. “That was fun. You know, I wasn’t sure what to make of you, but I rather enjoyed myself here. Lead me into more battles like this, and I’m yours.”

Yay?

“Sounds great,” I said dryly.

Varz approached, flicking the blood from his blades. “More efficient than I expected.”

It wouldn’t be next time. This was the first strike—the easiest. Lucifer’s forces wouldn’t let themselves be caught off guard again. They’d adapt. They’d spread word that I had two hellwyrms at my command. Next time, the fight wouldn’t be this simple.

But that was a problem for later.

I slid my swords back into their sheaths with a grin. “Told you simple was best.”

Varz muttered something under his breath but didn’t argue.

I turned toward the prison cells, the only structure still standing in one piece. Unlike the rest of the outpost, which lay in smoldering ruin, the cells were eerily untouched—thick iron bars reinforced with stone, designed to contain the strongest of hellspawn.

As we approached, the prisoners pressed themselves against the farthest walls of their cells, their glowing eyes flicking between us and the smoking wreckage of what had once been their captors. A few of them clutched makeshift weapons—broken bits of chain, scraps of metal—ready to defend themselves if needed.

I glanced over my shoulder at my hellwyrms, the hellspawn, and all the destruction surrounding us.

Yeah. I couldn’t really blame the prisoners for being afraid. We sure did make an impression.

“All right,” I said. “Let’s free them and get the hell out of here.”

ChapterNineteen

RATHIEL

A full day had passed, and Lily still hadn’t woken.

Nor had I moved from my spot—sitting against the cavern wall. Watching. Waiting. And feeling completely useless.

She hadn’t stirred. Not a twitch of her fingers. Just the same slow rise and fall of her chest. A good sign, I supposed. But the longer she stayed like this, the more it gnawed at me.

I could endure pain—hadendured it more times than I could count. I could fight through exhaustion, push my body past its limits, carve through enemies without hesitation. But this? Sitting here, watching the only person who mattered to me lost somewhere I couldn’t follow?

It was unbearable.

And I wasn’t the only one feeling it.

Eliza sat nearby, arms draped over her knees, absently flipping a dagger between her fingers. She hadn’t said much in the last few hours—just the occasional muttered curse, mostly directed at Calyx. He slouched against the far wall, looking entirely too at ease for the one responsible for this whole mess.

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