Page 8 of The Road to Hell

Rathiel, calm as ever, gave her a look that somehow managed to be both polite and condescending. “No, I’m not. But according to Lily, I have no say in her decision.”

Eliza arched a brow, her incredulous stare swinging back to me. “Uh, okay?”

I shrugged. “Rathiel’s been trying to talk me out of it since day one. But this is happening. And…” I took a deep breath and plunged into the reason I came here tonight. “I was hoping—Iamhoping—that you two will come with us.”

Eliza blinked, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. “Come with you?”

Mason didn’t look nearly as flustered, though his brow did crease slightly. “You’re asking us to march into Hell. With you.”

“That’s the gist of it,” I said, swirling the whiskey in my glass before taking another sip. Sadly, the booze didn’t do nearly enough to settle the nerves twisting in my stomach. “Look, I know this is a lot—insane, even—but I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t think it was necessary. Rathiel and I can’t do this alone, and you two are the only ones I trust.”

Eliza leaned back in her chair. “Wow. No pressure or anything.”

Mason rubbed his forehead, his expression tight. “Lily, this is a big ask. You’re from there. You grew up there. We all know you can fight, and I’m assuming that’s because of your upbringing. I understand you two going back—not that I like it—but why us? Why drag us into any of this? We’re not exactly suited to travel…that far south.”

“But you are,” I said. “Both of you. Eliza, you’re a trained fighter. You literally hunt and track rogue paranormals for a living. Add in your siren allure, and you could give us a huge advantage. You could act as a distraction, give us leverage in negotiations, maybe even manipulate hellspawn into working for us.”

“I don’t know if my powers will work down there,” Eliza confessed. “They don’t seem to work on you. Either of you.” She gestured toward Rathiel. “He hasn’t once glanced at my breasts or smiled at me in adoration. Nothing that would suggest I could lure him. And you’ve never reacted to my powers, either. What if all the hellspawn are immune?”

Rathiel cleared his throat. “Lily and I are more than hellspawn. We’re celestials. Or, she is, at least.”

“Celestials,” Eliza repeated, her face blanching. “That’s another good point. You want us to go up against literal angels.”

“Well, fallen,” I clarified.

“And the difference is?”

“Unholy versus holy nature?” I said, really not sure what else to say. It wasn’t like I knew many angels.

“What about me?” Mason asked. “How would I be of any help?”

I was about to answer when the song stopped. I waited for the next one to pick up before I resumed. I kept my voice steady, but low enough not to draw attention. “Mason, you can see magical energies. You could see the gate itself. You can see our auras. I have a feeling there’s a lot more you could see. Traps, barriers, hellspawn? Anything that could give us a leg-up down there is beneficial.”

He didn’t respond, but the tightening of his jaw told me he was at least considering it.

“So basically, Mason’s a magic radar, and I’m a walking charm bomb?” Eliza asked.

“Yes,” I said bluntly.

She opened her mouth to argue but then snapped it shut, her expression thoughtful. Mason, on the other hand, leaned forward. “And what happens if we say no?”

“Then you say no,” I told them. “I would never force you to do something you weren’t comfortable with. This is an insane ask, and I recognize that. I don’t blame you if you want nothing to do with my family drama.”

“But you’ll still go,” Mason said, more a statement than a question.

I nodded. “Yes. I have to.”

For a long moment, no one at the table spoke. Finally, Eliza sighed, running a hand through her dark hair.

“I’m in,” she said. “Call me crazy, but I’m in.”

Mason leaned back again, crossing his arms as he fixed me with a steady gaze. His eyes shot to Rathiel before landing back on me. He let out a long breath, his lips pressing into a thin line.

“No,” he said, his voice calm but firm.

Eliza snapped her head toward him, her jaw dropping. “What do you mean, no?”

“I mean no,” Mason repeated, his tone unyielding. “I’m not going down there, Eliza. I know more about this stuff than you do. You may not realize what you’re getting yourself into, but I do. This isn’t just a dangerous merc job—it’s suicide. And Lily’s father isn’t some random tyrant she can overthrow with a clever plan and a handful of allies. He’s the king of Hell. The Morningstar. The literal Devil. And the entire realm bows to his every command.”

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