Page 85 of The Road to Hell

I ignored him. Rathiel would never lead Lucifer to us.

Right?

Then came the darker, more realistic thoughts. Rathiel didn’t have free will. If Lucifer ordered him to find me, he wouldn’t be able to disobey.

But that didn’t stop me from going to him. Mephisar rumbled a warning as I approached, his massive body shifting slightly, his wings flaring just enough to remind the others who really had the power here. But the moment my hand pressed against his hot, scaled hide, he went still. Sable, coiled protectively around Rathiel, flicked her forked tongue in the air before unwinding just enough for me to kneel in front of him.

Up close, the damage was worse. A gash lined his jaw and seeped blood, his wings hung limp behind him, the feathers bent and torn. He looked thrashed, but he held himself strong. Because he never cowered.

I grasped the chains shackling his wrists and summoned more heat. Hellfire seeped into the metal until the links softened, warped, then fell to the ground with a dull clatter.

Before I could pull back, his hands shot forward, catching mine. His grip was firm despite the raw wounds, his fingers curling around mine.

I looked up, and for a moment, the rest of the world blurred to nothing. Because Rathiel was smiling at me. It was small, but it tugged at the corner of his bloodied lips.

And then, in a voice rough with exhaustion, he rasped, “I found you.”

Something cracked open inside me. My throat tightened, my chest ached, and my pulse pounded hard enough to make me dizzy.

He was here. I just stared at him, my mind struggling to process that he was here, in front of me, alive.

His smile faded just slightly. “Lily?”

My lips parted, but I didn’t know what to say. Ineverdidn’t know what to say.

I swallowed past the tightness in my throat, gripping his hands in return. “How are you here?”

A low growl cut through our moment.

Korrak.

The brimlord stood rigid, arms crossed over his chest, his gaze dark with suspicion. “Touching reunion,” he said flatly. “Now, tell me why I shouldn’t cut his throat.”

Neither Rathiel nor I flinched.

My eyes snapped to my general, my wings slowly flaring outward as my voice turned threatening. “Because if you try, I’ll burn you from the inside out.”

It wasn’t a warning. It was a promise.

The tension in the camp coiled tight. The gathered hellspawn shifted, and they exchanged wary glances.

Mephisar let out a warning growl, his massive tail curling tighter around Rathiel and me. Sable followed, her forked tongue flicking out, tasting the unease in the air. Even Gorr moved closer, his muscles bunching beneath thick hide, a silent declaration of his loyalty.

I forced myself to think past the suffocating weight of emotions clawing at my ribs. There were too many questions, too many unknowns. I needed to get Rathiel alone. I needed answers.

I remembered what he’d told me at the palace, that his will wasn’t his. That my father controlled everything he did. Did that mean my father knew he was here? Where we were? These were all questions I needed answers to.

But I also needed to remind the hellspawn exactlywhowas in charge.

I rose slowly to my feet, my gaze sweeping over the gathered rebellion. “He is not our enemy,” I said, my voice carrying over the uneasy murmurs. “Stand down.”

They didn’t lower their weapons, but they didn’t raise them either.

Korrak’s jaw tensed. “We need more than that,” he snapped. “That’s one of Lucifer’s most trusted. He doesn’t get to just walk into our camp and?—”

“I am not loyal to Lucifer. Not anymore.”

The words cut through the encampment and a stunned silence followed, every pair of eyes turning to Rathiel.

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